How do you know when you are done practicing for the day ?

[m1469]

This is not a philosophical question, I am seeking informations on how you define this for yourself.   And if it applies, do you try to practice the same amount each day, at the same times of the day ?

*just collecting data*


Thanks,
m1469

[lagin]

When my x amount of hours happens to be done.

[m1469]

When my x amount of hours happens to be done.

Is it the same almost everyday ?

Same amount, same time ?

[pianistimo]

when my daughter asks for the third time to change the channel on the tv.  when i get tired and my eyes feel weak.  when i've gone through all the emotions that recharge me.  basically only for two or three things if noone is around:  the bathroom, food, drink, sleep.  i would gladly practice over exercise, housework, gardening - but - sometimes when i go to get a drink then i realize that things are undone and get sidetracked again.  i used to go around and unplug all the phones before practicing.  people sometimes got mad - but i'd tell them i don't accept calls until afternoon.  after 12pm.

am very unorganized again with my time and don't do that anymore.  maybe when my youngest is in school full days.  they put her in afternoon kindergarten this year.  i've been slicing the time into increments and think 'ok.  practice for an hour or two - and give two 1/2 hour lessons.'

[m1469]

hmmmm... that's interesting, Pianistimo.  I wonder a similar thing for you.  Do you try to practice on a set schedule each day ?  Same amount, same time ?

[pianistimo]

you're way beyond using the 'same amount of time as your lesson' theory.  but, as i see it - each piece takes a certain amount of time.  if you have a lot of time - you can practice a lot.  if you have a little bit - then you have to take bits and pieces (several pages) of each piece to work everything.  i think it's like cooking a meal.  you don't want one piece way overdone and the other ones raw. 

i've never actually written down a schedule or stuck to one.  that is bad.  but, it's just me.  i don't wear watches either.  i am paranoid of watches.  i don't know why.  it's the same with schedules.  i'd prefer not to know how much time i have practiced and just have an unlimited amount of time.  if i don't know what time it is - no one can accuse me of being late because of practice.  several times i came out of wcu at midnight or slightly before because i didn't want to get locked in the building.  i had to remind myself to walk out in the hallway and check the time occasionally.  otherwise, my car might get towed also.

nowdays, it's a struggle to just get to the piano.  i think it's quiet time that i need. there's always a certain amount of noise around here during the day - and sometimes by evening i'm too tired.  tonight was different.  i just played and played and i feel really happy right now.  i was dreaming i was playing that bosendorfer and it was mine.  (not sure how it would fit because i have this monstrous organ in my piano room and it's a total dud right now.  it had an electric surge (probably during a thudnerstorm) and never worked since. 

[ted]

I don't do any regular practice as such apart from about ten minutes a day on my practice clavier. I have no set rule about when I finish it.

[m1469]

That's a pretty useful answer for me, for you being somebody whom the question does not apply to 

[remezetti]

Hey,
For me it doesn't really matter how much I practice either. I tend to play no less one hour a day. Usually more than that though, about 2 hours or something. I dono't schedule the practicing time either, I practice when I feel like it, but I really push myself to practice every day.

Regards,

-remezetti

[Waldszenen]

Simply, my day is complete when I feel I'm satisfied with what I've done that day. Most of the time it's usually at least two hours.

[gruffalo]

i set a practice programme, a schedule which also consists of tasks. i guess the amount of time it takes to do each task, form the schedule with breaks etc. and i havent finished until i have completed my objectives. if i dont complete an objective within the scheduled time, then i flip it to the end of the day and finish it off then.

Gruff

[rlefebvr]

When my head hits the keys, I know it's time to stop.

[lagin]

Is it the same almost everyday ?

Same amount, same time ?

Um, well, Monday through Friday have the same amount, then Saturday and Sunday have the same amount.  The times that I did my practice during the day never used to be the same, and it usually took me all day to finish because I'd practice a bit, then surf the forum a bit, then practice, then eat, then practice, ect. 

Starting tomorrow, as a matter of fact, though,  I will be having set times and set breaks for Monday through Friday, and then the weekends will be more lax and I will do my time when I feel like it.

My lesson days are a bit sporadic at the moment, but when they become regular soon, then Saturday and Sunday will be the same,  Tuesday through Friday will be the same, and Monday, my lesson day will be different from the other days. 

[BoliverAllmon]

simply when I am having a hard time concentrating

[cellodude]

I know I'm done when:

• I get an angry stare from my significant other.
• my kids shout "Daddy! we're trying to watch TV" (Saturday morning cartoons).
• I get a sacarstic remark about the clock needing fixing so I can tell the time.
• the lights mysteriously get switched off.
• I get pushed off the piano bench (not kidding).
• the keyboard cover gets slammed onto my fingers.
• I get called off to help with some housework.
• my significant other remarks "I don't want to hear you complain about how tired you are".

etc...

Seriously, I usually plan my practice sessions and have in mind certain things I want to accomplish. However, I seldom get to finish them for the reasons given above. Most of them are true, I just threw in a couple of fake ones to make the list more interesting. I'll leave you all to decide which ones are fake. 

But, when I get to accomplish what I set out to do. happy is the word and satisfied too.

DL

[ada]

In the spirit of cellodude:

* when I realise the kids haven't been fed all day
* when the editor rings screaming about a deadline
* when it's time to clear the mushrooms out of the bathroom
* when I start developing DVT
* when I realise it's only two hours before I have to get up
* when my fingers start to bleed

 

[pianote]

when i accomplish the goal i set for that day...time could be as long or as short as possible.

[eternal_nocturne]

i am paranoid of watches.  i don't know why.  it's the same with schedules.  i'd prefer not to know how much time i have practiced and just have an unlimited amount of time. 

I'm the same way. Having a schedule leaves me unmotivated for some reason, so I'll practice whenever I get the urge.  Like pianistimo, I don't put a limit on how much practice time I get in per day, it's more of a spontaneous thing, so having a watch around doesn't help, and just creates the expectation to practice more than or the same amount than the previous day. I know I'm done when I can't focus on my playing and everything comes out a mess.

Hope this answers your question. 

[ce nedra]

Well, if my sister is at home (which she is for half the week), then she will tell me when she wants to sleep (she lives in the next room)...

For the other half of the week... basically, I only know the next morning that I was done practising the previous day... when I wake up in my bed and cant remember getting there. From being so tired the night before. Another way I know I am done is when I get to the point where I stare hopelessly at the keys wondering what to do with myself.

[timothy42b]

I am done normally when I run out of time for tasks, rarely because I've done what I want to do.

I practice in ten minute increments with a kitchen timer.  That's because my concentration is limited, and it keeps me from wasting time going over and over something with no benefit.

So I have for any given day a list of planned ten minute tasks.  Basically the list now is ten on scales, ten on sightreading, ten on cadences, ten on a section of lesson piece 1, ten on another section, ten on a section of lesson piece 2, ten on another section.  That would be 70 minutes, but it is rare to have enough time on a day to get it all in, so I do what I can, and rotate what I might miss one day with the next.  I never completely skip a day. 

[invictious]

When my fingers are bleeding.

No seriously, but I know when I am done, it just happens naturally.

I mean I practice piano when I feel like it and I don't practice when I don't want to, well it helped a lot on this matter, because I was so much more efficient, and when I don't want to practice anymore, I stop.

Practicing piano is supposed to be fun, not a chore or a job.

[ryan2189]

During the school year, I usually will practice for about an hour and a half to two hours at around 5:00 (It just worked nicely because I get back from school at 4:30) On weekends I will practice in the morning for about an hour on Saturdays. I don't want to overwhelm myself on the same day as my lesson. On Sunday it is still two hours. When the parents are out and I have the family room to myself, I will usually use that time for more practice, and like others have said, if I get the urge to practice and the room is available, then I will sit down at the piano. Next year when I'm in college I hope to still have a schedule but one that will give me more time to practice(I hope!) because I'll have my own practice room instead of a family room that holds both the piano and TV.

[penguinlover]

I can identify with many of you, especially pianistimo.  I can't really schedule a time to practice, I "steal" time. Lately, I have resorted to sitting at the piano during the TV shows, having the kids mute it at commercials.  That's my time.  Granted, you don't get in deep practice, and it sure is a blow to concentration, but it's better than nothing. 

But.....when I do get uninterrupted time, I know I am done when I can't concentrate any longer, my butt gets sore (or any other part of me), or when I reach that magic time of playing the section perfectly seven times in a row.  Or I get bored, or the phone rings, or .........  One of my problems is that I am not working on very much at the time.  I only have two pieces that I am learning, and one is almost done.  I really don't want to start a new one until I finish these two.  I tend to want to spread myself too thin, and don't learn anything very well.  That's not going to happen to these two pieces.  Anyway, because I am only working on two pieces, I quickly get bored, and resort to playing random music.  That's not altogether bad, but it sure isn't practicing.  I know I am done practicing when that happens.  Funny thing though, once I get to that point, I can play for a little while, or get a drink, and be ready for another serious session.

[quasimodo]

I "feel" it, I just realize at a certain point that I will get nothing more from practicing the pieces I'm on, on a given day. It doesn't mean I close the lid of the piano and go away, though. I just stop serious practice and go on playing random notes or simulating a performance of my learned pieces, to nurture an almost affective contact with the instrument.

[thalbergmad]

I know when i have finished practicing for the day, coz i hear the words:

DDIIINNNNNERRRRSSSSSSSSSSS ON THE TAAAABLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE.

Thal

[sharon_f]

simply when I am having a hard time concentrating

I "feel" it, I just realize at a certain point that I will get nothing more from practicing the pieces I'm on, on a given day.

I agree with both. When I am no longer "productive", I stop practicing. I might play, improvise, etc., but the "practicing" is done for the day.