9 yo DD has a 45 min lesson once a week and practices 15-30 mins a day (not including her lesson day). She does 30 mins on the weekends when she has more time and 15-20 mins a day on week days.

Parent of a young teen here. We started with 30-minute lessons and now they are 45 minutes.

Three consecutive teachers have recommended daily practice of all the songs they are working on, rather than setting a time goal. That is, "play everything at least once," not "play for 30 minutes." A good teacher will have specific issues for your kid to work on - maybe getting a passage just so -- which tends to inspire them to play that part more than once.

We aim for daily practice as much as possible, but given other demands it works out to about 5 days/week. Also, some days it just doesn't come together and that is okay so long as they tried. If I can hear my kid really struggling and getting frustrated, I ask her to walk away and rest for a bit, then come back and play something easy to end on a good note and be finished. Playing music is a long-term thing, don't burn them out.

Anonymous wrote:8 year old boy has 30 minute lesson 1x week and he practices daily 15 to 30. If it’s been a long day he skips it but we aim for every other day at minimum.

Our teacher recommends playing daily even if shorter versus longer lessons (ie 15 min daily versus 45 min every 2 days etc)

It also depends on complexity of songs and whether your kid knows how to play it and if so could skip a day. Our kid was practicing every other day from 6 to 8 (songs were easier) and now that he’s almost 9 he is practicing daily.

8 year old boy has 30 minute lesson 1x week and he practices daily 15 to 30. If it’s been a long day he skips it but we aim for every other day at minimum.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 min lesson, around 3-4 day 30-45 min practice, plays violin grade 7/ grade 8 pieces. We never ask DCs to practice for practice for hours, they know which parts/ measures need more practices, although the younger one needs reminders for the missing parts. Overall, practices get much more easier, as they like to play the music instruments and have good teachers that are also friendly.

What age? I’m considering when to make the switch from 30 mins to 40 or 45 minutes for lessons. Teacher said whenever we want but the pieces are definitely starting to get longer.

I can’t remember exactly, but probably after the 3rd year, when order DC was around 8. Our teacher asked for longer lesson, as she sees child’s ready ( like you mentioned since longer piece). Younger DC took longer to be ready for longer ready due to attention span issue. Ask your violin teacher for advice.

Wow you all have some really disciplined kids, or maybe they don't do other activities like sports. DD is 9-years old, plays piano and likes it but also does sports and scouts. She has a 30-minute lesson, and honestly she is mentally spent by the end, so I wouldn't do 45-minutes with her yet. I can't even imagine her practicing for an hour at a time at this age! She practices about 15-20 minutes most days of the week (usually 5 days... doesn't practice on lesson day and takes off another day when she has a late evening sport). 15 minutes is enough for her to go through her assigned songs (usually 3 total) several times practicing note reading, posture, pacing, etc. She usually masters things well by the next lesson and moves on. She goes through about 2 levels of the books per year. I think if we pushed a lot harder she'd hate it and quit, honestly. It needs to be kid-driven to last.

Anonymous wrote:45 min lesson, around 3-4 day 30-45 min practice, plays violin grade 7/ grade 8 pieces. We never ask DCs to practice for practice for hours, they know which parts/ measures need more practices, although the younger one needs reminders for the missing parts. Overall, practices get much more easier, as they like to play the music instruments and have good teachers that are also friendly.

What age? I’m considering when to make the switch from 30 mins to 40 or 45 minutes for lessons. Teacher said whenever we want but the pieces are definitely starting to get longer.

45 min lesson, around 3-4 day 30-45 min practice, plays violin grade 7/ grade 8 pieces. We never ask DCs to practice for practice for hours, they know which parts/ measures need more practices, although the younger one needs reminders for the missing parts. Overall, practices get much more easier, as they like to play the music instruments and have good teachers that are also friendly.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid's attention span. 30 minutes lesson is fine. I would aim for 30 minutes practice 5 days a week. One day lesson, one day is a day off. If she has other activities, though, try for 35 minutes 4 days a week.

But really, this is a hobby and it doesn't matter. If your kid was going to reach professional level at this, you'd know that already.

+100 pick your battles. Be happy they are learning some music theory and sheet music reading. Those skills carry over and seem to last a lifetime even if all the fingering is forgotten in a few years.

Anonymous wrote:If you want them to be good then they should practice 1 hour per day.

When do they start practicing 1.5-2 hours? Based on level of pieces, age, or years spent playing.

If you want them to be good then they should practice 1 hour per day.

We did 45 minute lessons. Kid practices as needed or as wanted, its not a mandatory time but if he goes a few days without doing it I remind him. He loves music so it's not a chore.

Depends on the kid's attention span. 30 minutes lesson is fine. I would aim for 30 minutes practice 5 days a week. One day lesson, one day is a day off. If she has other activities, though, try for 35 minutes 4 days a week.

But really, this is a hobby and it doesn't matter. If your kid was going to reach professional level at this, you'd know that already.

Looking for some perspective here. DD is 9 and plays a string instrument. If you pay for weekly lessons, how much time is each lesson? Does that correspond to how much your child should practice? For example 30 minute lesson per week = 30 minutes of daily practice?