This paper reports on research carried out at the Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs (COMA) Summer School. A range of qualitative research methods were used to investigate participants' reasons for making music, and from these data a number of educational themes emerged: (i) general interactions between tutors and participants; (ii) evaluation of teaching, particularly at 'crisis' moments; (iii) motivation and responsibility of participants. These are explored here through diary and questionnaire extracts, revealing the high expectations and levels of motivation shared by the participants, and considering their implications for music teaching in schools and universities. The suggestion is made that considering music learning outside the institutional setting can shed new light on familiar practices, and help to encourage a pragmatic idealism that keeps the student learning experience at the heart of educational thinking.