Intrinsic Motivation, Mature Musicians, and Staying Fresh

Doing it because you want to. Doing it because of its own rewards. 

​I heard an interview awhile back with a former NHL player talking about parents who want their kids to live the dream and make the NHL. He said something to this effect. "If the kid's head is not in the game, no amount of training is going to help". And, that is a decision the player makes for himself. Parental pressure isn’t going to do it. 

If you are a mature adult musician who has stuck with it for decades you are intrinsically motivated. The question at our age is often, “how do I stay fresh and excited about what I’m doing?”

A list of thoughts:

1. Change bands
2. Change genres
3. Learn new repertoire
4. Takes some lessons
5. Go to a concert and hear the world’s best in person
6. Go to a jam, meet new people
7. Learn a new instrument
8. Commit to a new practice regime
9. Find a performance coach
10. Go to music school as a mature student
11. Pursue an advanced degree in music
12. Teach
13. Move to a new town; a change of scenery is always refreshing
14. Stop be musically “safe”. Nobody really gives a shit anyways. Your friends are more bored than you are. Something new and exciting will thrill everyone, including you.
15. Learn to improvise if you don’t already. You can learn to improvise in Mozart as easily as Ellington.
16. Make a new demo and put it on line
17. Make a video and put it on line
18. Start a blog called, “the new musical me”
19. Start working on your weaknesses
20. Change the radio stations in your car
21. Give up reading the paper on line and take up reading about music again
22. Update your professional photo

​Cheers,
David Story
www.davidstory.ca

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