Making sense of performance behaviours: How can self-determination theory be employed to explore the underlying motivations throughout a musician's life journey?

This research uses a psychological paradigm to explain the performance behaviours of a professional jazz musician. Drawing from the tenets of self-determination theory, the author investigates how basic psychological needs act as motivational agents throughout his life. Autoethnography is employed, providing a longitudinal narrative of lived experiences. The study utilises selective theoretical coding techniques to consider and interpret how a musician approached and modified their performance behaviours and environments to satisfy the needs of competence, relatedness and autonomy. This thesis elicits insights and affords a meaning-making model regarding artistic choices and performance modalities over a career musician's lifespan.