I have been asked this question many times over the years. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get a bit sad. It's not encouraging for a child who has had less than 6 months worth of lessons to hear their parent ask the teacher when will my child stop squeaking/banging/playing off pitch and sound like you? I've been playing for over 40 years. It's not fair to the child to be compared to me. It's not fair for an adult student who has just started who has a family, full time job, other responsibilities to ask me this question either.
Then there is the time spent playing outside of the lesson. I know that in this day and age, the word 'practice' sometimes has a negative connotation. I tend to use the phrase 'music making at home'. I assign exercises, etudes, learning pieces and solo pieces with sections marked with numbers of play. I give them the tools for good practice without them knowing it's practice.
However........how much time is really applied at home? Every week I get excuses before the coats are off...from both parent and child. We had a rough week, we had a busy week, I had a big project to do, my leg hurt, we were away, they had baseball/soccer/karate, there was a flood/fire/earthquake (being humorous here). I always reply back with did they eat, do homework, brush their teeth. Of course! is the reply. Then they need to also find time for their instrument. Just a 30 (or 60) minute lesson with me is not going to help them improve. They need to apply the tools and techniques I give them in that time actively to make them a part of their talent.
Even with sports, which have practices scheduled several times a week, those athletes who really excel in their chosen sport are the ones who put the overtime in AFTER games and scheduled practices. They are the one's who went 'Pro".
At the height of my high school career, I was at school, rehearsals for youth and pro symphony, held a part time job, made honor roll AND practiced 6 - 8 hours a day. I ate dinner at 1030 at night while also doing homework. (Sounds alot like my life never really changed...we still eat dinner this late!)
Just how important is practice? A recent Indiana University study attempted to correlate early promise or talent (prodigy) in very young children with subsequent levels of music proficiency after 15 years of musical training. This study looked at some 240 violinists from the Academy of Music in Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and divided these professional musicians into three groups based on proficiency. Group 1 consisted of first-chair, virtuoso soloists; group 2 was made up of highly proficient second-chair professional performers/orchestra members; and group 3 encompassed professional music teachers who did not perform professionally. The study showed that there was no correlation between early promise and subsequent musical proficiency in the three groups. All groups contained what had been considered child prodigies, and all also had people who had not shown exceptional promise as children. The one correlation that was found within each group was ... practice hours! The first group of exceptional musicians had practiced on average more than 10,000 hours between the ages of 5 and 20. This is an average of 2 hours of practice every day for 15 years. The second group had practiced an average of 8,000 hours, or 1½ hours daily. The third group practiced 5,000 hours, or 1 hour every day for 15 years. So the lesson from this is that if you want to succeed in music, a goal of an average of an hour a day minimum is required during your formative years of study. rel
So if your child is 5 years old and can maintain the schedule i did as a young musician.......they will sound like me on January 3rd 2032.
If the student truly can't put in that kind of time they (and their families) need to relax a bit and enjoy their learning at the pace that works well for their family. Without worrying so much about when they will 'sound like me'.
Then there is the time spent playing outside of the lesson. I know that in this day and age, the word 'practice' sometimes has a negative connotation. I tend to use the phrase 'music making at home'. I assign exercises, etudes, learning pieces and solo pieces with sections marked with numbers of play. I give them the tools for good practice without them knowing it's practice.
However........how much time is really applied at home? Every week I get excuses before the coats are off...from both parent and child. We had a rough week, we had a busy week, I had a big project to do, my leg hurt, we were away, they had baseball/soccer/karate, there was a flood/fire/earthquake (being humorous here). I always reply back with did they eat, do homework, brush their teeth. Of course! is the reply. Then they need to also find time for their instrument. Just a 30 (or 60) minute lesson with me is not going to help them improve. They need to apply the tools and techniques I give them in that time actively to make them a part of their talent.
Even with sports, which have practices scheduled several times a week, those athletes who really excel in their chosen sport are the ones who put the overtime in AFTER games and scheduled practices. They are the one's who went 'Pro".
At the height of my high school career, I was at school, rehearsals for youth and pro symphony, held a part time job, made honor roll AND practiced 6 - 8 hours a day. I ate dinner at 1030 at night while also doing homework. (Sounds alot like my life never really changed...we still eat dinner this late!)
Just how important is practice? A recent Indiana University study attempted to correlate early promise or talent (prodigy) in very young children with subsequent levels of music proficiency after 15 years of musical training. This study looked at some 240 violinists from the Academy of Music in Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and divided these professional musicians into three groups based on proficiency. Group 1 consisted of first-chair, virtuoso soloists; group 2 was made up of highly proficient second-chair professional performers/orchestra members; and group 3 encompassed professional music teachers who did not perform professionally. The study showed that there was no correlation between early promise and subsequent musical proficiency in the three groups. All groups contained what had been considered child prodigies, and all also had people who had not shown exceptional promise as children. The one correlation that was found within each group was ... practice hours! The first group of exceptional musicians had practiced on average more than 10,000 hours between the ages of 5 and 20. This is an average of 2 hours of practice every day for 15 years. The second group had practiced an average of 8,000 hours, or 1½ hours daily. The third group practiced 5,000 hours, or 1 hour every day for 15 years. So the lesson from this is that if you want to succeed in music, a goal of an average of an hour a day minimum is required during your formative years of study. rel
So if your child is 5 years old and can maintain the schedule i did as a young musician.......they will sound like me on January 3rd 2032.
If the student truly can't put in that kind of time they (and their families) need to relax a bit and enjoy their learning at the pace that works well for their family. Without worrying so much about when they will 'sound like me'.
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