I’m very excited about the incentive program I started for my students this year. My goal was to encourage them to actually “make music” this year instead of just playing the notes, rhythms, and details correctly. You know the difference!
I combined a bunch of ideas from other teachers and sites and decided to go with a Piano Bucks incentive (only until mid-October. I found that shorter is better). I give the students $1 for doing scales perfectly, theory, site reading, flashcards, etc. BUT, the most important thing that I do now is give “Music Citation” and “Caught Ya Makin Music Cards.” This is a variation from others I’ve seen, but my citations are given for:
- Speeding
- Driving Recklessly (no counting, too many stops)
- Ignoring Traffic signs (staccato, slurs, accent, rit., dynamics)
- Driving Outside the Lane (wrong fingering)
- Weaving off the road (wrong notes)
- Driving sleepily (boring music, no energy!)
I bought 2 sided tape and I put the ticket on the piece. At the bottom is a place for me to write what the fine is (usually $2-5) if they DON”T fix the problem.
But, the most helpful cards I made were the “Caught Ya Makin’ Music Cards.” Students are given these cards (to show their parents) and $5 in music money for:
- Driving with passion and enthusiasm
- Staying on the road (note played correctly)
- Driving smoothly (rhythm correct, no stops)
- Traveling at the right tempo
- Staying in the correct lane (good fingering)
- Observing all the traffic signs (staccato, slurs, accents, rit.)
I’ve been amazed that I’ve give out soooo many more “makin’ music” cards than citations. The students are super excited when they receive one (even most of my high schoolers). They seem to know when they’ve played musically and that is one of my goals!
Of course, I’m going to have a $75, $100, and $150 prize bin at my group lessons in October, but I hope the lessons in “making music” last much longer than that.
These ideas are WONDERFUL! I plan on incorporating into my Music Money Challenge this semester, and will let you know how it goes. Thanks so much for all the ways you are helping teachers and students, Wendy!
-Anne (a friend from the from Pno-Ped-L site)
Hi Wendy:
I love your ideas for using “music money” for your incentive program. I like the “Music Citation” and “Caught You Makin’ Music!” ideas as well. I’ve been toying with the thought of using “music money” for the first time myself for this fall’s incentive program. You’ve got my creative juices flowing now – thanks! I’ll be “borrowing” from your ideas as I create my own studio incentive program to run from Oct. 1 through the week before Thanksgiving.
Hi Wendy, what a fun idea. I remember someone selling the “tickets” post-it, but the merit one is new to me. It is very fun, but I wonder if students would get numb to the idea after a while. I started writing the brag list in a the back section of my students’ assignment book whenever they do something really great. However, after a while I don’t think they read it, especially if they are older than 2nd grade! I’d love to hear more incentives results later on if you’d post it. Or do you have older incentives results ? Thanks!
Yes, do let me know how it goes, Anne! I’m glad you are able use the ideas. That’s what they are there for!
Let me know how it goes!
Hi Lydia, So far, the students are still very motivated by the makin music cards. I plan to have a performance class mid-September in which they will play their musical pieces for each other and the students will comment on what makes them musical. I have some more plans for that group lesson that should help establish more guidelines for the students to know how to play more musically….more on that later!
Perhaps you could put your “brag list” on your studio bulletin board and students could see who you wanted to brag on every week, that might make a difference in the motivation. Just a thought!
Wendy, your citation and “caught ya…” cards are wonderful. This is very close to the incentive program I’m going to use this year too. I’m excited to see how the students respond.
Hi Wendy,
What a great idea to have a brag list on my studio! I really should use that wall more often.
BTW, how often do you give those tickets? once a week for each piece they are working on? Thanks.
I give the students a “Caught ya makin’ music card” every time they have a piece that is technically great and very musical (the piece has to be at least 16 measures long). They can only early a max of 2 a week so that the younger students don’t get so far ahead of the older ones. But, I’ve only had one student that could have earned 3. I told her I’d carry it over to a week where she didn’t have as many. I tell students it is difficult to earn these and they have to work very hard (which makes them work even harder), so it’s not something I take lightly and give away easily.
Hey Cecilly, I read about your incentive program on Susan’s site. Let me know how it goes. I always get great ideas from you!
Hey this is so great. I have tried music money before, but as a stand-alone incentive it doesn’t quite cut it. I have had ‘store days’ for students to choose prizes, but part of me doesn’t like the idea of just giving out ‘stuff’. For one thing, I’m not a parent and not really very clued-in on what kids actually like. For another, I feel bad having prizes that are not music-related. It just seems wrong. What I love about this idea is the citation cards — which constantly bring everything right back to the music. Thanks so much for sharing. I am going to think hard about how I can adapt this for my fall teaching, or possibly I’ll wait until the winter doldrums hit in January. Yay, Wendy!
Hi again, Wendy! A quick question… Do you plan to always use the “Caught Ya Making Music” cards in conjunction with the music $, or will you continue to pass them out throughout the year, even once the challenge is over? It’s seems to be a great motivaor in itself (the template you made is adorable!) so I’m thinking about using it even when I’m not doing my Music Money Challenge, but wondered about your thoughts on this. Also, do you have another incentive program you use in the Winter/Spring, or is do you only do 1 per year? Thanks!
Hi Anne, This is the first time I’ve used the cards, but its been so effective that I think I’ll continue even after the Music Money incentive is over in October. I don’t always do an incentive, but I like to have one in the fall and sometimes one in the spring as we get ready for auditions. It’s different every year and depends on my time, my students needs, and the calendar!
Love the citation and caught ya making music cards! I would suggest though making some cards with police women too. The power of the image should never be discounted. All children see the male only police officers and then girls think it’s a man’s job. The effects are endless… I think it’s our job, as women, to drastically increase the image of powerful women in the world so that all children can see women as equals and respect them. Otherwise, love this idea. It’s so very creative and I’ve been needing something like this with some of my students! What did you end up giving as the prizes at the end of the period?
Hi Lorriane,
Thanks for that encouragement about the cards. Yes, I agree that a female officer would be nice but at the time (which was 7 years ago) the only one I could find that was free to use was a male.
I don’t remember exactly what I gave as prizes, but there are lots of posts that talk about that that you might find helpful:
https://composecreate.com/preparing-for-fall-2013-a-perpetually-useful-incentive/
https://composecreate.com/buying-incentives-and-gifts/
I hope that’s helpful!