How much do YOU practice?

[kelly_kelly]

Just wondering, because I've noticed that people talk about practicing 9 hrs, while I can barely steel myself to do 2. I guess I have ADD  .

If you practice less than 30 min, you probably shouldn't be here  ...

[justliam]

I try and do two hours, although its not always possible. Weekends if I'm not doing anything, I tend to just hop on every now and then so I would be doing more like 3 to 4.  But anymore of that playing hard stuff tends to start my aching

[yuc4h]

I manage to do 2-3 hours average per day.

[letters]

on school days i usually do about an hour in total, bout 10 mins before school, 1/2 hour just after and then maybe 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour in the evening.
on weekends and holidays il just randomly sit down and start playing, prob about 2 hours or maybe more on those days.
i never find practising a chore, i enjoy it, so if i had more time throughout the day/dad wasnt watching football/bro not playing drums (which are right next to piano) i would probably practice more.

[allthumbs]

I try to practice at least 2 hours whenever I can, sometimes 3-4 hours on my day off.

With family commitments and working shiftwork, it's not always possible to be consistent, but I'll be in a position to retire next year and then I'll have all the time in the world....yea!

[thalbergmad]

2 if poss.

or even better 2 lots of 1.

[nanabush]

I play random random improvs. usually for like 30 minutes, so I get nothing done for about half an hour, but I still manage to get around 3 hrs of practice in, even on school nights.  And I'm telling you, it's killing my school marks.

[alwaystheangel]

is this per day or week?  Can anyone seriously practice for ten hours a day unless that was their job, it seems essentailly physically impossible.

[Motrax]

Even if it was your job, 10 hours a day would be quite near-impossible I think.

I did 10 hours only once in my life. I got up at 9, got to the piano at 9:30 (without breakfast), and practiced until I noticed I was hungry, which was 3:30. I ate, relaxed, ate a small dinner, and went to the piano at 8:00, and continued to practice until exacty five minutes before midnight. My goal that day was to learn and memorize Chopin's Op. 10 No. 9 Etude, and 5 minutes before midnight, I did indeed play it through from memory.

It was fun, but it's nothing I'll probably ever repeat, let alone do on a consistant basis. Normally I practice 3 or 4 hours in a day. After 6 hours, I just get too exhausted to get anything done.

[steve jones]

Usually about an hour a day, spread across two or three sessions. I have a piano in my studio (where I work), so when ever I need a break I jump onto the ivories and have a practice session.

I think much more than that would fatigue me. I practice quite intensely and after 20mins or so, Im done for a while. Funny really, cuz I can play for ages (pieces that I have alread learn that is).

SJ

[arensky]

Nowadays, about 3 hours a day, about 4 days a week. Today, 20 minutes. I needed a break.

Once upon a time, in college and grad school, often 6-8 hours a day, always 3-4 at least.

A few times I went past 12; 14 is the most I can recall.

[Barbosa-piano]

 Monday through Friday: Three hours to three and a half usually.
 Saturday- Sunday: Four to six hours- More or less, depends my disposition.

[tac-tics]

Just wondering, because I've noticed that people talk about practicing 9 hrs, while I can barely steel myself to do 2. I guess I have ADD  .

If you practice less than 30 min, you probably shouldn't be here  ...

When people say they practice 9 hours a day, I think they are exaggerating. Maybe playing for 9, but to think you can actually concentrate and learn new material and work on technic and stuff for that long of a period without the need to sleep, socialize, or work.... maybe there's one hermit on the forum who has the determination and lack of non-piano responsibilities to do this, but..... no. No one practices quite that much.

[steve jones]

Surely there is point when diminishing returns must kick in? I heard that much more than 4 hours in excessive for a concert grade pianist.

SJ

[dinosaurtales]

When people say they practice 9 hours a day, I think they are exaggerating. Maybe playing for 9, but to think you can actually concentrate and learn new material and work on technic and stuff for that long of a period without the need to sleep, socialize, or work.... maybe there's one hermit on the forum who has the determination and lack of non-piano responsibilities to do this, but..... no. No one practices quite that much.

I agree.  If I spend an hour working jumps without looking (a technical thing), another hour working memory on a piece, and another two hours working various techniques on another piece (that's 4 hours) - I am pooped out, my brain is shot, and I can't imagine really working another 3.  In fact, it's tough to just play after that.  4 is a good maximum for me.  2 is a bare minimum, since it takes a good 45 minutes for me to get warmed up. 

[steve jones]

Yeah, that is a good point! How much of your practice time is taken by warm up?

Maybe an efficient warm up routine could enable you (and by that, I mean anyone) to get more into your practice time?

SJ

[ted]

I answered the shortest time, because technically speaking I don't do any except a few minutes on the practice clavier. I play very many hours of improvisation but that's the real thing, not practice. Come to think of it, I can't see how there could be such an activity as practising improvisation.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

A.
0 hours for a week after a major performance. (like now, yipee!) or sometimes 0 hours on a very very stressful day during a "practicing week/month).

B.
3 or 2 hours a day on "no-goal weeks" (that is if there's no performance commitment for the next month). this is when i spend time experimenting with my technique and musical ideas.

C.
4 hours a day on weeks that my teacher is in a demanding mode (usually when i'm just starting on new pieces at the beginning of the sem). this is the time when i work purely to get my pieces clean and at the right tempo.

D.
6 hours a day for a month working on a competition. this is an attempt for me to achieve unconscious competence with my pieces.

E.
7 hours - this means i'm cramming and my neurosis seems to heighten because i feel i'm still not ready even when people say i am.

F.
8 hours - happened like less than 20 times in my whole life.

G.
10 hours - happened once in my life.



* the schedule i put above does not include my practice time for learning accompaniment pieces for extra-curricular activities. i'm not a good sightreader, so i do have to learn accompaniments at least a day before playing it.

* my warm ups are simply playing my pieces at a slow tempo. this is a good way for me to wake up my brain cells carefully, hehe. it also saves time too.

* B and C are very common.

[alwaystheangel]

I think maybe three ona weekend, possible four, but it's all broken up, so I don't really know, it feels like 3 hours but it could be only 1.5... I think that there is a point where there is no point in practicing anymore because your brain is absolute msuh and how can you really be learning anything after that?

[douxtigress]

The time really flies by when I practice because school and extracirricular stuff is hectic so when I come home I just sit at the piano for hours... (to my piano teacher's delight of course)

an average school day is 3-4 hours... weekend, sometimes more, 5-6 hours... but in the summer I play nonstop and I'm at the music store EVERY single week (thats because I spend my summers in my hometown in arizona --live in ohio now-- and my grandma thinks spending tons of money on sheet music is a good cause --AND there is a gorgeous guy that works there that I get to see so its all good... ) So summers, up to 8 hours a day (crazy). Ive spent 3 1/2 hours looking at sheet music at the music store too... Haha, at least it's productive!

[nicco]

On an average day i practice about 8 hours, wich is really not that much. I go to school around 8-9 in the morning, have a few classes and practice 3-5 hours. I go home around 2-4 pm, have dinner, relax an hour or two and then go back to school around 5-6 for about 3-5 hours more practice. I dont get tired from this routine at all, i take a few breaks in between and i have lots of fun practicing. (Of course its not the same on weekends when socializing takes its time )