kokotg Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 DH is teaching all the kids piano this year. They've done a little in years past, but we're really trying to make it a priority this year. He's played piano since he was 6, and he's using the Faber books with them, but he's never taught anyone to play before so it's kind of a figure it out as he goes thing. So I'm wondering how much time it's reasonable to expect the kids to spend practicing every day. Generally DH does a lesson with each of them on the weekends and gives them stuff to work on during the week. Kids are 10, 8, and 5. Thoughts? How long do "real" piano teachers expect their students to spend practicing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 All four of mine play the piano (although my oldest no longer takes lessons). I'd say 15 minutes for a beginning student is likely sufficient. But by the time they move on to Book 2, it'll be closer to 30 minutes and, as was the case with my oldest, by the time she made it to Book 4, she was spending at least an hour a day practicing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Musical instrument practice guidelines are pretty universal. Beg. students: 15-30 min. Intermediate students: 30-60 min. Advanced students: 60 min.+ My 9yo loves piano and practices 1-2 hours per day. It shows. Her teacher (my sister) loves having her as a student because she practices and improves quickly. Dd likes being able to play well, so she spends the time needed to be able to do that. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Each piece/skill 5-10x. Usually that will fit the guidelines on time, just by virtue of the fact that as a child develops, the pieces/etudes/technique skills get longer and more complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 When my kids were younger they played each song 5 times a day. Since starting with a new (and TREMENDOUSLY better), they practice 30 minutes daily. Their teacher has a chart they have to keep each week. My kids started the 30 minutes daily as a 7/about-to-turn-8 year old, and a new 9 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 45 min to an hour. Closer to 45 min for my 8 yo, closer to an hour for my 11 yo. We didn't start at that though--they've been playing for 4-5 years. We can't get to everything they're supposed to do in less time--scales, theory, sight reading, new pieces, review pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 DD (10) - 30 min/day DS (6) - 15 min/day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 When I keep track of the time, all I can say is, "Not enough". :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 DS has a 30-minute lesson per week and practices 15-minutes per day minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I'm a piano teacher, and I've always required a minimum of 30 min, 5x week from my students, and I see good progress when they do that. A newbie student, just getting started, works up to 20 minutes, then eases up to 30min as he has more material to work with. Later, after a few years of lessons I like to bump my students up to 45 min. lessons, and then I ask a minimum of 45 min. daily practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thanks everyone! Sounds like I'm more or less on the right track...they're doing 15 min/day right now, largely because it just doesn't take them very long to play everything they're working on several times at this point. I'm expecting it will be up to 30 minutes within a few months, at least for the older two. They also usually spend more time working on fun stuff that's not in their books...DH helps them pick out the Harry Potter theme, songs from musicals, etc--but I'm not sure how much that sort of thing "counts." I am not the musical one around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 DS6 has a 30 minute lesson once a week. He is expected to practice 15 minutes twice a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Dd8 practices 30 min/day, and in the evening dh often asks her to play for him whatever pieces she's proudest of so he has music to enjoy, which is good for at least another 15 minutes. If she had some clear musical talent that cried out for expert training, I might push her a little more; but our goal is just for her to be able to play the piano well enough to provide enjoyment for herself, family, and friends. We save the pushing for her two hours a day of math. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 My dd7 practices about 25 minutes per day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 DH is teaching all the kids piano this year. They've done a little in years past, but we're really trying to make it a priority this year. He's played piano since he was 6, and he's using the Faber books with them, but he's never taught anyone to play before so it's kind of a figure it out as he goes thing. So I'm wondering how much time it's reasonable to expect the kids to spend practicing every day. Generally DH does a lesson with each of them on the weekends and gives them stuff to work on during the week. Kids are 10, 8, and 5. Thoughts? How long do "real" piano teachers expect their students to spend practicing? My son spends about an hour at age 10 (been at it 5 years). My newly 7 year old spends about 1/2 hour or more (plenty of fooling around and improv involved!) on violin. They both started at about 10-15 minutes and had ramped up to 30 pretty quickly. Our piano teacher says as a minimum rule of thumb you should practice 5 days a week as long as your lesson time. That said, for us, we do task oriented practices. My son's practices really probably range from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending if he's got a competition, performance, audition, or something coming up. This month, it's been closer to 45. I actually wish his teacher would give him more to do! We're about to get 3-4 weeks off a lessons and that is hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 My ds is almost 8, and I would like for him to practice for 30 minutes a day. The reality is that most days we both forget :tongue_smilie: I ought to make that a habit. Some days I do feel overwhelmed with it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Musical instrument practice guidelines are pretty universal. Beg. students: 15-30 min. Intermediate students: 30-60 min. Advanced students: 60 min.+ :iagree: That is what my son's piano teacher expects. She wants my son practicing at least 30mins a day/ 6-days a week (the 7th day being lesson day.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.