How many hours a day should I practice music?

[LuvingLife]

I want to start advancing more in my music, especially if I want to get into a music program in college. Music has become one of my biggest passions lately, and I am determined to get into a good music school and into a good music program. I am currently playing violin, and will be starting guitar, piano and vocals. I am going to be focusing more on guitar, violin, and vocals, and then get in some basic piano. Right now I am playing violin an hour a day, but this is because I have an outrageous schedule which will die down in a few weeks so I can start practicing more.

 

But with all of the instruments I plan on playing (3), how long should I practice for each of them to get into a competitive program? I don't think I will major in music, but even if I want to minor, I have to be very competitive. Any suggestions? Music therapy is also very competitive!:bigear:

[Beth in OH]

This is a hard question to answer, because the most important part of practice is the quality, not the quantity. I am also assuming that you will be pursuing violin as your first/audition instrument, since you are already studying. I would first have this conversation with your violin teacher. As a sophomore, now is the time to discuss what you need to accomplish in order to be ready to audition in your senior year--there is certain repertoire that your teacher will probably want to cover, and your practice time will be driven by your teacher's answer.

 

Piano is foundational to studying music, but nearly all people who will be majoring in piano will have begun before their sophomore year. By all means, study piano, but put your emphasis on your principal instrument.

 

It is not unusual for voice majors to begin private study in their high school years. Whether this might be your best vehicle for further music study depends on your passions and your ability in voice relative to your ability in violin. Begin lessons and discuss your goals with your teacher. He or she will lay out a plan for your path to auditions (if voice wins over violin :)).

 

Just so you can have some numbers, know that many high school students are finding 2-3 hours per day to practice their audition instrument, although voice majors would be much less to prevent injury (1 hour tops?). Certain brass/woodwind instruments might also be less due to embouchure limitations.

 

I enjoy reading your posts. You have many interests, and I say go for it! Live life with no regrets.

 

Beth

[LuvingLife]

This is a hard question to answer, because the most important part of practice is the quality, not the quantity. I am also assuming that you will be pursuing violin as your first/audition instrument, since you are already studying. I would first have this conversation with your violin teacher. As a sophomore, now is the time to discuss what you need to accomplish in order to be ready to audition in your senior year--there is certain repertoire that your teacher will probably want to cover, and your practice time will be driven by your teacher's answer.

 

Piano is foundational to studying music, but nearly all people who will be majoring in piano will have begun before their sophomore year. By all means, study piano, but put your emphasis on your principal instrument.

 

It is not unusual for voice majors to begin private study in their high school years. Whether this might be your best vehicle for further music study depends on your passions and your ability in voice relative to your ability in violin. Begin lessons and discuss your goals with your teacher. He or she will lay out a plan for your path to auditions (if voice wins over violin :)).

 

Just so you can have some numbers, know that many high school students are finding 2-3 hours per day to practice their audition instrument, although voice majors would be much less to prevent injury (1 hour tops?). Certain brass/woodwind instruments might also be less due to embouchure limitations.

 

I enjoy reading your posts. You have many interests, and I say go for it! Live life with no regrets.

 

Beth

 

Beth, thank you so much for your help! This is exactly what I was looking for! Violin is going to be one of my main instruments because I really enjoy it, then I will do voice and guitar together. I love the sound of piano, but I could never really get the whole method of it down which stinks because I enjoy it. I emailed one of the colleges I am interested in and they said that voice alone was good, but if I could accompany it with guitar or piano would place me much higher above the others. So I will definitely start asap on all of this soon.

 

I alos appreciate your kind words!:)

[emubird]

I know several people who were studying violin (actually they were already working as professionals) who ended up with such severe nerve damage that they had to give up their career. They were practicing too much. And maybe didn't know which things were causing them problems until it was too late.

 

You might want to talk to your teacher about how much practice is too much. Also, it may be helpful to spread your practicing out over the day and to build up gradually.

 

I wonder if there are discussions on the web about this issue.

 

I think these folks may have been practicing 4 or more hours a day.

 

Also, you shouldn't practice any longer than you can concentrate. After that it's probably just wasted effort. This is another reason for spreading practice sessions out over the day.

 

Damage can happen with just about any instrument, so it's worth thinking about.

 

That said -- I've known violin players who got pretty good with only about 20 minutes of practice a day. The key is that they played pretty much every day, and that they were thinking about how they were playing the entire time.

[Beth in OH]

I wonder if there are discussions on the web about this issue.

 

Here's a link to the Alexander Technique website. This technique is often employed by musicians to prevent injury: http://alexandertechnique.com/

[Murmer]

I know that the requirement for music majors at the college I attended was 3 hours of practice a day, so I would assume that is mostly on the primary instrument.

[rlugbill]

"the most important part of practice is the quality, not the quantity."

 

:iagree:

 

 

I would also add that focus is important in your practice, but that is sort of understood in the concept of quality. I think it's important not to over-practice if you lose the focus. You could actually be training yourself in bad habits if you practice after you have lost your ability to focus.

 

I find it easier to stay focused if you keep practice sessions short. But, you can do multiple practice sessions in a day. Practice 2 or 3 times a day, but keep your sessions shorter- 30 minutes or so, but focused- high quality.

 

I think you will find you make more progress with this sort of practice schedule, rather than practicing for 2-3 hours straight.

 

Anyhow, I think you asked the wrong question. It's not about how long you practice- it's about how well you practice. It's not "practice makes perfect". It's perfect practice that makes perfect.

 

That's my $.02. Best wishes.

[KnitWit]

My daughter is a piano major and was practicing a min. of 3 hours per day her high school years. She did break it up into two practice sessions.

 

She probably gets in 18 hours per week in college as well...at least. She is a performance major, but she also accompanies a couple of vocalists and a flutist.

 

Be sure to spend time on scales and exercises.

[LuvingLife]

Thank you all so much for your help. I have been practicing for about an 1 to an 1 1/2 a day, but now I see I should be practicing more if I want to get better. I can only focus on music for about 2 hours straight, but then I start to lose focus and just forget what I am doing. For guitar and voice, I could do that for awhile, but I know it can damage my voice if I sing too long.

 

I find that my bow hand gets sore after I play. and I just can't seem to find the resaon why. My teacher says I have good posture and that my bow hand looks great. But it tends to sting a little and then I have to wear a brace around my hand while I play. Do you know the cause for this?:001_huh:

[emubird]

"find that my bow hand gets sore after I play. and I just can't seem to find the resaon why. My teacher says I have good posture and that my bow hand looks great. But it tends to sting a little and then I have to wear a brace around my hand while I play. Do you know the cause for this?"

 

That would seem like a warning sign.

 

My piano teacher always said, if it hurts, don't do it.

 

It could be that you just need to build up the musculature a bit more. That may just take months with your current practice schedule, not more hours per day. I've also found that going a day or two of not playing each week is a big help. When I do come back, I find I'm a bit stronger (and those icky bits that didn't work before suddenly are a bit better.)

 

I've found that the longer I practice, the more tense I get. I spend a certain amount of my practice time just working on relaxed playing, and not even worrying about playing harder pieces. It has really paid off. Not only did I get rid of these little pain "issues", my tone improved (on both piano and violin).

 

Another great saying I've heard:

Practice makes permanent.

 

Whatever it is you're practicing will stick. If you're practicing with tension, that's how you'll play, and your body and your playing will suffer for it. If you practice mistakes over and over because you aren't concentrating, you will learn those mistakes VERY well.

 

I wouldn't push too hard in bumping up your practice time. The fact is, you're still fairly young. You will probably have plenty of time to put in long hours of practice once you get to college. You might want to work on playing in a relaxed manner right now, rather than striving for more and more practice hours.

 

Another trick you might try is recording yourself and then listening to recording in a couple months. When someone first starts on an instrument, they make great strides, and they expect to continue to make such huge improvements as long as they keep practicing. But as you get better, it takes longer to improve. You don't notice it's happening and it gets frustrating. But if you can hear your playing from just a few months ago, it may convince you that you're making a lot more progress than you imagined.

[LuvingLife]

"find that my bow hand gets sore after I play. and I just can't seem to find the resaon why. My teacher says I have good posture and that my bow hand looks great. But it tends to sting a little and then I have to wear a brace around my hand while I play. Do you know the cause for this?"

 

That would seem like a warning sign.

 

My piano teacher always said, if it hurts, don't do it.

 

It could be that you just need to build up the musculature a bit more. That may just take months with your current practice schedule, not more hours per day. I've also found that going a day or two of not playing each week is a big help. When I do come back, I find I'm a bit stronger (and those icky bits that didn't work before suddenly are a bit better.)

 

I've found that the longer I practice, the more tense I get. I spend a certain amount of my practice time just working on relaxed playing, and not even worrying about playing harder pieces. It has really paid off. Not only did I get rid of these little pain "issues", my tone improved (on both piano and violin).

 

Another great saying I've heard:

Practice makes permanent.

 

Whatever it is you're practicing will stick. If you're practicing with tension, that's how you'll play, and your body and your playing will suffer for it. If you practice mistakes over and over because you aren't concentrating, you will learn those mistakes VERY well.

 

I wouldn't push too hard in bumping up your practice time. The fact is, you're still fairly young. You will probably have plenty of time to put in long hours of practice once you get to college. You might want to work on playing in a relaxed manner right now, rather than striving for more and more practice hours.

 

Another trick you might try is recording yourself and then listening to recording in a couple months. When someone first starts on an instrument, they make great strides, and they expect to continue to make such huge improvements as long as they keep practicing. But as you get better, it takes longer to improve. You don't notice it's happening and it gets frustrating. But if you can hear your playing from just a few months ago, it may convince you that you're making a lot more progress than you imagined.

 

YES! I agree with all that you have written. I find that my bow hand is the only thing that hurts, and I found out that I hold the bow way too tightly which causes my pain. My teacher taught me some new techniques to relax my bow hand and it has helped me a lot. I still have pain, but only after I have been playing for awhile. You know, I never really thought of recording myself but I like that idea alot. I have been making good progress, but sometimes I just don't hear it and that gets me frustrated and I try harder and harder causing more pain to my hand.

 

Thank you very much for your help!

[KristinaBreece]

YES! I agree with all that you have written. I find that my bow hand is the only thing that hurts, and I found out that I hold the bow way too tightly which causes my pain. My teacher taught me some new techniques to relax my bow hand and it has helped me a lot. I still have pain, but only after I have been playing for awhile. You know, I never really thought of recording myself but I like that idea alot. I have been making good progress, but sometimes I just don't hear it and that gets me frustrated and I try harder and harder causing more pain to my hand.

 

Thank you very much for your help!

 

Something that helped me a lot (F horn performance major) leading up to my auditions was to record my audition pieces once a month starting in 10th grade. Audition pieces are fairly standardized within each instrument-- you can get a good list of standard audition pieces from your teacher. By the time I auditioned in the fall of my senior year, my audition piece (Mozart's First Concerto for French horn & Piano) was as easy to me as breathing. Also, work on sight reading one practice session each week or two. (You can get pieces from State University music libraries or your teacher, usually.) This will help your solo & ensemble performances in high school if you do them, and boost your playing confidence. I would stick with your 1 hour a day through the rest of this school year, then ramp it up to an hour and a half through your junior year, and maybe to 2 hours during your senior year. The University I attended expected 3-4 hours of practice daily from instrumental majors, in addition to ensembles. I always took Sundays off from individual practice-- I only played on Sundays with the church orchestra for 3 services.

 

Good for you for planning ahead. And if you stick with what you've been doing, you should be able to feel confident at audition time, which will give you an edge over some of the students who didn't think about audition preparation before spring of their junior year.

 

Hope that helps some!

[violinmom]

Great posts - I have enjoyed reading them. For the bow hand that hurts. Even though the teacher says it looks great - that doesn't necessarily mean it's operating optimally. Doesn't hurt to get another opinion. It shouldn't hurt.

 

In regards to injury: I have known a few violinists that were injured and many that weren't. We have so many great shoulder rests and things like Alexander technique and special chiropractors that I think you can practice smart, have great teachers and avoid unnecessary injury. It's usually because of "user error." :) :)

 

For practicing times comparison: At Meadowmount you practice 5 hours, but it's broken up in 50 min segments followed by a 10 minute rest for 4 hours, with another hour after lunch. Maybe more if you have chamber music to practice. Just mentioned that because it's a top-notch place with world class musicians and they don't even practice for hours and hours without stopping.

 

In highschool I practiced 2-3 hours - maybe more on the weekends. In undergrad and grad it averaged 5 hours or so. I think I was typical of what my friends were doing.

 

You can spend hours and hours and not get anywhere if you don't practice smart! Utilize your practice time efficiently and learn lots of ways to practice your passages so you aren't wasting time.

 

If you have an hour long lesson, it should take at least 1-2 hours to get through everything you need to everyday, imo. It also depends on if you have additional things to practice like orch or chamber music.

[emubird]

Just out of curiosity, what pieces are you working on right now?

[LuvingLife]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions, they have been a great help an dI have enjoyed learning from them. Sorry if it has taken me awhile to reply, I have had driver's ed class, school tests, and I also have a violin concert to prepare for, so I have been very busy. You have all been a great help and I appreciate your suggestions, they are very good!!:001_smile:

[LuvingLife]

Just out of curiosity, what pieces are you working on right now?

 

Here are the ones I am working on for my concert this Thursday:

 

In the Bleak Midwinter; By: Gustav Higgins

 

Suprise Symphony; By: Franz Jospeh Hayden

 

Gypsy Love Song; By: Victor Herbert

 

Pirates of the Carribean; By: Klaus Badelt

 

Twilight Dancers, I don't have a composer for this one

 

I am also working on some songs on the side as well.

 

Would you happen to know any good violin solos for intermediate violin players?

[emubird]

I'm still looking for good violin music that's both challenging and interesting to the student.

 

We've been working through the Suzuki books. There actually are a fair number of interesting pieces in there. Some are dull, but I'm reluctant to skip any of them because they seem to all introduce something worthwhile. (In fact, lately I've been thinking that I'm appreciating having a really awful piece to work on my shifting because I can have it sound awful and not really care -- it wasn't a piece I wanted to learn anyway. But my shifting is improving and I don't have to worry about making a great piece sound terrible.)

 

Other than Suzuki, my daughter and I have also been working through the pieces in Solos for Young Violinists (Barbara Barber). The title is a bit deceptive. The first book starts out with some simple pieces but it very quickly gets into harder things. The first book ends up with pieces that are about level 4-5 in the Suzuki method. There are 8 books in all, but the 2nd book is already up in grades 5-6 (using Suzuki as a guide).

 

Suzuki seems to have mostly the old classical "chestnuts", while the Solos for Young Violinists has some things that are a little more modern (but probably still classed as classical).

 

I'm always on the look out for more challenging pieces in the popular or folk genres.

 

Someone suggested Gypsy Violin by Harbar. That also looks like an interesting book.

 

You might look through the music selections at a place like Johnson String (which has cheap strings, by the way!). I got some books from there. They have both folk and classical (and jazz and probably other things). (Although some of them you might be able to get cheaper used at a place like Amazon.)

Edited February 10, 2011 by emubird

[LuvingLife]

I'm still looking for good violin music that's both challenging and interesting to the student.

 

We've been working through the Suzuki books. There actually are a fair number of interesting pieces in there. Some are dull, but I'm reluctant to skip any of them because they seem to all introduce something worthwhile. (In fact, lately I've been thinking that I'm appreciating having a really awful piece to work on my shifting because I can have it sound awful and not really care -- it wasn't a piece I wanted to learn anyway. But my shifting is improving and I don't have to worry about making a great piece sound terrible.)

 

Other than Suzuki, my daughter and I have also been working through the pieces in Solos for Young Violinists (Barbara Barber). The title is a bit deceptive. The first book starts out with some simple pieces but it very quickly gets into harder things. The first book ends up with pieces that are about level 4-5 in the Suzuki method. There are 8 books in all, but the 2nd book is already up in grades 5-6 (using Suzuki as a guide).

 

Suzuki seems to have mostly the old classical "chestnuts", while the Solos for Young Violinists has some things that are a little more modern (but probably still classed as classical).

 

I'm always on the look out for more challenging pieces in the popular or folk genres.

 

Someone suggested Gypsy Violin by Harbar. That also looks like an interesting book.

 

You might look through the music selections at a place like Johnson String (which has cheap strings, by the way!). I got some books from there. They have both folk and classical (and jazz and probably other things). (Although some of them you might be able to get cheaper used at a place like Amazon.)

 

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. These look like great music suggestions, and I will definitely look into them!