Help Finding Practice Time

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hi everyone!</p>

<p>I love piano and I would love to study music in college, but I am also a very studious student and, of course, the schoolwork has to come first. Unfortunately, this often means that I lose a lot of practice time. I work my butt off and practice piano whenever I can, but I haven't been able to practice in the last two weeks! This is on top of the fact that I'm averaging only about four hours of sleep each weeknight, I just feel like the music is falling away and it's killing me.</p>

<p>I'd really love to work on a dual degree in music and an academic field like math or economics at a school like Oberlin or Lawrence, but I fear that I'm losing too much practice time for this to even be a possibility anymore.</p>

<p>I'm sure there's student musicians like me out here in CC. For those of you in a similar situation, how do you find time to practice? How do you keep up with your music when the academics is eating up your life?</p>

<p>Thanks! I appreciate any help.</p>

2

<p>This is not going to be a very popular opinion, but our son chose to take less rigorous high school course work in order to concentrate on his music. He was also heavily involved in theater and dance and something had to give. He decided in 9th grade that he would study music in college. So, he took one or two AP classes per year only - made straight As in all of his “regular” courses (and most APs) but usually averaged only one hour of homework a night. He got a perfect score on one section of the SAT and good scores on the other two. He did not apply to any colleges that required rigorous HS coursework (such as Northwestern). He has ended up still being offered a spot in the honors program at his not so selective (academically) college of choice. </p>

<p>I know that this is not a popular thing to admit - but we agreed with our son early on that academics were not his top priority.</p>

3

<p>The answer is that if you want to practice daily, several hours, academics cannot eat up your life.</p>

<p>The outstanding high school-age pianists in our area are all home-schooled. They practice four or more hours a day. One young woman who we got to know through competitions won many competitions, before going to Juilliard at age 16. She certainly was not spending hours on homework.</p>

<p>An older daughter of mine (not in music) tried to study sciences and do varsity athletics at a Division I university. She left the sport after two years, and had to transfer to in-state, because it takes her too long to get her homework done and stay an A student for her to be spending five hours a day on something non-academic (sports). There are some who can finish their quantum physics homework in 5 minutes, but she can not.</p>

<p>My youngest daughter, the musician, cut back on classes as soon as she could in 10th grade. She has taken no APs, but has all A’s. She is certainly capable of doing well in AP classes, but knew she would not have time to practice her instruments, enter competitions, and prepare for solo performances with orchestras. It takes her far too long to do homework and she knows it. So she made the decision to take the minimum amount of courses, graduate one year early, and practice a lot. She did not apply to places such as Northwestern, which might demand harder courses, but did apply to conservatories within universities, including Eastman and Peabody.</p>

4

<p>If you think it’s tough now…just wait till you attempt a dual degree. Just saying.
This is why dual degrees are few and far between. You need to make a choice.</p>

5

<p>Are you making it a point to grab five minutes here and there when you can? It’s not ideal, but if you have a plan, you can often get a lot of mileage out of that.</p>

<p>Another good strategy is listening: you can listen to your rep in the background while you’re studying something else or travelling to/from school, and it might just make some neural connections.</p>

<p>P.S. Sleeping only four hours a night is going to come back and bite you. Take care of your body if you want your mind to function effectively.</p>

6

<p>@stradmom: Yes, I do grab a couple minutes here and there, but I don’t necessarily count that as practice. I like to play through a Bach Prelude and Fugue or two intermittently throughout the night, as I think this helps me stay at least a little bit sane.</p>

<p>I like your idea about listening to my rep while traveling to/from school. I’ll have to try it. Even though it’s not practice, at least I’ll be thinking about the music, I guess.</p>

<p>Regarding the four hours sleep, I know, it’s really awful. I hate getting so little sleep, and sometimes I sleep even less (or not at all). I can see it changing my personality, slowing my thinking, and, to an extent, damaging some of my friendships.</p>

<p>I guess my concern, though, is that I’m afraid of relaxing my academics. I love my music. I love learning, performing, composing, teaching. I just fear that if I put less effort into my academics in order to help my piano, I will be wasting all the time I dedicated to advancing myself, you know?</p>

<p>@musicamusica: I know you’re right. A dual-degree would be really hard to do and a big challenge for me. I would like to note, however, that my teachers/guidance counselors claim that college will likely be easier than high school for me. I guess that’s why I feel like I’d be capable of doing a dual-degree.</p>

<p>It seems that, basically, the consensus is that I should lighten my course load so that I can dedicate more time to my music, yes? I appreciate the advice. Any other ideas?</p>

7

<p>It is interesting to hear that others did what our son did. In 10nth grade our son found it hard to keep up with the academic demands at our highly competitive high school. In his case he let his academics slip while he focused on his music. At one point his AP biology teacher said to him “It is great that you like to groove in the key of B, but right now you are grooving in the key of D” OUCH. I was not too happy about that comment, especially because my son has some learning differences and had been repeatedly to see the teacher for extra help. He squeezed by in 10nth grade and ended up with B’s and A’s but he was not happy and he also felt like his music suffered. So the following year our son took no AP classes. He ended up getting straight A’s his last two years in HS and had plenty of time to practice his music. But more importantly our son was happy. He hangs with a group of friends who are all very academically motivated and ended up at top colleges. After his Junior year one of his friends (who also did music and might have gone on in it had his parents been more encouraging) said to our son, “I am jealous of you. You managed to do HS, pursuing what you love with no stress.” And my son managed to get accepted to every college he applied to.</p>

<p>Which brings me to the next point. 4 hours of sleep??? You are a growing adolescent. And the research shows that skimping on sleep at this time in your life is not good for short term or long term health. So many kids these days end up having mental health issues because of the stress and the pressure. They neglect their most important asset…their body and mind during a critical period of growth and change for both. It is not worth it. You hopefully have many more decades ahead of you when you will need that heart and brain of yours. Keep it healthy or none of your dreams and aspirations will come true. I can assure you that you can get accepted to a good college that will allow you to pursue your dreams without making yourself physically or mentally sick. And as the parent of three kids who are now through the process I can also tell you that the kids who do the best in the long run are the kids who pace themselves and do not work so hard in HS that they burn out or become ill physically or mentally.</p>

8

<p>StacJip’s point about sleep is right on. My daughter needs at least 9 hours to function well. Hers is a highly academically demanding school, so in 9th grade, when she had no choices about classes, she was staying up until 3AM many school nights in order to complete the homework. All classes were geared towards preparing students for APs and taught well above grade level. She said she would never again take a schedule like that, because she couldn’t practice enough.</p>

9

<p>This year (senior yr in HS) my S is a teacher’s asst. for one of the choir teachers and he spends the entire period in a practice room (unless he has music to file). In addition, he usually spends about an hour practicing in the evening. He’s a voice kid, so an hour on voice and an hour on piano is his usual. But that gives him plenty of time for homework (if he has any), video gaming and composing.</p>

10

<p>My daughter is not taking the most rigorous courses in her school either, although in two courses atleast her teachers are pushing her in that direction for next year (10th). They keep telling her if you can maintain a 98 average in this course with all of your activities, you should be at a higher level. She says they are great teachers that make the material understandable in class and therefore the homework takes a short period of time to do. It may be scandalous but she also plays a sport two seasons and is in a few clubs. Maybe this will have to change.</p>

<p>But my daughter also attempts to make the most of her music time: an extended time private lesson, 10 lessons per quarter with an extremely qualified school teacher, two 80 minute every other day music ensembles (classes in school) that play what I think is difficult and skill enhancing music, outside school Orchestra, and other outside school ensembles and Pit. She manages to practice at least an hour most nights and has studied ways to make the most of limited practice time. I’ve brought up increasing practice time with her private teacher, who tells me that she’s making tremendous progress, so at this point her having “a
life” is acceptable! Friend time is definately cut short, but atleast many of her friends are in similar clubs, ensembles and sports. Although I will admit, the spring sport may have to come to an end, but my daughter also says getting out there and doing other things, especially athletically, clears her mind, keeps her body in tip top shape, and she thinks enhances her limited practice time and helps with time management. She also takes advantage of study sessions or homework sessions offered immediately after school so a lot if the homework and studying is out of the way before she ever gets home from school. Her nights and days are hectic, but it’s going to really allow her to savor our vacation next week! I guess I’ll just add that she says sports have allowed her to be completely comfortable auditioning as she was playing competitive club in one sport sense third grade, knowing all eyes were on were on her and got used to being judged and watched. I do worry about injury, which is more prevalent in the spring sport, which is why that one may be dropped.</p>

11

<p>Excuse all my typos, I have to get back to my own work!</p>

<p>I’ll just add daughter is leaning performance major, but is interested in teaching, too. If she goes the Education route, getting accredited to coach in her sport that she excels in would be a plus. She knows a music teacher at another school that has impeccable music credentials, but was chosen over other qualified candidates because she also could coach track, and only participated in the sport in hs! And they were league champs this year as well as drumline state champs last year!</p>

12

<p>My S is a sophomore pursuing dual degrees in Cello Performance and Math at UM. It is very hard! Despite being very academically oriented Music has always been his # 1 passion. He managed to balance things in High School by being picky about which classes he took. He didn’t load up his schedule with every AP available, but did take them in the subjects that were most important to him. His jr. year he was able to schedule a study period at the end of the day so he got some homework done then. His sr. year he scheduled an independent study and was able to practice his instrument during that time. He would then usually practice an hour some time before dinner and
another hour or so in the evening doing his homework in between. He usually had 1 or two classes that were not at all academically challenging and he complained about them being boring, but it allowed him to have time to practice. He also didn’t do any EC’s that were not related to music. Now as a Sophomore in college he is really busy all the time, he has learned the best way to organize his schedule and takes advantage of breaks between classes to practice. I agree with Stradmom that taking short breaks to practice can add up over time such as 15 to 20 minutes at a time several times a day, scattered as breaks between studying and then maybe some longer practice on the weekends. I also agree that 4 hours of sleep a night on a long term basis is not healthy. Both my S and D have occasional short stretches where they are getting way too little sleep, but it is not sustainable long term. I think you will have to make an honest assessment of what your priorities are and make some compromises one way or the other.</p>

13

<p>D is a violist and prone to injury, so she has developed a practice schedule that looks like swiss cheese, but each segment is devoted to one intensive purpose: she does a scale session, isolates different technical issues in separate sessions, learns new rep in another session etc. In between, she makes it a point to do the stretching and other exercises she needs to do in order to be healthy … plus go to class, work, rehearsal, meet up with friends etc. It makes for a long day and requires her to be more organized, but since she has now reserved time for sleep in the schedule, she finds it’s a healthier lifestyle.</p>

14

<p>I find it very interesting that a lot of people are able to work in time here and there during the day and get their practice time in. I’m not saying it’s not possible, I think it’s great, it’s just I don’t think my daughter could do this. Maybe if she had to she’d adjust, but for her she has to carve out the whole amount of time and practices very intensely for that whole time, and if she hasn’t completed something and she’s able she just keeps going until she’s about to drop and the practicing becomes counterproductive. I guess it’s just the way she’s wired.</p>

15

<p>Moustache - you can do a double major in four years (you may find that is better for you) at some colleges that require little to no distribution requirements - such as Vassar or Hamilton, Williams or Brown - Vassar has very strong music. Rigor of studies is considered most important for admission at many of these colleges. I would continue taking the most rigorous classes in the areas you need credits to graduate. Fill the other slots with a music theory, history or music technology class to give yourself a break. Still need another class? S2 did an independent study in computer science/music the fall semester of his senior year. It looked great on the applications and he was in control of the class. This teacher could write you a great recommendation!</p>

<p>Now for practice time - during the week (Monday through Thursday) just work in a few 10-20 minute practices on scales and technique to keep your fingers ‘moving’. On Fridays and weekends, practice for a few hours for the purpose of keeping it all going. Vacations and summers - when there is not stress - is your time to get the longer practice sessions going and learn new material.</p>

<p>Finally you need more sleep - maybe you can get a ride to school instead of taking the bus. Limit your social media to the weekends unless needed for school.
Your brain will think clearer with more sleep and you will be able to get through your homework faster.</p>

<p>Stay tough but take care of yourself. I hope this helps.</p>

16

<p>Welcome to the crazy world of young music students. I have seen all the ‘super students’ on shows like ‘from the top’ and so forth, who do competitive swimming, who do the EC’s, the AP’s, etc…and want to know a fact? Most of them won’t go into music. The reality of young musicians varies, it does depend on the instrument and where you want to go to school, but the tension between school and what it takes to get into a competitive music school is very, very real. This is especially true on the solo instruments, violin, cello, piano, flute, where the competition level is such that kids I am pretty certain are coming into the top programs maybe playing as well as graduates did a generation ago (just my opinion, but I have reasons to feel that). On things like violin and piano, there just is no substitute for practicing, and I am talking serious hours here. </p>

<p>A lot of serious music students homeschool or go to alternative schools that give them the tie to do what they need, it is very much like what young ballet students and some sports kids go through. Given the long hours at school, then the EC’s, the homework (god help us all…), it is next to impossible to find time to do that, and block out enough time to practice 3,4 hours a day. My S ran into that, and had to make the choice pretty early, and he home schooled (on top of everything else, there also is the problem hinted at here by other people, of pushy school music directors and being ‘asked’ to do all this stuff, further adding to the strain), it was just too much to do the long hours at school, the things required there, and then practice. </p>

<p>To give you an idea, in the high level high school programs like CIM/Juilliard/SF pre college programs, from what I have heard and see, the kids kind of by sophomore year branch off. The ones who are likely not to head into music, who are putting in the EC’s, the AP classes and so forth, SAT, prep, etc, generally fall off in their playing, they dedicate a lot of their time to what is needed to get into a high achieving academic school, while those who want to head into music generally pull back from the academics (some of the kids do both, it is incredible, but they also pay a price for it, I am not too certain they are exactly very happy…). </p>

<p>Unfortunately Piano is extremely competitive, and my take is if you seriously think you want to go into piano performance, you really, really need to pull back from the academics. School administrators are no help with this, many of them, especially guidance counselors, live in this dreamworld where music is this ‘hobby’ during high school and then if you want to do music, you ‘do it seriously’ in high school…and that actually once was somewhat true, one of my S’s teachers pretty much did that, went to a top conservatory (talking late 70’s here), and has a career in a pretty high level orchestra as a principal player (though my S thinks with her doing that, her playing that she had entering college probably wouldn’t get her into a good pre college program these days). On Piano, you are facing kids who put in many,many hours a day, and the kids from Asia will have come in with incredible practice regimes (not so certain after a certain point it is overkill, but doesn’t matter). It is the reality of it, it is one of the reasons people make the big thing about making sure this is what you want to do. </p>

<p>The heavy academics won’t help with music school admissions (it could help with the academic portion of a music school within a university/lac, though). There are alternatives to getting a performance degree, you could:</p>

<p>-Get into an academic college program, and take private piano lessons, get your skills up, then try getting into a grad program…though I don’t know how they would treat things like the lack of music theory and ear training you wouldn’t have undergrad.</p>

<p>-If your intent is to play piano in a more ‘pop’ influenced agenda, it may not matter. I am talking about the standard route with piano, the conservatory/competition, then maybe do accompanying or partnering with others in chamber or solo kind of route. People can and do make a career as pianists outside the classical area, so you potentially could go to school for whatever, take lessons, and meet up with musicians in jthe non classical space, do gigs, and then try and make it coming out. </p>

<p>If your heart is set on the classical world though, then I agree with others, pull back on the academic load, and use the time saved to practicing, I don’t see any other advice to give in that area.</p>

17

<p>Don’t take an AP class unless you are going to a UC, or state college or the class is in your college subject, or may be.</p>

<p>I stood firm with my S to not take AP Economics. Economics AP is not what colleges teach. He thanked me later. No science AP for him either. AP history yes because that was a subject he considered majoring in. But at the school open house the history teacher said in college he read 100 pages a night!!! The French teacher said she had a lot of writing. When my son’s English teacher said “he should be a writer”, then I knew French would win out as his double degree with Flute. No AP English, just AP French for my S.</p>

<p>On the bus, listen to your practice music, good if you could move your fingers to the music too. Or better yet, sleep. The tube around the neck pillow really does help you to sleep on the bus.</p>

<p>Look at your homework. Are you writing up summaries that are too detail and taking too long? Cut back. For my S, senior year is when he cut back. Illustrations are more simple this year (he likes art). I forced him to summarize in 3 pages instead of 6, and he still got an A - point made. Have an impossible teacher who piles on the homework - change teachers.</p>

<p>Did my son’s classes hurt him - yes for Bard because they wanted more science than he took. But not for the other colleges you mentioned.</p>

<p>Ask the professors at the colleges you are interested in -how much you should practice. You may be surprised. Many have moved to practicing smarter, not longer, so 2-3 hours is great. The injuries from over practicing has helped reduce the 5 hour intense practice requirements. If they want longer - good for you to know when you decide where to apply. If you only practice 30 minutes - don’t beat yourself up. Guess what, you shouldn’t be practicing by the clock but by your goals what you want to accomplish that session. If you are done in 30 minutes, go nap!</p>

18

<p>“I guess my concern, though, is that I’m afraid of relaxing my academics. I love my music. I love learning, performing, composing, teaching. I just fear that if I put less effort into my academics in order to help my piano, I will be wasting all the time I dedicated to advancing myself, you know?”</p>

<p>I’m confused. If you want to major in music, why do you think spending reasonable practice time on piano instead of academic coursework would be “wasting time”? </p>

<p>All of the music majors I know (including myself) put music as their top priority over any other type of work. I know regular schoolwork is important, of course, but if you really are interested in being a great musician, getting into a great music program, and/or making a career out of music, you’re going to have to carve out some time to allow that to happen. Try a minimum of 6 hours of sleep a night and a minimum of 45 mins daily practice when school is in session. Keep those constant even throughout finals and other crunch-times in school, and when your schoolwork isn’t as bad, try increasing those timeframes. Increase them even more or add more music activities over breaks. If you don’t want to make a career out of music, or if you don’t think it’s worth it to practice that much every day, ask yourself why you want to do a dual degree in music instead of just having a music minor or a hobby.</p>

<p>Edit: On the other hand I know it’s easy to let time get away from you. If you feel like it’s more of a time management problem than a dedication problem, try different methods of planning and scheduling until something works out. If you really do want to spend more time on music, just keep trying to make it work. If you miss a day or two, it’s not the end of the world. Stuff happens. But if you miss 2 weeks, you should ask yourself why you allowed that to happen.</p>

19

<p>I said this in an early response to this post. Sleep is important!!!</p>

<p>This is AWFUL advice, “Try a minimum of 6 hours of sleep a night and a minimum of 45 mins daily practice when school is in session.”</p>

<p>Sleep is a vital part of mental health and as it turns out is important for learning and memory formation. Some people need less sleep then others but on average most people need about 8 hours of sleep to be healthy. I used to tell my kids that they number one goal was to get through adolescence happy and healthy. If they do that they will then have the energy and the motivation to be successful with what ever they desire.</p>

<p>Second do not feel that spending time on what you care about now, which might be music, will prevent you from pursuing something you might find you want to pursue later in life. One thing that music teaches you is self-discipline which in turn teaches you how to learn and master something. Mastering advanced math or science or history requires similar focus to mastering music. So any skills you gain by devoting yourself to music could be applied to becoming a rocket-scientist later in life.</p>

20

<p>StacJip, I think 27dreams advice comes from the perspective of a talented music major at a highly competitive program. She knows what it takes in college today to survive, and I think she is saying if you can’t do even this minimum, you just won’t make it, so the OP better figure it out before he gets to college. I think we all agree that for optimum health, 8 hours should be the goal, so your advice is excellent, but you need to be in control of your life to swing that, and this student is already not in control based on his 4-hour sleep and no consistent practice routine.</p>