Got it.
Well then, just read my other responses.
My thought is that this is very much kid dependent and more about what the individual wants to pursue during high school years and how focused they are on their goals.
We have 3 kids, all very involved in music. Husband is a freelance musician and with a degree in music education.
First two kids were reasonably happy with our public high school, music subsidized with lessons and youth orchestra. Oldest is a performance major and probably practiced 1-2 hours a day at most during high school.
Youngest was miserable at same HS. Involved in 2 varsity sports, lessons and 2 pre college music programs outside of school and hated the school music programs. In retrospect, probably torn in too many directions and with nothing at the level he needed. After sophomore year, he asked us to transfer to a performing arts boarding school. There he completed HS, practicing on average 4 hours a day (probably the maximum healthy amount on his instrument) with high level teachers and similarly passionate peers. This worked out well for him, he was accepted to high level conservatories and is currently entering his fourth year. Very happy with his choice.
Having said all of this, in my opinion this level of commitment and hours of practice are not necessary for music education applicants. As @murray93 states above, the audition level is not as high. Music education and music therapy applicants will benefit more from a breadth of music experience in high school: genres, instruments, voice and teaching/coaching.
Regarding changing schools, it sounds like your son is reasonably happy where he is. In our experience, reasonably happy was the norm for our kids. (If some parents have the secret to complete happiness with their teenagers…feel free to share!) I never thought we would pull our youngest out of the local school and move him across the country. But he was not just unhappy, he was beyond miserable knowing he could not get where he wanted to go.
I second the advice to explore the public universities in your state (or the state where your son would wish to live and work) For music education, this is definitely the most efficient path.
Best of luck!
3 Likes
A few additional comments:
1.) Instrument matters. If he is a vocalist, he may not have to do a lot outside of school. I’m assuming he’s an instrumentalist. Others have commented above related to that.
2.) Does he have a good private teacher? Or maybe the music teacher at his school is good? He (and you) could have a discussion with the teacher about goals and his readiness. Most of us did that. Good teachers can determine ability/readiness etc and ease his mind. Also he could add private lessons (if time allows and not done already) to increase skills and have a mentor.
Good luck.
1 Like
So many variables. My kid’s high school had a top jazz program, essentially pro level training for 4 yrs. No way a private school could’ve matched that. I’ve never seen a private academic school at the Essentially Ellington competition - they’re all at least medium-sized public high schools, except for a few regional groups that draw upon many high schools (and really shouldn’t be competing against the single school groups).
Instrument. Those who are on their way to become professional soloists on strings or piano might practice 8 hours/day. At that level, many don’t go to school anymore, just do minimal homeschooling, so that they can devote more time to practicing. Certain other instruments, those that depend upon mouth embouchure, might be unable to practice more than 4 hours/day, and usually less, due to physical limitations.
Life. Many families feel that having a kid concentrate so exclusively on one activity is not good for the child’s socioemotional development - and they’re usually right.
If your child is thinking of doing music ed, they really don’t need to be practicing as if they were intent upon a position in the NY Philharmonic, or a solo career. Honestly, they’re better off learning to double on another related instrument, or picking up a completely unrelated instrument, especially if they’re thinking of elementary music ed, where they’d be expected to give lessons on multiple instruments. Most importantly, they should be doing it because they love playing various instruments, love music.
My kid was very successful with high school music, but as of yet seems to still be focused on medicine, although they still play a ton of music. When we totaled up the hours, we saw that they had been spending 40 hrs/wk on music, outside of school hours, throughout all of high school. Seemed to practice an hour twice daily, but also played a lot in school, too, but their instrument is impossible to practice more than 4 hrs daily, due to physical limitations. They probably could have gotten into any conservatory in the nation on a decent audition day, but decided to go to a tippy-top and didn’t apply for the dual degree program with the nearby conservatory. There is no way that they would have gotten into that school without their musical achievement.
If your kid wants a performance music program, then yes, they do need to be practicing more. But then again, every musician feels that they should be practicing more! If they want music ed, it’s less of an issue.
1 Like
My oldest just finished the audition process. Accepted 5/5 top conservatories (Curtis, Colburn, Juilliard, etc.) all with full or large scholarships.
Here is what he did:
- Daily practice: 3 hours on average
- School orchestra: daily 50 minutes
- Lesson: 90 minutes once a week
- Precollege program: 10 hours each Saturday, included theory, chamber music, chamber orchestra
- Various other performances and rehearsals probably averaging one performance a week and one rehearsal a week
Obviously very intensive. He gave up a lot to make this happen. No sports, minimal non-music extracurriculars, slightly less intensive course load (only took 6 AP classes in HS), missed a lot of school, especially the last year. Dropped the city youth orchestra during high school as well, as it was too much of a time commitment and not that beneficial. He did attend a regular public school, though it is a selective urban one that requires you to test into it.
2 Likes
Class of 26 just finished freshmen year. If he already knows what career path he would like to take, maybe he can (or you can help him) look up some real people in the professions as well as some in college pursing these professions and ask about their high school experiences.
I have known some student musicians as well as friends of my children. Two were set to become soloists (violinist and cellist) before they started 1st grade. They both maximized their practicing time, at least 3 hours daily in high school, plus chamber music (with other student musicians out of school) and summer programs. One is in Eastman now and the other going to Curtis this fall.
Four went for dual degrees (BMus + BA/BS). They practice 1-2 hours daily beyond school orchestra/band practice, plus 2-3 hours weekly in youth orchestra, and summer programs. Two of these four just graduated, one is preparing for med school, and one has opened his own studio offering private lessons to young kids.
Three are going for BMus degree only. I know one of them well enough to know he used to practice 1-2 hours daily including orchestra practice time, plus weekend youth orchestra for 3 hours. I assume the other two would have to have similar practice time since they placed higher in all-state orchestra than the one I know.
These are just a few samples. Other people’s experiences may be taken as references but should not be used as guidelines.
1 Like
A kid like the son of @TooManyViolinists often gets into top Ivies and other selective schools, whether for double or single degree.
3 Likes
Thank you all, this is helpful!
Very instrument dependant - dd24 will do 1-2 hours wind instrument per day but 2-3 string; does a 9 hour pre college programme ona. Saturday and then prob 1 hrs ensemble playing a day at school. It’s a lot!
Hello Sportsball! I’m currently a music major in performance going on my fourth year. Although I’m not a private school person myself, I did come from a public stem heavy. I want to just write on some specifics I know about music school and help inform your son on what could be helpful for the future!
Here are some generals on what your son’s interests entail:
Music therapy: requires mostly a degree in music therapy itself to practice music therapy(may be more science-centric degree)
music education: prepares you to teach at schools in general: the program is not designed to push you towards super intense solo instrument performance focus, but teach you in 3-4 years how to handle multiple instruments and how to teach k-12 scenarios. (this is the super waterdown quick shot description).
Teaching certificate: allows you to teach at schools-- you can’t teach at a school unless you get this: which usually requires one year to complete.
Public schools have a hard time getting funding sometimes and depending on your district: the music program at public schools ranges from great to under-invested.
Something about sports though: depending on how hand heavy your son’s musical focus is. I would just want to straight up avoid contact sports. I had multiple scares with my fingers broken, and I’m still doing violin performances. Just having the do mandatory sports: I would freak out over how time-consuming it is(cuz physical health can be helpful), but no lie, injuries are the scariest things on the road to musicianship.
Instrument totally matters: some instruments just need more time. I agree with whomever mentioned it in the thread.
But as a violinist: I had an average time block of 6-10pm every school day to just practice-- For the most of my highschool years. Practice goes through like, scales, etudes, one piece of choice, another piece of choice.
And I just signed up for everything musical possible at my high school. If your son is heading towards music education: high school directors in music can be a great resource for your son to learn more about the field and to also just learn from exposure.
I didn’t do pre-college (and def not a requirement)-- did a bit of youth orchestra for experience at the highest level the organization can go. Also for youth orchestra a year or two is enough-- its not something you have to stay in forever. And its an opportunity to be in a large ensemble and play a lot of different rep. I self-studied most of the theory content to be able to do decently in college. For those who don’t have the class slot left for AP music theory: piano theory books or theory music books at the local music sheet shops got basic theory workbooks.
I’m not an education major but my high school orchestra director inspired me the most-- to keep doing music. And sometimes: it’s the public school music teachers that fight the hardest to keep their classrooms together and alive.
If your son has a music program at his private school: have him consider joining anything at his current school. My suggestion is to also see if he can select the least stressful sports if he stays at his private school. Most of my perspective is answering your question about what it takes to be a music major: but just want to let your son knows that as long as he shows commitment, passion, and also enough know of what he wants with his musical journey; it will get him into a lot more places than not.
As for time: it’s still quality over quantity: the funny thing is as a music major in college, me and my peers have to book practice rooms and sometimes and some weeks. We walk in for two hours and drill what we have to drill and go on to our part time jobs or to our next lecture.
And I knew plenty of my hs peers who boast a long practice time and activities but it didn’t necessarily get them into the colleges that they wanted for music.
Best of luck to your son! And hopefully some of this helps him-- wishing him a successful rest of his hs career!
See this is where he worries. He gets home from school/sports at around 6:15. So, during this time when other kids are practicing he needs to fit in dinner, and a couple hours of HW, and maybe a private lesson.
I responded above, but will respond again. Please do not worry if your kid is not practicing four hours per day. It is not necessary for a high schooler working toward a music education major to practice that much. Your child’s college schedule will have a lot more time for practice. The more important thing is— can your student see themselves practicing 1-2 hours daily in college? If they don’t like music that much THEN perhaps they will need to reconsider their choice of major. But in a musical environment and a schedule that revolves around music, it should be a lot easier to get into a regular practice routine. And by all means they should continue at their current school and keep playing as much as they can.
5 Likes
Totally agree with @murray93 , practicing 2-3 hours a day is not always practical for HS students and happens when they need to, not every day. He should try to get into a competitive music program for this summer so he can see what it is like to practice 3-4 hours a day and then rehearse for another 4-5 so he can see if he wants and can handle this lifestyle.
3 Likes