Supporting Piano Motivation through Structured Autonomy and Contextual Teaching: Three Teacher Perspectives

Abstract

Intermediate piano learners may lose motivation when progress slows or assigned materials feel disconnected from their musical interests. This exploratory qualitative interview study examines how three piano teachers describe strategies for supporting motivation and engagement and considers their implications for intermediate piano pedagogy. The participants, who taught mixed ages and levels, were purposively selected and interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. The original interview material was thematically coded in the dissertation from which this article was developed, and the retained accounts were interpreted in relation to a narrower research question. Four themes were identified: student choice as an entry point into structured learning; playful and embodied strategies for making concepts and techniques graspable; contextual theory and aural understanding; and guided practice linked to visible or audible progress. Across the accounts, teachers described making student interest productive by translating it into bounded tasks, explicit goals, contextual explanation, responsive feedback, and manageable practice routines. The article then develops structured autonomy as an interpretive framework for this conversion process. Although based on three perspectives from teachers of mixed ages and levels and unable to show effectiveness or causality, the framework shows how autonomy and rigor can be combined in individual lessons at the piano.