“Every child chooses their own instrument” is an oft-repeated mantra held high by parents and teachers in music schools as the desire for an instrument selection based on intrinsic motivation, rather than external determinants. Research over the years point, however, to a myriad of actors that influence the child’s decision-making when it comes to choosing to learn to play a musical instrument, including strong visible actors such as the parents and peers, but also more fluid, invisible influences such as the gender stereotyping of instruments, socio-cultural dynamics and economic conditions. What at times appears to be intrinsic motivation, could in reality be an unintentional answer to these broader social dispositions. This raises the question how can we approach the support and guidance for the choice of instrument? Is there such a thing as intrinsic motivation? And if so, how could we reach it?

In this study, we set out to study the current practice of instrument choice guidance for children aged 6-8 in music schools across Flanders and investigate the potential of an guiding orientation tool for children and their parents. This is part of a research project funded by the Flemish government in which the feasibility of an orientation tool for arts schools (visual arts, music, theatre, dance) to increase admission and guide children in their decisions within all the domains. The second phase of this project focuses on the domain of the music schools in particular, as a study from the Flemish inspectorate of education identified a potential threat for the diversity of instruments at music schools. Music schools throughout Flanders have indicated that among children, the distribution of instrument choices is shifting with increasingly many children choosing to play piano over other instruments. For this feasibility study, the Flemish department of education and training formulated several research questions that stand at the basis for gaining an understanding of how the guidance in instrument choice should be organised: how can we measure cultural interests, enjoyment and motivation? Which tools can be used to measure physical and psychomotor dispositions? Who would be the main target group within the guidance of instrument choice? And what are the potential risks and pedagogical implications of this guidance?  

At the onset, we identified several conditions that whichever form of guidance to be developed should submit to: 1) it ought to take into account the diversity of our population and address also children from demographics that historically participate less in music education 2) it ought to imbedded within the local practice and 3) it should avoid normative stereotyping.

While this research took place within the Flemish context of music education, which has its own specific embedment within the Flemish society, we believe the results of our study to be relevant in an international context too, as it touches on the agency of the child and the network of actors that affect their decision, as well as on the pedagogics of music education for young children and the learning of instrument playing.

To answer these research questions, we envisioned three phases of research.This first phase consisted of a systematic literature review. In the second phase, we interviewed teachers in music schools and primary education, adopting a qualitative research method combining an open phenomenological-ethnographic interview method with ethnographic observations of the current orientation practices. In total, we have interviewed teachers and managers from 15 music schools to on the one hand find the good practices of support and guidance, and on the other hand identify trends within the local practices to gain a better understanding of the process of choice.Finally, in a third phase, a synthesis was made, which was presented and discussed with various stakeholders in the field of arts education in Flanders in the form of focus groups. The overall research method is predominantly qualitative, aiming to map the actor-network of the decision-making process for and within the arts education. While a more quantitative approach might be possible, such as through large-scale surveys distributed to primary schools and music schools, in the context of this research, we perceive this method as less effective. Using a quantitative approach could potentially oversimplify and overlook the nuances and complexities of the issue at hand.

To map the various actors that affect the child’s decision, we made use of Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. In this framework, the learner is analysed as the central pivot in a network of actors, allowing us to visualise interactions among environmental factors. The closer an environmental actor is to the child, the greater its influence. Although this theory was originally developed to elucidate a child's development, it is also a suitable method for portraying a decision-making process. The impact of environmental factors is further affirmed by observable trends in the choice of musical instruments. The most direct influence on the choice process seems to take place in the micro- and meso-system of the student. The parents in particular have a major influence on the choice and are perhaps the most important link in the choice. There appears to be gender stereotyping in the selection process, especially for certain instruments such as flute and percussion, and intrinsic preferences for certain timbres also play a role, but ultimately these do not seem to be the most determining factor. Psychomotor disposition seems to play the least role in the choice process. There is no consensus on what the best disposition is for an instrument and initial disposition is not an indicator of success. Most importantly, throughout both the literature review and the interview study we have found that orientation sessions, in which children can not only see but play and explore musical instruments, have a strong positive effect on instrument choice, with more diversity in chosen instrument and more retention. This space for exploration seems to be vital for reaching, or triggering, some kind of intrinsic motivation, and it may be difficult to replicate this process through other means.

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