Playing an instrument during med school

[Halcyon440]

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I'm a post-bacc premed who plays the sax and recently took up the oboe. I absolutely love 😍 both and want to become the best I can be, considering the late start. I'd like to make it to a local amateur orchestra some day.

Are there any medical students out there who've been able to keep practicing on an instrument, at least somewhat regularly? If so, what do you play and how much do you practice? Are any of you in ensembles and how often do they rehearse?

Those that had to stop playing, do you think you will ever play again some day or have you lost interest in it?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nala]

I took piano lessons for 10 years but quit many years ago. I still play pretty regularly, and I find it to be one of the best ways to forget about school, even if it's only for a little while. I have friends who play other instruments who feel the same way. So I think you definitely can continue to play regularly in med school. I personally don't perform, but at my school there are several musical groups (affiliated with the school and community) that students are involved in. When you know where you're going to school, you can check stuff like that out for the area...hope that helps

 

[felipe5]

I definitely think you will be able to continue playing your instrument, but if your goals are to a professional classical musician (which usually takes hours of practice per day), you might as well forget about that. As far as playing in an amateur orchestra, I think you could pull it off, but remember that med-school will occupy a large amount of your time. For me, its a great creative outlet that I use to relax and a cool way to kick it with my friends. I play daily and get together with my other musician friends at least once a week, but I definitely do not have time to play as much as I did when I was in undergrad where I would play hours per day. Still, I am very happy to have it part of my daily routine, and without it, I'd definitely be more stressed out than I am now

 

[katrinadams9]

I used to play the trumpet and the piano. It's been a long time since I picked either of them up. I think someday I will play piano again, but I think my trumpet playing days are over. The trumpet really sounds best when played with a band/orchestra anyways. Since I don't own a piano, I console myself by listening to classical/instrumental music while studying. It really puts me "in the mood"...

 

[fielight]

i played the violin for about 11 or 12 years prior to med school, and i was concertmaster in my high school orchestra and then the university orchestra in undergrad. i've basically given it up (it was a conscious decision though); it's very difficult to keep up with an instrument because you just don't have that much time. and no matter how much you enjoy playing, if your goal is to get better, then it's basically work (just like studying)... so after you finished attending your 4 hours of morning lectures, then put in 3-4 hours of personal study time, are you willing to commit another (at least) 1 hour of practice? or would you rather just relax and go to bed early? for me, i didn't think i could be practicing everyday like i used to... and if i couldn't practice everyday, i wouldn't be getting any better, and probably will regress somewhat; at the end, a half-assed committment is not worth it, imo (and i also really didn't want to become someone content with playing rinky-dink broadway showtunes when i used to able to rattle off the Ysaye sonatas & Prokofiev concerti in my younger days). but if you only want to play for your own enjoyment, then it's definitely feasible (though i can't see how you would be able to perform in public if you are not seriously practicing).

 

[carrigallen]

Our school has an faculty choir and orchestra which accepts students, but i think that the time committment is pretty big.

 

[Resty]

I think it'll probably depend a lot on you and probably some on the school you go to ...

Personally, I don't think you should give up other parts of your life just because you're training to become a doctor. It makes life boring! If music is important to you, you can still make it part of your life. One of my classmates plays with a local orchestra, which I'm sure eats up a lot of time. But that's something she wanted to do. I took up the guitar some time before I came to med school and still play every day for awhile. It's relaxing and helps keep me centered.

 

[PianoGirl04]

I play 2 instruments and I sing. I'm managing to take voice lessons this year as well as sing in the med school a cappella group, so I'm keeping up with the singing. However, I stopped taking piano lessons during college, and I haven't really played much since. I still play every now and then, but I'm nowhere near the pianist I used to be. However, I think I could squeeze more time in for piano if I cut out something frivolous like TV or Internet surfing. My third instrument, unfortunately, usually just collects dust because I have no time to tune it. 🙁

So...finding the time to practice regularly is difficult. I agree that if your goal is to improve, then it's not very feasible. But if your goal is to maintain the skills you have, it can be done.

 

[GoodMonkey]

yep - entirely possible. i have a piano in my living room (the one i learned on when i started at age 5 😍 ) and, when i have the $ to get it tuned regularly, i play it as a great stress reliever and just for some time to clear the head.

around here, we have the life sciences orchestra - a pretty good group made up of faculty/students/staff (& other people w/relationships to the life sciences folk) in the life sciences (med, biomed, bio, etc.) and there are a couple people in my class who play with them and love it. our school has an a capella group and there are other people in my class who sing with other campus a capella groups. i also sang with a big mixed-voice chorale, last year and this past summer, but stopped that this year for a handful of reasons.

there are TONS of opportunities. my main point is that if it's something you love and value in your life, you should absolutely make time for it. there are a lot of people in med school who just let school/medicine consume their lives and most of them are the unhappiest people i know ... keep some things for yourself that you love and enjoy and your life will be all the more enriched (and your sanity spared!) for it.

🙂

 

[Halcyon440]

Thank you all for your replies!

I'm still at least a year away from when I have to really decide which way to go and for now I'll just keep trying to juggle it all hehehe.

 

[snaklee]

Do you honestly think that you would have no extra time in medical school to do anything else? That's scares me.

 

[Rapid Decomposition]

It depends on the extent of your involvement. A 2 hour rehearsal a week with a community orchestra is definitely no big deal, but a music degree or something heavy duty like that would be nearly impossible.

I sing in a choir and play in a community orchestra, which takes up six or seven hours during my week, and I don't think I could spare much more than that. I had to essentially quit composing, which was my major and main gig in college, because it requires way too much time and brainpower to coexist with med school. Playing, though, is a great stress reliever and definitely fits in much better with a med school schedule.