Junior Departments, How much practice? Options

[Claudia's Mum]

Yes we tried for some time to reach that zenith of two hours practice a day..... In actual fact though, it is rarely possible or practical and at 12 I worry that it could put Epiphanya off completely. I am also well aware that 2 hours of what she can achieve alone (which usually includes using her violin as a mandolin, pretending to be Paganini etc) can be achieved in about an hour and a quarter with a bit of guidance! In the week she practises within ear shot of me - and it's an exercise in analysis and working only what needs to be done.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Sounds just like my daughter - also 12! Am trying hard to supervise less but have to stay in listening range to gently shove in right direction when she gets distracted!

I so know the feeling as I have an X-Factor wannabe who gets her songbook out and intersperses her violin practice with loud singing. I console myself with the fact that she does play the piano at the same time as she sings as the piano rarely gets a look in otherwise!

I am so relieved to hear that your children don't do the 2 hours per day either......

[notmusimum]

I know one JD student who spends an hour and a half just on scales before even starting the rest of his practice.
He is older though and hoping for Conservatoire entrance.

Our guidelines say if you want to go to Conservatoire you need to be doing 4 hours a day at age 16. I can't see that this will ever be possible. Oh well, we'll see......



I'll dig out our guidelines later and post them in full as there is a big difference according to age and instrument.

I get the impression that people learning the piano tend to practise more.

It isn't possible unless you shut yourself in the house after school every evening and weekend. Then again if you do that and don't participate in ensembles you are missing out on a whole other skill.

[serendipity]

I'll dig out our guidelines later and post them in full as there is a big difference according to age and instrument.

I get the impression that people learning the piano tend to practise more.

I met someone last summer who had just finished her first undergraduate year at a Conservatoire. She said that they had been given the following guidelines:
Wind and brass instruments: 2 hours (never more than 3)
Strings: 3 hours (never more than 4)
Piano: 4-6 hours (no upper limit)

I think age is the important bit, most children won't be able to manage hours at first, but by the time they are considering applying for conservatoire they might be able to fit in more. Although, of course as they get older their musical and non-musical commitments also increase...

For my daughter, Year 11 and Year 12 were the years when her practice took priority, by that time she really knew what she wanted to achieve and focused on that. I think during her sixth form years she probably averaged about 4 hours a day, but I stress this was an average - some days it was just impossible to fit as much in.

As for the conservatoire guidelines, my daughter has just started her first year at conservatoire, and the head of woodwind says they should be doing 6 hours of practice a day. He is quite firm about that. During all our open days, I never heard anyone put it at as little as 2 hours - perhaps they were just being pragmatic!

My daughter would struggle to do even her scales if she were only doing 2 hours a day...

[frances]

I agree with Serendipity, my daughter has also just started her first year at conservatoire and 5-6 hours is the guideline but of course there are students doing many more hours practise than that!

There are too many scales and studies to be done before repertoire to manage on much less.

[Roseau]

As for the conservatoire guidelines, my daughter has just started her first year at conservatoire, and the head of woodwind says they should be doing 6 hours of practice a day. He is quite firm about that. During all our open days, I never heard anyone put it at as little as 2 hours - perhaps they were just being pragmatic!

My daughter would struggle to do even her scales if she were only doing 2 hours a day...

Perhaps I should specify that this was a double-reed player talking and the two hours didn't include reed-making or what she termed "silent practice" (ie studying the score, listening to interpretations etc.).

[Claudia's Mum]

Sorry forgot to answer the question "was it worth it for your child"? Do you mean the JD or the practice?

All I can say is that it is the best thing we ever did in terms of the sheer enjoyment Claudia gets out of it. There is honestly nothing in the world that she would rather do than go to her music lessons there. To say she adores it there is an understatement. She was really down in the holidays when it wasn't on.

[Chris H]

Son's not at JD, but is having lessons from a JD teacher. She had told him to practise two hours a day, but said that on days that he has a problem doing that he should try and do an hour. He plays a wind instrument.

[amum]

People often exaggerate the amount of practice they do, sometimes unintentionally.

Son at a JD, a string player, in GCSE years. Neither he nor any of his friends there practices more than an hour a day. I'm sure some do more, but plenty don't. Son does about 45 minutes a day on his main instrument, plus about a half hour (tops) on piano. So that's an hour and 15 minutes total music practice 6 days a week. He is doing well and is well thought of at the JD, but isn't one of the very top stars. Gr 8 distinction on main instrument at 12, on second instrument at 14.

Believe me, I tried for ages to get him to do more but in the end decided that practicing regularly was the main thing. His teacher would be shocked, I'm sure, to hear that he (and many of her students) are only doing 45 minutes - am sure she expects at least 2 hours.

[tonedeafmum]

People often exaggerate the amount of practice they do, sometimes unintentionally.

Very true.
I have to timetable in 2 and a half hours a day in which Daughter will be 'practising' (3 instruments plus singing so it does add up) but that includes a lot of what I would call 'faffing about' (not to mention the dreaded theory and aural which often de-generates into 'faffing about that she just doesn't enjoy very much.')

Some people can get more done in an hour than others in 2 - and that's partly a skill that they learn as they mature - but I think that children with parents who know roughly what 'practice' might be meant to sound like must get a head start.

[sunil]

My daughter is still in primary school, it would be nearly impossible to keep the same schedule when she moves to secondary next year.

she does her homework whilst commuting with a bit of support from OH. Rest of the times are totally devoted to music and sports. Most of the days she gets 1.5 hours on piano in the morning and .5 hours in evening. Another 1 hour in the evening for singing and practicing piano accompaniment stuffs.

Saturday and Sunday she gets long hours to practice. Me and OH are non-musical, which is a major problem, for supervising the practice.

[lilly763]

I think it really depends on what you want to get out of it. I know two people who were involved in the same pre-college (same idea as JD) program - one didn't have any intention of going to conservatory and by her last year was practicing <2 hours a week outside lessons/ensemble commitments (!), while the other was planning to go to conservatory and was practicing 6-8+ hours a day...

[Chris H]

I think it really depends on what you want to get out of it. I know two people who were involved in the same pre-college (same idea as JD) program - one didn't have any intention of going to conservatory and by her last year was practicing <2 hours a week outside lessons/ensemble commitments (!), while the other was planning to go to conservatory and was practicing 6-8+ hours a day...

How on earth does someone who is still at school manage to fit in 6-8 hours practise a day?

[andante]

Maybe the school day is much shorter in the US.

[notmusimum]

I think it really depends on what you want to get out of it. I know two people who were involved in the same pre-college (same idea as JD) program - one didn't have any intention of going to conservatory and by her last year was practicing <2 hours a week outside lessons/ensemble commitments (!), while the other was planning to go to conservatory and was practicing 6-8+ hours a day...

How on earth does someone who is still at school manage to fit in 6-8 hours practise a day?

Don't think a wind player would be able to do that physically. Perhaps they are on a reduced timetable or something but even with a shorter day and all the homework it would seem to be impossible.

[Chris H]

I agree, it would be impossible for a wind or brass player - their lips would disappear (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)