How much should a beginner practise?

Parents often ask how long their child should practise. For a beginner, the answer is shorter than most people expect, but it needs to happen every day.

Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough in the first year. Young hands and voices tire quickly, and a short, focused session is better than a long one spent watching the clock. Daily practice matters because music is a physical skill: fingers and voice learn by repetition, and a gap of a few days undoes much of it.

Give practice a fixed time, such as just after school or before dinner, so it becomes a habit rather than a negotiation. Start with what the teacher set in the last class, then end with a song or piece the child enjoys.

For Carnatic vocal, sing with the sruti box or a sruti app every time; singing without it makes it hard to stay in tune. For keyboard and guitar, use a metronome for scales and exercises, slowly at first.

We share a short recording after every class, so students always know what to practise and how it should sound.