<p>As we all know, one of the greatest challenges for music students during high school is balancing academics with music studies. The two compete with each other; every minute spent studying is one less minute practicing your instrument. My son and I were discussing this same issue in regards to conservatories versus majoring in music at a university. We were wondering how much practice time you actually have if you are required to take general ed courses, etc. Is practice time considered part of your "homework" if you go somewhere like USC or UCLA, or are you suffering from this same issue again for four more years?</p>
<p>If you are studying performance at a School of Music at a University I do not suspect you’d find the practice demands much different than a conservatory, but you will also be counseled by the SOM not to take a lot of competing academic courses. To meet BMUS requirements you would, in that setting, have a 17 or 18 credit courseload with an average of 2-3 hrs per credit in weekly workload (in addition to class time). Of those, it is most likely than only 3 credits (eg. 1 course) would be a traditionally “academic” course (eg. English, Calc). In the words of the registrar at my son’s university SOM, where he is pursuing a dual degree (hence the advice due to unusually onerous grad requirements) “academic courses can really interfere with the professional study of music…typically we tell students to get whatever required credits they can during summer sessions here or home at a community college and then transfer the credits in.” Part of it is a purely scheduling issue and part is the workload/practice/rehearsal/performance phenom.</p>
<p>Some of the past discussions:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/272454-practice-hours.html?highlight=practice[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/272454-practice-hours.html?highlight=practice</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/446958-how-many-hours-do-you-practice.html?highlight=practice[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/446958-how-many-hours-do-you-practice.html?highlight=practice</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/706957-excellent-if-somewhat-obvious-article-practice-habits.html?highlight=practice[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/706957-excellent-if-somewhat-obvious-article-practice-habits.html?highlight=practice</a></p>
<p>It’s really going to vary by instrument and discipline. It’s going to vary by degree type, and just how “heavy” the non music courseload is. The rigors of the academics of institutions like Rice, Northwestern, and that ilk may mean more academic/study time in any given semester, or just how well a student handles a specific subject or class. </p>
<p>Even the conservatories have some “academics”, and there are those that will struggle with what may seem “light” to others.</p>
<p>It’s a balancing act of being organized, give and take, knowing when and how to vary the the individual needs of personal practice, rehearsal time, academic needs and down time. And this typically varies between and often within a specific semester.</p>
<p>And college kids don’t sleep unless they are home. That’s why a lot of the music buildings are open 24/7. ;)</p>
<p>I think this depends a lot on the curriculum. Obviously, if you are in a BA program where you take one or two music classes per semester, you will have to put more time in on the non-musical courses than someone who is in a BM performance program taking about one non-musical class per semester.</p>
<p>It also depends on the non-music classes that you pick. It is one thing if you plan to satisfy that science requirement with “Intro to Astronomy for Non-Majors” and quite another if you intend to do it with “Physical Chemistry”. It becomes a matter of balancing your time against what you hope to get out of the non-musical portion of your education.</p>
<p>It also depends on how well the person uses their time. You spend a lot less time in class in college than in high school and, if you live on or near campus, you probably spend less time in transit. Depending on the high school, you may even spend less time doing homework for the non-music classes. If, like many musicians, you are not a morning person, it may be possible in college to schedule some classes later in the day when you can work more efficiently whereas in high school you might still be half asleep in your first three classes. Unless you are part of an ensemble that travels a lot in college, you probably save time that was spent in high school driving to youth orchestras, honors ensembles, private music lessons and so forth. That all adds up and, if it can be managed, turns into a fair amount of practice time.</p>
<p>I think that an organized student in a BM program who chooses their non-music classes with some care at a University can work in just as much productive practice time as most conservatory students. They have to be disciplined about it though, because there are going to be more opportunities to spend time on other things at a University.</p>
<p>Spoke with my DS last night at about 9:00PM. He attends SUNY Potsdam and the Crane School of Music with a double major in Euphonium Performance and Music Ed. Not technically a conservatory or a major university but nonetheless this was his schedule yesterday: </p>
<p>8-9AM - Trombone Tech
9-10- Principles of Music Ed.
10-11 no class - Practiced Piano
11-12 - Statistics
12 - 1:45 Part Time job
2-4 Symphonic band
4 - 4:30 Snack
4:30 - 6:00 Practice Euphonium
6-7:30 - Brass Quintet Practice (plays euph and trombone)
7:30 -8:30 Dinner with Girlfriend
9:00 Called home
He said that after he was going back to play euph for another hour and then studying and tying up loose ends on some assignments due today.
He said he’ll hit sleep by 2:00AM</p>
<p>While his schedule obviously varies each day that’s pretty much what he does everyday except for weekends. On weekends he will play about 4 hours a day broken up through the day. He will also practice piano, trumpet and trombone assignments for ed tech classes, french horn which he plays in the community band on Tuesday evenings. Figure he has a mouthpiece to his lips on the average 5 - 8 hours a day. Personally I don’t know how he does it but he rarely complains and absolutely loves being a music student :-))</p>
<p>One of the things that DD really likes about Rice is that even though there are 12 distribution (university) classes required, 3 of those are filled through the music history classes they have to take and 4 others can be done pass/fail. There are so many others to choose from that she feels that there is balance in what she manages. She likes being with non-music majors and experiencing more of the world. </p>
<p>Of course she is voice, not instrumental and her practice hours are different. She does spend a lot of time working with the music even if not singing. For her, some of her required music and language classes were a much greater homework burden than the other university classes. Or as they say YMMV.</p>
<p>My D had all of her gen ed class requirements filled before entering CIM, by having taken APs and dual-credit courses. Not withstanding all “5s” in those, she still had to take the required freshman writing course- and something like that can vary widely. Some teachers assigned light papers, but she ended up with one who assigns 200 pgs of reading & a paper, properly annotated, every week. It’s “wild cards” that sort which can add a lot of extra work without advance notice. She also has to take languages,music history,World Rhythms, dance, drama and Eurythemics, in addition to the theory and keyboard classes. Some schools have specific ensemble and concert attendance requirements. which mount up on weekends and evenings. VP majors may not not be able to practice as much as the instrumentalists do, but there is piano practice and also a lot of time put in working on the opera productions. She’s taking 21 credits this semester and seems to be busy every moment!</p>
<p>DS got his bachelors in music performance at a university with a conservatory “type” program for music. He got his masters at a conservatory. He says…the practice requirements are no different. The requirements for learning the music and being prepared are the same regardless of the environment.</p>
<p>I’m talking performance majors vs. performance majors…not BA vs. BM</p>
<p>I spent 2 years at a conservatory and 98% of my time was spent in a practice room. I had a few music history classes and language classes that were time consuming, but for the most part it was all musical work.
I am now at a state university and the book work is killing me. My general education requirements were very different in the conservatory. I have to take 36 hours of gen ed courses. There are far less performing classes, and more book work. Its a fact of life, and its a bummer I wont lie!</p>
<p>well sometimes, u just have to choose between academics and practicing at ucla except for writing classes u can do pass/no pass…
and sometimes u have to sacrifice grades for practicing. sometimes your instrument just comes first.</p>
<p>Like Mezzo’sMama, my son had all but nine of his non music credit requirements filled by AP credits, which was a great relief, considering the daunting challenge of completing a double performance major in X number of years (which, because of these AP credits, will be four years, with two summers, as opposed to five–hurrah!). He is completing a non-music minor, with those remaining nine credits.</p>
<p>He spends all day, every day, morning, noon and night, either in class, rehearsal or practicing. He often practices until 11:00 at night, unless he has a gig or late rehearsal. This was what he waited for, all during high school…to be able to practice or play all day without having to worry about other academics. So, aside from the requirements for his minor, he is really doing music much more than the 75/25% split, so often referred to in the Peabody literature. I think this is likely true for most music students.</p>
<p>Thank you, parents all! 
Trying to convince DS that all those AP’s are a good idea right now in exams week…this helps.</p>
<p>hahahahah…gazellemom my son just came home from his first semester at a leading conservatory where he is studying Jazz Bass. I told him I had run into his AP physics teacher from last year. His response…Why did I take AP Physics? I wish I had spent all that time practicing instead. Go Figure. We never pressured him to take AP physics. It was his choice. So no parental guilt here. Still I thought you would be interested. Obviously our son is not interested in double majoring or having a back up plan. He has had a successful first semester, done quite a lot of paid gigs in the area and has made connections with other musicians who he hopes to continue to work with as he grows as an artist.</p>