Quick Tip
Your brain needs to be rewarded with a feel-good chemical called dopamine in order for it to want to learn. Sometimes we get into the habit of only seeing what we are doing wrong, which doesn’t give your brain dopamine. Make sure you are always making note of the things you are doing right. When you tell your brain what you are doing right, it gets good dopamine hits and makes you feel good about practicing!
What is dopamine? Well, it is the feel-good chemical of the brain. In fact, it’s what causes us to become addicted to our phones; every time we can’t resist checking our email or social media, it’s because our body wants to get a dopamine hit.
Dopamine obviously has a very powerful affect on a person. In the case of phone addiction, it can be negative.
Can we use dopamine to become addicted to playing music instead?
Of course! In fact, dompamine is essential.
But, how do we do it?
Well, most of us tend to be super-critical of ourselves when we practice. Many of us accidentally learn, through our teachers and through life, to see what is wrong more often than what is right. We fixate on wrong notes, missed shifts, and incorrect technique, etc.
If we do this too much, we lose the motivation to practice and improve. This happens because we are missing dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that is responsible for motivation because it makes us feel good. It’s the reward-system that makes our brain to want to learn!
In order to have a healthy practice, it’s important to establish the habit of recognizing what we did well, no matter how small. This rewards our brain with good dopamine hits, just like getting one point in a video game. Even though it’s only one point, it still feels really good, right?
For instance, when learning a new piece, it may sound awful at first. However, you can still find 3 things that you did well. Maybe you played a really nice-sounding open-string. Point! Maybe you remembered to maintain good posture. Point! Maybe you got 70% of the notes right. 7 points!
As well as making you feel good and motivating you to keep practicing, recognizing what you did well also serves another purpose. You are telling your brain specifically what actions you want it to do again, which makes practicing much more effective!
So, make a habit of always rewarding yourself with good dopamine hits when you practice. It will help you learn your music faster, and you’ll get addicted to practicing music because it makes you feel good!
Life Lessons
Where in your life are you addicted to bad habits? It could be always checking your phone. It could be eating junk food. It could be impulse shopping. Realize that your brain is attracted to these activities for the dopamine hit.
Replace them with activities that give you good dopamine hits, like eating yummy fresh fruit, going for a jog, or practicing music! If you remember to reward your brain for the healthy things you do, you’ll train it to enjoy these activities, and to look for good dopamine hits instead of bad ones.
Where in your life are you lacking motivation? Perhaps you are dwelling too much on the negative? Perhaps it’s because you haven’t given yourself good dopamine hits to reward your brain?
Remember to celebrate your successes, even if they are tiny. The dopamine hits you give yourself are essential to your happiness.
Teacher Tips
Teach your students to give themselves good dopamine hits early in their learning. Also, remember to model it to your students.
If you have a student who is overly critical of themselves, or who doesn’t seem to be making much progress, give this a try. Students often need help recognizing what they did right, especially those who find themselves surrounded by others who are learning faster than they are. Adult learners are also guilty of being overly critical of themselves.
When students understand how important it is to think positively about their own playing, and that their brain is looking for rewards in order to learn, their progress will improve by leaps and bounds.