Teens, Practice & Too Much Homework

I am in the midst of parent – teacher conferences in my studio, and the issue of fitting in practice when there is too much homework has come up a few times already. I have some thoughts to share with my students and thought others may benefit from hearing them as well.

A number of my middle school students go to a very high caliber private school where 3 hours of homework a night is the norm (we could have a whole other conversation about this, but this is their reality). I was on the faculty of the music school on this campus for 10 years and would see student after student quit their instrument during these middle school years because they just couldn’t find time to practice (or their parents felt bad enforcing it after so many hours of homework).

By high school most students will run into this issue at some point, so I think it’s important to talk about for all students.

After teaching at this music school for 10 years, I started to notice the habits and attitudes of the students who didn’t quit & a trend emerged that I have been sharing with my students ever since.

~ Students who stuck with their instrument and continued playing did not wait for 45 minutes or an hour chunk of time to appear in their schedule to practice. They took advantage of small chunks of practice to get through their lesson assignments each day.

~ Students who kept playing saw their music as a way to relax their brain from school work – it became a great way to de-stress after homework or between subjects.

~ Students sometimes practiced at the end of the night to use a different part of their brain & relax enough to go to sleep.  I have especially seen this work with high school students who have trouble going to sleep at night – sometimes they will use a practice mute so as to not keep their family awake. I would be interested to see if their are any scientific studies about this, but have had a few students use this as a remedy for insomnia and say it really worked for them.

I meet adults every day who tell me they wish their parents hadn’t let them quit in middle or high school. I think it’s important to give my students the tools to keep playing just because an adult tells them they SHOULD but because they can SEE A BENEFIT NOW.

Music has a powerful impact on our mood & brain – in my experience middle and high schools are willing to give this approach a try (maybe it’s just needed for a short while during a particularly stressful time) and often see it’s benefit right away.

Most teens I work with need ways to reduce stress and feel more calm and relaxed (don’t we all!)

Here are some suggestions: they may not work for every student, but often it really helps to try one of the following:

– practice in 10 minute chunks between subjects
– take a break each hour to do a practice segment
– do a short segment after homework to relax your brain

I would love to hear your experience if you have found music to help you, your child, or your own students in this way. The more examples we have to share with students – the more powerful the argument to keep at it becomes.

Thanks for reading!