One of the most common questions for students and student parents. How much time should I practice? Like anything else, learning to play an instrument directly reflects the effort you put into the endeavor. So the answer to the practice question varies.
Suppose you are 3, 4, 5 years old. An ideal practice situation would be 5 to 15 minutes at a time, several times a day. The goal is musical discovery and joy. Make it easy to repeat skills and have fun. The parent will play musical games as well. You want to help your child have an appreciation for music for a lifetime. It is important to listen to music in the car or around the house.
Perhaps you are in third or fourth grade. You have started an instrument with your school music program or are taking private lessons. Ideally you would begin practicing daily for 20 minutes. Once your muscles are more developed, it will be easy to practice for 30 minutes at a time. However, if you are becoming fatigued, it is better to practice twice a day for shorter periods of time.
As you hit junior high and high school, 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes a day would be a decent amount of practice time. It would allow you to keep up with your school program. Daily practice would help you to be a competent musical hobbyist. If you wanted to become a professional musician, then look to practice 2 to 6 hours a day.
Think about it, how much time to you devote to a junior high or high school sport? Two and a half hours a day for five days a week. So thirteen hours a week before going to any games or meets. Can you imagine how much you would improve at your instrument to devote that kind of time to practice?
Practicing has seasons. Getting ready for an audition, recital, contest, or a music festival will require much more practice. In many cases, it is not the best player to take the chair, it is the most prepared. Once you play at a competent level, separations are a matter of degrees.
So as a general rule, 30 minutes a day will keep your mind and fingers limber. If you are looking for a minimum number, that is a place to start. If you are working toward excellence, the more practice the better.
No matter what, the most important part of practicing, is to begin!
This gallery contains 9 photos.
I finished the Play-In Week CDs over the weekend. If you were there, you should be getting yours soon.
This gallery contains 10 photos.
Knowing autumn is on the horizon, we took an evening to go to Moon Park. We walked along one of the trails.
At the top of the trail, we were surprised by the rock art installation along the fence.
We took some time to enjoy the pond.
There were lilies, cattails, and even roses.
We weren’t the only ones enjoying the pond on a fine summer evening.
The schedule for the school year will begin on Monday, August 27th.
The Concerto Workshop Concert is Friday, August 10th at 7:00 PM. It will take place in Nicholas Hall at Trinity Church in Beaver.
Recently, we went to North Park. We decided to explore Marshall Island.
It is a short walk from the parking area, across the road, and over the bridge to the island. The island is a wildlife habitat area so each of the benches along the edge felt very isolated. We saw ducks,
flowers, and other vegetation.
The walk around the circumference of the island was easy, short and flat. We did enjoy the views.
12/8/12 and 12/21/12
Miriam Troxler 