How many activities should students do besides music lessons? I admit that I was involved in several activities in school that I enjoyed, especially in middle and high school, and yet still found time to do my music practice, homework, and other obligations. Other people sometimes struggle to get their child or themselves to do the practicing even when music lessons are that person’s only activity.

Most children under the age of 12 seem to do best with 2 activities per week outside of music. Typically music, a fitness activity or sport, and one activity of their choice that doesn’t fall into either. (eg: Girl Guides or Boy Scouts) At the middle school level, some students want to be involved in as many activities as possible, which can cause problems with their homework and music practice; be sure to monitor which activities children have on which days and note when they end. Some students, especially string students who are relatively advanced for their age, begin auditioning for non-school ensembles at or close to this time. By the time students reach high school age, many students are intensely focussed on either music or sports, although a few choose to get deeply involved with the school’s yearbook or school student councils. For music students, this often means that besides their private lessons, they are usually involved in school band or orchestra, doing at least an hour of practicing a day, chamber ensembles at schools, and at least one ensemble outside of school. Career-oriented students are often preparing for advanced exams and auditions for studies beyond high school. This can mean as much as 20 hours or more of activity for some students during most weeks of the school year, though 10-15 hours is more typical–about the equivalent of time that other students who sometimes have a part time job spend.

So perhaps we should not speak in terms of the number of activities, but the number of hours spent in different activities. Some activities require perhaps 2 hours of volunteer time per week with no additional preparation or practice time. Other activities, such as the school yearbook, can be even more demanding than music in terms of the hours required to work at the location and preparation time. Yearbook students have been known to work at it several hours on the weekends.

Based on these factors, most children 12 and under should have a maximum of 10 hours per week of activities including music, at the middle school, 12-15 is probably okay, and for most high school students, 15-18 hours should probably be the maximum for most students, unless they are super-organized and get excellent grades, in which 20-25 hours a week may be possible.