fbpx

The Music Studio Practice Report: Knowledge is Power!

“Sorry, my children didn’t practise this week…but you could probably tell that, right?”

As a student, I was always told my teacher knew whether I’d practised that week. Just like adults knowing when kids are lying, this seemed like a sixth sense that one received once they graduated to being a grownup. 

But then I became a music studio teacher…and I’m not always sure.

music studio practice report

Have my students practised? Am I giving some of them credit for work they didn’t do? Being too harsh on students that have practised, but just haven’t made much headway?

Does it matter?

So many suppositions are made about practice by teachers, students and parents alike, but those are just assumptions.

Now, with the 2024 Music Studio Practice Report sponsored by Vivid Practice, we have some of the answers!

This report was based on a survey of 524 teachers, parents and students from across the English-speaking world, conducted in September and October of 2024. The goal of the survey was to better understand our music students’ practice habits and to clarify where our assumptions are correct and where we’re way off base, so we can better serve our music studio families.

In this article, we’ll share some key findings from the report along with our Vibrant Music Teaching team’s thoughts about them. If you want to download the complete report for a fuller picture, you can do so for free below.

Subscribe to the newsletter and get the practice report

Enter your details to subscribe to the newsletter for piano teachers with information, tips and offers; and get access to the report.


I hate spam as much as you do! I will only send you emails related directly to piano teaching and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you’re a member of VMT you can download the report directly. No need to wait for an email. 🙂

It’s time to reveal the data in our Vivid Practice Report 2024! Discover how your students compare to others, and whether you might need to take action in your own studio to improve practice habits.

How much practice is happening?

We were surprised to find out that parents and students definitely reported more regular practice than the teachers estimated.

When asked why they don’t practise, it was unsurprising to us that many students reported being too busy. But I think we should be concerned as a teaching community about how many say they are confused about what and how to practise.

This is something we can and should be helping them with! You can find a lot of great ideas at our hub page devoted entirely to teaching students how to practise.

Theres much more detail about students’ practice habits, along with other statistics about our students’ music practice habits, in the full report. Get your copy by entering your details below.

Subscribe to the newsletter and get the practice report

Enter your details to subscribe to the newsletter for piano teachers with information, tips and offers; and get access to the report.


I hate spam as much as you do! I will only send you emails related directly to piano teaching and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you’re a member of Vibrant Music Teaching you can download the report directly. No need to wait for an email. 🙂

When do students practise?

Somewhat surprising to our team, 20% of students (blue) and 10% of parents (orange) reported that practice is happening in the morning before school.

So even if you’re not a morning person, it’s always good to suggest this as an option that works for some families.

What are they practising?

Parents reported that the 3 biggest sources of practice notes from their teacher were a folder/binder, notebook or a practice app.

It was encouraging to us that 26% of the parents reported their teacher using a practice app, as our personal experience shows students are more likely to read practice notes if they’re in an app vs on the page.

Do students enjoy practising?

This is where teachers often cringe…we assume practice is seen as a chore, so we reduce our expectations about students’ practice.

This made it interesting to us to compare teachers’ estimates of their students’ practice enjoyment (5 out of 10) to our students, who reported a 7.2 enjoyment rating. Parents thought their kids enjoyed practice about 6.1 out of 10.

Since the students reported that they enjoy practising more than we think they do, should we adjust the expectations we have for our music students’ practice habits?

If your own students find practising a chore, there are over 100 resources in the VMT Library that will help you teach students how to jazz up their home practice time.

These practice resources are exclusive to members of Vibrant Music Teaching. Not a member? Learn more and join today at vibrantmusicteaching.com.

Which music student practice habit was most interesting or surprising to you?

For more great insights, you can download the full music studio practice report by entering your info below. We’d love to hear your key takeaways about our statistics on music students’ practice habits; please share them in the comments below so we can all benefit. 🙂

Subscribe to the newsletter and get the practice report

Enter your details to subscribe to the newsletter for piano teachers with information, tips and offers; and get access to the report.


I hate spam as much as you do! I will only send you emails related directly to piano teaching and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you’re a member of Vibrant Music Teaching you can download the report directly. No need to wait for an email. 🙂

2 thoughts on “The Music Studio Practice Report: Knowledge is Power!”

  1. I have downloaded but not read the 16-page report. One thing that struck this former data analyst is that it makes sense that students primarily find practicing enjoyable, or they wouldn’t do it.

    One thing I’ll do in the new year is to have students rate their practice enjoyment. For those who report less than 7/10, I’ll explore ways to help them make their practicing more enjoyable. Hopefully, that will lead them to practice better. And who knows? Maybe more of it!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Item added to cart.
0 items -  0.00