practising

[_chops]

how much do you practise every day?

[pianistimo]

practice what?  oh.  yes.  piano.  well.  let me think.  i am starting to do more now.  my daughter is in kindergarten for 3 whole hours, but it gets cut down by 1/2 hour since my son/daughter return home before she does.  so, in effect - i could either MAKE MONEY or PRACTICE.  i think i'll practice and pretend i'm going to make money someday.  there are a lot of restaurants and gardens and things around here.  not to mention parties and weddings and funerals.

i want to take organ lessons and learn to play the organ.  do you think two hours piano and one hour organ is enough - or should i switch it. 

[netzow]

As of Monday four hours split up into 15-20 min sections as suggested by bernhard. I guess I'm going to see how this works. I'm pretty excited about it!

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

15-20 min. practice sessions? How is that going to be effective? All I can think of is spending that time on a couple of bars otherwise you can't get anything done.

[phil13]

Monday through Friday: 6 hours, with small breaks every 30 minutes, usually broken into 3 sets of 2 hours.

Saturday and Sunday: 4 hours, with small breaks every 30 minutes, usually 2 sets of 2 or a full solid session.

May I ask why you are curious?

Greetings.

15-20 min. practice sessions? How is that going to be effective? All I can think of is spending that time on a couple of bars otherwise you can't get anything done.

Really?  I would think 15-20 minutes is plenty of time before needing to rest the hands just a little. After all, he/she can go back to exactly where they left off after the break.

Phil

[debussy symbolism]

That's not the case with me. If I take a break in between practicing I immediately notice how my hands aren't as warmed up. I like a solid hour session of practice before I take a break.

[debussy symbolism]

I wish I could practice more than around 4 hours, but my neighbors. When it gets relatively "late" they start to knock. Hate that.

[pianistimo]

someday you must buy a house of your own on an acre of land.  or just buy the land first and build a small house around a huge piano.  or a huge house around a huge piano.  (lots of cleaning on the last one).

i'm with you on the 15-20 minute thing.  but, maybe it's an incremental increase every so often - and we passed that stage.  for me, an hour to warm up is normal,too.  also, if you learn to practice in a relaxed way - you can play for 7 hours straight.  which i have done before with no signs of physical fatigue (although mental was there as i was starting to fall asleep at the pianO).

i do think breaks are good.  whenever you need them.  i don't think there's a set theory for breaks other than to keep the hands from tensing and your back from getting sore.  i used to sit in a chair with a back.  i don't do that so much anymore - but would if iw as practicing 2-3 hours straight with no breaks.  usually ahve to go answer the phone or something -- but when i get serious --i go around and unplug every phone in the house.

[debussy symbolism]

I don't get physically fatigued at all. If I do then that means I'm not relaxed enough and probably doing something wrong. I do get mentally fatigued though. When I'm tired I don't pay as much attention to the may my fingers are working, my posture, and my sound. That can lead to bad practicing.

[debussy symbolism]

If you restrict yourself to timed practice, such as the 15-20 minutes thing, then you will not only not get anything meaningfull done, but you will be distracted by the clock. I like to just practice for as long as it takes, not worrying about the time.

[netzow]

An hour to warm up? what do you use. I personally don't find that my hand's get less warmed up when I take a break ( they are only 4 or 10 min breaks.) Do you mean to say that you sit at the Piano for an hour without getting up just to warm up? How long do you practice for over all? I'm only trying this to see how it will work so far (1 day ) It' s working well. The small time period's make for (so far) more Efficient more concentrated practice. If I sit at the Piano for an hour my focus is going to lapse at some point. Also it isn't always 15-20 min. It could be more. But as I was saying this is something I am trying  right now to see if it work's eveeryone is different this is  just the case for me personally, I realize that this may seem crazy to some people and hope for the best with your practice.

[leucippus]

If you restrict yourself to timed practice, such as the 15-20 minutes thing, then you will not only not get anything meaningfull done, but you will be distracted by the clock. I like to just practice for as long as it takes, not worrying about the time.

If you can't get anything meaningful done in the first 15-20 minutes, then why should you be able to get anything meaningful done in the second 15-20 minute block and so on ad infinitum.

I've been working in 15-20 minute practice blocks for quite a while now and I make progress in each session.  I simply have a goal and reach it.  And yes, that goal may only have to do with a couple of measures, but if all I succeed in doing is making progress on a couple of measures each practice session I will eventually have made progress on the whole piece because most pieces are made up of a finite number of measures.

[debussy symbolism]

I am saying that you can't get much done in 15-20 minutes, but you can get something done in 40 minutes. Taking a break in between is only going to disrupt you.

[netzow]

The point of 15-20 minute section's is to have a goal and to reach it in the time frame. You have a goal and you reach it. The Idea behind not practicing in long(er) segments is that the longer at the end of the longer segment's you will be making more mistakes on the section of the piece that you are working on and thus have more incorrect repititions to correct. I personally am not disrupted by stopping work after 15-20 min. I also am very new to this method for more Informative post's on the subject refer to the post's of bernhard and others who are much more experienced at the intricacy's of this method. (Please excuse the spelling)

[pianistimo]

everyone has what works for them.  it's probably personal and also according to your philosophy on practice.  mine is rather open.  i don't wear a watch.  i don't look at the clock.  when i focus on several bars of one piece and learn them - if i am not tired - i do not take a break.

usually the first 1/2 hour or hour - i play mozart and beethoven if i have a lot of time.  if i don't have any time - i start right in on the 'measures' thingy - memorizing and working out stuff.  because i sightread pretty well, i usually play through the entire piece, if i can.  even if i miss notes.  i try to refine as i repeat the piece again.  reminding myself where the bad notes are.  if i cannot play the entire piece - i work very hard at the last page - and each day afterwards the successive pages backwards as well as forwards.

also, i learned to highlight the dissonance.  used to focus only on the pleasant areas of a piece - but now - i will recognize the beauty of dissonance, too. the contrast.  the intricacies of harmony.  if you just pass over them - it is of no service to the composer.