Working on your music 90 hours a week helps you get better?

Let’s talk about a concerning trend I’ve noticed recently – the belief that spending nearly every waking hour in the studio will somehow fast-track your music career. As someone who has both studied and taught at Gray Spark Audio Academy, I want to share some honest insights about what really helps you grow as a music producer or sound engineer.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room – working 90 hours a week isn’t just unsustainable, it’s potentially harmful. I’ve seen talented students burn out trying to maintain this kind of schedule, whether they’re taking their first music production course or finishing their audio engineering degree. Your brain and ears need rest to function properly, and creativity can’t be forced through sheer hours alone.

During my years of teaching sound engineering courses, I’ve noticed that students who maintain balanced lifestyles consistently outperform those who try to live in the studio. Think about it – if you’re exhausted, are you really going to catch that subtle phase issue in your mix? Will you make the best creative decisions when your ears are fatigued from a 16-hour session?

 At our academy, we encourage students to focus on quality over quantity. Whether you’re learning the basics of audio engineering or diving deep into advanced music production, it’s about making your practice time count. Most professional engineers I know spend about 6-8 hours a day actively working on projects, with regular breaks to reset their ears and mind.

 What really matters isn’t the number of hours you log, but how present and focused you are during your learning time. I’ve watched students in our sound engineering program make incredible progress with structured 4-hour practice sessions, while others spin their wheels during 12-hour marathon stretches. It’s about being intentional with your time and giving yourself space to absorb what you’re learning.

 The journey to becoming a skilled audio professional is a marathon, not a sprint. Sure, there will be times when you need to put in extra hours to meet deadlines or finish a project. But making those long hours your standard practice? That’s a recipe for burnout, and possibly even permanent hearing damage – something no aspiring sound engineer can afford to risk.

 Instead of counting hours, focus on consistency and deliberate practice. Spend time really understanding why you’re making certain mixing decisions. Take breaks to protect your ears and maintain perspective. Collaborate with other students and learn from their approaches. These are the things that will truly help you grow as a professional.

 Remember, some of the most successful producers and engineers I know aren’t the ones who worked themselves to exhaustion in their early years. They’re the ones who developed sustainable habits, took care of their physical and mental health, and approached their craft with patience and dedication.

 If you’re passionate about audio engineering or music production, by all means, dive in and give it your all. But do it smartly. Build habits that will serve you throughout your career, not burn you out before you even get started. Your creativity, your health, and your future success will thank you for it.

 And if you’re still tempted to pull those 90-hour weeks? Come talk to us at Gray Spark Audio Academy. We’ll help you develop a learning approach that’s both effective and sustainable. Because at the end of the day, making great music isn’t about how many hours you put in – it’s about bringing your best self to every session.