Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

No idea how much mine do but seems to be working! It seems to ebb and flow according to needs and balance of pieces/ orchestra music dependant on how close the course is! They also seem quite focused and efficient which probably helps. Careful listening to pieces and orchestral excerpts in context counts as well, even when not holding the instrument.

I think our JD friends were doing roughly the same on harp at 10.

I don't think there is a certain benchmark as children are so different, some are more physiologically mature or can do more focused practice so don't really need long hours.

That’s helpful, thanks! Harp is their main really I think and their tutor has said around an hour. It gets stepped up with the Eisteddfod etc. Schoolwork and GCSEs starting to eat into time a bit more too. And things like the DofE, which I can really see the eldest enjoying.

@chocolateisnecessary it’s so instrument dependent. I did brass and did probably max 1 hour a day until I went to conservatoire, though had 1-3 hours of rehearsals most days on top.

I asked DH and he has no idea how much his JD students practice piano, but guesses it ranges from 1-4 hours per day. He doesn’t impose or suggest a limit - at that level it’s up to them how much they want to do/how much progress they want to make vs the other things they’ve got going on.

I don’t think there is a benchmark as such as just so many variables. I aim to get my 7yo to do 30 mins per day but we often only manage 20 as he messes around a lot! No idea how we will manage to fit in more as life is very full ATM, but I guess he will stay up later as he gets older?!

It’s tricky. Feel a bit helpless with the loss of the JD at RWCMD sometimes. There’s no way to know and no one to ask!

Mine do around 45mins to an hour each night on two different ones and around 25mins on a third. Plus a bit of theory. I just wondered if there was a benchmark really.

When DD auditioned for JD at 10, head of strings said it should be two hours a day for the violin. The recommendations are not reality though 😁 There are children at JDs who practise very little, not even every day, for various reasons and those who do four and more hours, especially before concerts, exams and competitions. I don't think JD teachers make them do that much, it's their personal choice.
JDs differ too, some are more pressurised.

I think that absolutely depends on the child, their instrument, level and ambitions @chocolateisnecessary

DD2 prob does two hours a day on her main instrument now - that's two hours in a practice room anyway. But there's a lot of faffing in that - endless fiddling with reeds etc.

The rest just has to fit in somehow, mainly only played in ensembles or if she's prepping for an exam or performance.

But she might spend another two hours a day playing or singing - in chamber, symphony, whatever else, which must improve things?

And two hours of lessons a week on the main instrument?

But she's not a pianist, or strings.

I’m really curious - how much practice do JDs and specialist skills recommend?

Sounds a bit like the lies we tell the GP about units of alcohol. GPs double it. Music directors probably halve it!

@CelloMumFlums, when DD auditioned for her current specialist school, the HoD asked her how much practice she did a day. She doubled it (and then some) in her answer. He goggled at her, smiled, and then said -'well, you're going to have to do a bit more than that!'.

She is a BIT more on it now, but definitely not at the 'hours in a practice room' end of things.

Sending speedy healing wishes @northerngoldilocks DD arrived at NCO last year directly from an emergency pharmacy visit for antibiotics (non-contagious!) and the NCO Nurse was fabulous!

Thank you so much @Londonmummy66 @horseymum for the advice. Eek re the practice Q- definitely on the “efficient” end of the spectrum here!

DD actually played mostly baroque last year (not Bach though) as her violin teacher was a baroque specialist, but she's with a new teacher now and it's about re-setting her technique again... which I totally get especially as DD is hypermobile and needs to build more strength in finger joints but it also means her teacher picks up specific pieces to work on specific technical issues like pinky collapsing on strings etc. She plays lots of technical studies instead of learning new pieces, just to address that physio/somatic issues.

Bach feels... monumental at the moment. I would really want her to play Bach and she does a bit in chamber and yes, it's more accessible, but I think polyphony would be a difficult concept to grasp atm.

@Ubertomusic - why not spend a bit of time looking at Baroque - the Bach Partita's may take maturity to play but some of the other rep and in particular chamber works are fun and accessible? There's a whole different music scene out there for Baroque musicians - most of whom are currently overwhelmed with work as its "Passion season".

Yes, I totally agree and I keep telling myself "calm
down, it's very good for stage confidence and it's a lot of fun", but I felt overwhelmed tbh 😂

Yep, we know 😞 but I think the best she could aspire for on the violin is teaching anyway. The competition is too intense nowadays and we've already seen a couple of violinists of her age going off the rails because of pressure, or just starting to hate and avoid it, despite natural talent etc.

@Ubertomusic shows are amazing and so much fun. It helps that DD boards re rehearsal schedule. Literally couldn't tell you how many rehearsals but I know she missed a lot of them for Symphony.

She is no actor either, and certainly no artist - but I figure all public speaking experience is good and all of it good for performance anxiety. And great for making lifelong friends.

I very much enjoyed all their shows, they're really good at drama but the rehearsal schedule was crazy for us (that's partially why they're so good - they take it seriously, besides the pool of talent) and DD is definitely not an actor.

She'll keep dancing "for fun" and she does art at home, not taking it for GCSE so without the pressure of exams and exhibitions :)

That's another question actually, how to do that much music or any art for that matter without it becoming a stifling experience yet still getting results. I'm not sure I know the answer, not for the violin at least :)

Yeah I think you and she probably know @Ubertomusic that if she wants to be a violinist she will need to cut back on other things at some point over the next few years, but not even necessarily now. And if it’s trumpet then she’s got a lot more time and freedom to decide. She’s only early secondary I think? She should be enjoying herself and trying out as much as poss. Maturity for rep will sort itself out with time.

I also think keeping non-music options open is an incredibly valuable thing to do. DH and I will be actively dissuading our kids from going into it professionally as it’s so incredibly demanding (and difficult with family life) for so little financial reward.

@Ubertomusic. It's a good job she's young. Also incredibly good. I'm maybe naive but since people who start on wind and brass far older have successful careers in music she could probably take her foot off the pedal a bit with the music for a while and do some things she likes?

DD has now got MT and singing out of her system, but she certainly hadn't when she was younger. And she was in her Senior play even this time (with a smallish main part so she could still do Symphony).

But what do I know - I've raised a dilettante!

It's such a complex question with lots of factors involved... I don't think it's about an instrument choice only as the choice is pretty much obvious - violin is extremely competitive so why bother BUT it's her first love. First love BUT is not being practised 40 hours a day :) I could continue with lots of ifs and buts... but I'm thinking more about the psychological side of it, the mindset. I simply do not know if it's good to strive for perfection in music and if not how you could actually balance that "good enough" mindset and the quality of your performance.

I mean live performances are never ever perfect and perfection is not that music is about, but surely professionals don't jump off the stage happily thinking "I managed the notes and rhythms, I did dynamic and some phrases, I played well". Notes and rhythms are not what music is about either :) She played Tchaik 2nd movement for auditions two years ago and "managed" that too, but does it mean she played it well - certainly not.

DD is still very young so it's a matter of psychological maturity too, but she's been performing for years and knows all this full well. She's learning concertos now and maybe they just require much more depth than a normal pre-teen or even a teenage musician is capable of, I'm not a musician and don't really know if there is some turning point or disparity between the age and rep. Playing full Tchaik with understanding and sensitivity is certainly a very difficult task for a teenager unless they're a prodigy, they simply don't have enough life experience, but some baroque fanfares are not that deep and surely shouldn't be a problem to understand and relay to the audience? 🤔

There is also the physicality of brass that might be an issue, DD is not tall and big so can't breath in enough air for longer phrases but it's another story, and any case one cannot become a musician by making excuses for themselves all the time. There are lots of star brass players who are not big tall men either.

DD wants it all, and more MT and dance and maybe singing lessons too... 🙈 It's absolutely impossible and I said she wouldn't be auditioning for the next show - she got upset but we just have to be realistic :(

She wants to be a professional orchestral musician but is also thinking about studying biology so I don't really want her to neglect academic subjects either. I changed my mind very abruptly when I was a teenager, dropped art school to study science, lost one year to resit maths - it's doable but hard, and my parents were in a better financial situation than I am and could support me with my zigzags of studies. I could help DD with biology as I studied it at uni, but music is terra incognita.

I’m hesitant to recommend apps for piano @Compsearch but at that age Simply Piano or similar might make piano more of a fun activity than officially learning another instrument requiring lessons, practice and exams.

@CompsearchMy eldest started at 12, but to help
with composition. He picked it up really quickly. I think it depends tho - he was playing both clefs already. Maybe give it a whirl? He can always go back to it later if it doesn’t work out first time.

To be fair, I know two kids who have arrived at NCO in slings and a harpist broke her arm whilst there, so they are used to it!