When Music Becomes Its Own Reward | Why real motivation in music education doesn’t come from gamification
- Feb 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 1
In an interview, when asked what strategies he had developed to recharge his creative energy, pianist Evgeny Kissin replied with complete earnestness: “I have never felt like I need to recharge my creative energies. Physical energy, yes - but the creative energy is always there. It comes from the music itself.”
Here's the interview, in case you'd like to watch it:
The Essence of Music: A Source of Inspiration
I haven't been able to shake this idea since I first watched the interview a few weeks ago! Of course, many musicians do find inspiration from beyond the score: from other arts, from nature, from literature, from spiritual life, and from community. These are meaningful and necessary sources of renewal. Yet, there is something deeply compelling in Kissin’s conviction that the music itself is sufficient. Music is not merely a vehicle for motivation. It is not a means to an external reward. It is an end in and of itself.
The Challenge of Modern Education
This runs somewhat counter to the prevailing trend in modern education, especially children’s education, where we are encouraged to “gamify” everything. Sticker charts, practice points, digital badges, leaderboards, and treasure boxes are all external rewards layered on top of the work in hopes of making the process more engaging. In a desperate attempt to make students care, I have fallen into this myself!
I understand why this approach exists. Learning an instrument requires patience, repetition, and focus, which are all things that can be difficult, particularly for young students. Gamification can provide structure and short-term encouragement. Used thoughtfully and sparingly, it may be helpful for some.
The Risks of Gamification
However, I do wonder if constant gamification sends the wrong message: that music itself is not inherently engaging enough and must be sweetened with something else. This message runs counter to my beliefs about the value of art.
My current working model of motivation is quite simple: People enjoy doing things well! When a student looks closely at the music, practices thoughtfully, listens attentively to their teacher (assuming they have a good one), and begins to hear real improvement, enjoyment follows naturally. There is a deep human satisfaction in competence, clarity, expressive sound, and shaping a phrase beautifully. Good music, played well, is intrinsically rewarding.
In short, motivation does not always precede effort. In most cases, it emerges from effort.
Redefining Music Education
So if we are going to talk about “gamifying” music education, I would argue for a very different kind of game: storytelling.
Engage with the story of a piece. Who is speaking? What is happening? Is this a dance, a march, a requiem, a joke, a storm, a prayer? We can explore so many facets of the piece, including character, colour, texture, historical context, composer intent, and emotional landscape. Ask students to experiment: What would this sound like if it were whispered? Declared? Sung by a great diva? Played in a cathedral? Played in a tiny room?
These topics are universally enjoyed by people of all ages - I regularly grapple with these ideas in my daily practice. By age three, most children already understand narrative, character, and dramatic play. They instinctively experiment with voice, gesture, and emotion. Translating that instinct into sound is artistry, plain and simple.
The Invitation to Deeper Engagement
When students engage with music this way, they are not being distracted from the work but are being invited deeper into it. It becomes easier to see the necessary role that technique development plays. Practice sessions feel like they have direction. Expression stops feeling like an abstract instruction and becomes a natural outcome of imagination.
Music does not need to be made more palatable! It already contains humanity, which is naturally interesting to humans. Our task as teachers is not to disguise the “vegetables” of music and make them seem like dessert, but to open students’ minds to all the delicious dishes that can be made with vegetables.
The Goal of Music Education
So maybe the goal is not to eliminate gamification entirely, but to refine the game so that the reward is not something added to the music, but something discovered within it.
This is why I believe that serious music study is about much more than performance. When students learn to listen closely to the music, shape phrases thoughtfully, and engage deeply with the character and structure of a piece, they become artists!
In the fullest sense, they begin to develop the mind through music.
Encouraging Deeper Conversations
If this approach to music education resonates with you, consider talking with your child’s teacher this week about the story behind the piece they’re learning. Ask what the music is trying to say. Ask what character it might have. You may be surprised how quickly practice becomes more focused and more meaningful.
And if you’re looking for a studio where musical understanding is treated as seriously as musical skill, we would be glad to speak with you.
