How long should kids practice music each day? A guide by age

Most teachers ask for short practice on most days of the week. For a child of four to six, that is often 5 to 15 minutes. For ages seven to nine, it is often 15 to 30 minutes. For ages ten to twelve, 30 to 45 minutes is common. Teenagers who are working toward exams or auditions often practice 45 minutes to an hour or more.

Your child’s teacher sets the real number. These ranges are a place to start the conversation.

Common ranges by age

Teachers and studios publish different numbers. These ranges cover what many of them ask for.

Age	Daily practice many teachers ask for
4 to 6	5 to 15 minutes
7 to 9	15 to 30 minutes
10 to 12	30 to 45 minutes
13 and up	45 to 60 minutes or more

Age is only one factor. The level matters too. A ten-year-old in the first month of lessons has less to practice than a ten-year-old who has played for five years.

How many days a week

Five or six days is a common request. A line often credited to Shinichi Suzuki, who founded the Suzuki method, is that a child need only practice on the days they eat.

Many teachers prefer regular short sessions to one long session the day before the lesson.

Tasks beat minutes

A timer measures time at the instrument. It does not measure work. Many teachers prefer a list of tasks.

Ask the teacher to write down what to do each day. A list could look like this:

• Play the scale three times with a steady beat
• Play bars 5 to 8 of the new piece five times, slow
• Play the old piece once from memory
• Clap the rhythm on page 12

When the list is done with care, practice is done. On some days that takes ten minutes, and on others it takes twenty.

Split the time

A young child often does better with two short sessions than one long one. Five minutes before school and five minutes after dinner add up.

Older students can split by task: technical work in the morning, pieces in the afternoon.

What good practice looks like

It is slow. A hard bar played slow and right, several times, is worth more than a fast run-through with stumbles.

It is small. Work on the two bars that go wrong, not the whole piece from the top.

It has a goal. “Play it with no stops” or “keep the left hand soft” is a goal. “Play for 20 minutes” is not.

It ends on something that went well. Finish with a piece the child likes and plays with ease.

Signs the amount is right

Your child arrives at the lesson able to do what was asked. The teacher moves on to new things most weeks. Your child can get through practice without tears on most days.

If lessons keep covering the same ground, add a few minutes or a day. If practice ends in a fight most days, shorten it and talk to the teacher.

Before an exam or a recital

The load grows in the weeks before an exam or a recital, because there is more to keep ready at once. Ask the teacher for a plan that starts early, so the last weeks are for polish and not for panic. For exams, see how to prepare for an RCM practical exam.

The parent’s part by age

A child of four to six needs an adult beside them for the whole practice. From seven to nine, an adult starts the practice, checks the list, and stays within earshot. From ten up, most children can practice alone, with a parent asking to hear a piece now and then.

Print and play

Build a chart with your child’s own tasks in the practice chart maker, or print a weekly practice chart. The metronome for kids keeps slow practice steady. If practice is a daily struggle, read how to get kids to practice without a fight. For the wider picture, see the parent’s guide to music lessons.