Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Reasonable insrtumental music practice schedule?

Obviously, there is not a single answer. For example, the level (beginning, intermediate, advance) would make a big difference as well as the age of the child. I am looking for a consensus (or not) of typical number of days and length of practice.

I am also interested in others' opinions regarding the point at which a youth band/orchestra (outside school) may be appropriate.

I can't even begin to give you an answer, but would also consider other variables as important: level of interest of the child, your goals, your child's goals, the natural ability of the student, access to instrument/quiet/etc practice environment, frequency of lessons, is your child participating in band already etc.

I grew up playing and loving music, and each of my children has played multiple instruments - and the answer to this for each child + instrument + stage of life has been very very different.

So - total non-answer from me!

polarbera

Thirty minutes a day on the piano for our children, ages 7 to 10, but they aren't going to Carnegie Hall on that schedule. Sometimes they play just for the fun of it, which is a reason to continue their lessons. If they only ever played out of compulsion we ought to stop.

Agree with previous posters that there are probably too many variables to make this useful, but I can share where my two are.

Their middle school band teachers require 120 minutes/week, and prefer that it is divided somewhat evenly (ie, not crammed into one or two sessions).

DS 12 has been playing his current instrument for 2 yrs, he practices 20-30 minutes, 6-7x/week.

Dd 14 has been on the current instrument 4 years, she practices for 45min-1hour probably 3-4x/week. She is more of a slacker, and is very good at sight reading, so sometimes slides by; however, her private teacher is quite demanding so this is becoming harder for her to pull off.

This definitely varies depending on schedule constraints, if an audition or performance is coming up, etc. Both take lessons during school and private lessons after school. The practice time is also limited by endurance, both play wind instruments and stamina is a factor.

Regarding outside ensembles, I would say it depends if their needs are met in school. Our school has pretty high-level music, and both kids play in small group ensembles in addition to band. Dd has definitely outgrown what is available in middle school and has auditioned for an been accepted to the highest level band for high school next year. Still, she is going to audition for an outside youth orchestra. This group is the main outside ensemble locally that would be suitable, but you have to be a ninth grader, so she has been waiting patiently to audition. The main reason she wants to try the outside group is that her high school group, though it plays sometimes with an orchestra, is primarily a wind ensemble, and she wants the orchestral experience.

Just to note, in our area there seem to be more opportunities for string players, in terms of outside ensembles, and they start at younger ages, often 6th grade. Our band program doesn't begin until 5th grade, so that may be part of the reason for fewer opportunities there; by then many of the kids have already become entrenched in orchestra and string music.

I really try stick to them doing it only while it is fun. I think the key for younger kids in particular is to find ways to encourage an independent love for it. So we often have short practices, but we really do aim for daily (lovely Suzuki saying "only practice on the days that you eat")

Sometimes we do longer practices when we are all feeling relaxed and seriously working on a particular item or technique. Other days it's a review day where we just play what calls out to us to be played.

For Dylan (3) and Nathan (5) I build a lot of games around practice - we throw balls into buckets and find what to play next, we snap snap circuit bits onto the board for each exercise done, we build duplo towers piece by piece for something practiced. Dylan practices for about 4 - 8 minutes. Nathan for about 5 - 15 minutes depending on the game, the focal point of the practice session and his mood.

Aiden likes the games sometimes, but he most often prefers to use something like this:

Warm up (scale/arpeggio and old favourite piece)
Review piece 1 (usually an old piece that may need a bit of fine detail work or has gotten a bit rusty)
New piece (the piece he is currently working on - he does the bits his teacher suggested he focus on, working on tricky bits over and over and then trying to play it through a few
Sight Reading Practice
Review piece 2 (another piece that he knows well but may need a very slight adjustment, or taking a favourite piece and playing it in a different key for fun)
Review piece 3 (an old favourite that he knows well)

That's for violin. It takes him about 20 - 30 minutes a day when he does it like this. If he only does the review pieces then it's less than 10 minutes. Then I try encourage another session later that day again.

My rule of thumb is similar to the homework rule of thumb (not that we actually have hw, since ours are homeschooled--or maybe it's all hw!): under six years of age, 5 minutes per instrument per day, or however much can be tolerated and still be fun, whichever is less, 6-7 days a week. Beginning with your sixth birthday, 10 min x 6-7 days, incrementing by 10 minutes with each succeeding birthday.

It helps when practice is broken down into sections targeting different skills, studies/exercises, or pieces. We also use a countdown timer. They are allowed to pause the timer for breaks, or to mess around on the instrument, as long as 80% of each practice session is spent on serious practicing. We had to add that recently, as ours would spend all of their time jamming if allowed, and claim they had practiced.

Dc is a serious musician but has become more serious over time. At ages 8-10, he practiced 1/2 hour most days. By 11, he practiced 45 min most days. Now, at 12-14, he practices minimum 1 hour, 6 days/week PER instrument. That's on top of rehearsals for various groups plus music theory plus performances, which average another 6-8 hours/week.

I'd say youth orchestra would be a good idea as early as they'll take your dc. It teaches ensemble skills including listening and keeping a tempo, and it's generally more fun and motivating than solo practice alone.

It does depend on the instrument. What my son's private teacher wants is for my son to have his instrument (clarinet) in his mouth almost every day. He doesn't say how long every day. My son doesn't practice enough but when he does he spends about 30 minutes at time. But he does have band practice in school 4 days a week, and his goal (and mine) is for him to play in the marching band through the rest of H.S.

The amount really depends on age, maturity and what one is trying to accomplish. For any instrument I would suggest every day for at least 15 minutes per day, more the older they get. Try for almost every day, but don't worry about minor exceptions because of special activities.

As to when to join a outside band/orchestra? This depends on the on the orchestra. In my area they usually have age limits, and require a audition. Around my area there are groups for children (8-12) and teens. Most don't start till the age the school band/orchestra starts. Unless one really felt your child was a musical prodigy I would probably stick to their limits. And outside band/orchestra is appropriate if you child enjoys it and they aren't over-scheduled in a million other activities.

I'm feeling like a real tiger mom right now after reading others' replies here. DD3 (she'll be 4 in 2 months) practices at least 45 minutes every day. Obviously, she is a beginner and you'd think there won't be that much to practice but there is. If it was left up to her, she'd be playing all day long. She didn't start this way but once she could play well enough, she took off on her own.

I've read about elementary school children practicing 5+ hours a day. I wouldn't want DD to practice more than 3 hours a day but even that seems a lot. DD is NOT a musical prodigy. She's moving along fine but no more so than any other children who tend to learn quickly. We have no ambitions for her beyond playing music for fun. I didn't think she was practicing excessively but maybe I need to step back and reassess.

I think if your child enjoys practicing, she should practice. =) And I'll just mention that I've toned down my expectations for practicing quite a bit from my childhood piano, which was spent under the tutelage of a Russian emigre, with pretty much what you'd think as practice demands! My career as a concert pianist was short-lived (at best), and I have no ambitions or expectations for my children to be professional musicians, so our practice schedule is intended to develop perseverance, time management, and reasonable amateur musician skills, sufficient for educated enjoyment of music.