Practice expectations – how much, how often?

Mastering the mechanical aspects of an instrument is a lot about training muscle memory. The more often you practice a particular skill, the faster you will pick it up and the easier it will become. Essentially, the more often you practice, the better.

Learning an instrument is not a “once a week” activity

Unlike some after-school activities, the decision to learn a musical instrument involves a significant time commitment for both parent and student.

By itself, one weekly lesson is not at all sufficient to make any real progress. Your child must practice at home regularly!

Initially, a few minutes per day is perfectly sufficient.

Building it up to 20 minutes of practice five days per week is a good target. You can count your lesson as one of those days!

Life gets in the way sometimes — if you miss a day here and there it isn’t the end of the world. Just try to get something done as many days as you can.

All kids complain about practice. All that varies is the amount. It’s hard, and it’s not instantly rewarding. You’re not alone!

Weekly lessons provide instruction and guidance, but the real work happens at home. As a beginner, you will see good results from 20-30 minutes of practice five days per week. You can count your lesson as one of those days!

In the very early stages, when we are just learning to hold the instrument correctly, a few minutes each day is perfectly sufficient. The goal should be to form a practice habit. The earlier you can do this, the easier it will be going forward. As we learn new skills, the time should increase naturally.

The focus should always be quality over quantity, however. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your practice time.