practice time

[conforza]

everyone gets 1 vote

[nyonyo]

Individual goal governs the length of the practice duration.
If one wants to play with good quality, talent and also depend how many pieces that one is practicing. In addition, how difficult the piece is a major factor in determining the length of practice time. A concert pianist needs to practice at least 4 hours a day.

Little John (5 years old) who just learns how to play Minuet in G by Bach, may need to practice at least 30 min a day. If wants to be really good fast, he needs to practice one hour.

Bottom line, it really depends on the goal and ability. There is no wide brush that fit for every scene.

[G.W.K]

everyone gets 1 vote

Don't worry...we could tell. 

G.W.K

[ilikepie]

Ideally, you'd want to practice at least 3.5hours if you're at the upper intermediate stage.

[mrba1979]

One hour a day is usually all I have time for and it flies away.  On days were I have had the rare occasion for an extra lengthy practice (i.e. no wife and children around) somewhere between two and one half to four hours is about where I feel I have sufficiently practiced.  Though if I had the time to practice 2-4 hours a day consistently would I?  That I do not know.

[kard]

Two hour sittings seem reasonable, even if you're doing 8 hours a day (which seems like an insane amount of time o_O, to me at least).

[enderw20]

Two hour sittings seem reasonable, even if you're doing 8 hours a day (which seems like an insane amount of time o_O, to me at least).

I would have to wonder though at what point you would no longer be gaining any benifit, After four hours I don't know if I would still actually be learning anything or improving as opposed to just going through the motions.

[kard]

I would have to wonder though at what point you would no longer be gaining any benifit, After four hours I don't know if I would still actually be learning anything or improving as opposed to just going through the motions.

Me too, but the 8 hour figure seems to be popular around here for the pros. (of course they still debate it lol but yea...)

Two hours with my stiff, harsh sounding piano is quite enough...

[welltemperedpianist]

Haha why is 10 minutes an option?? -.- Most of us are probably not in 2nd grade.

[dnephi]

I personally feel that 3-4 hours is a happy medium. It's small enough to be reasonably manageable, but long enough to get some very solid work done.  I like to do it in two two-hour chunks. 

[ted]

I am the ten minute man. Hardly anything I do can properly be termed "practice", therefore that is the appropriate answer for me because no shorter average time exists as an option. Of course I spend many hours playing and improvising but that wasn't the question. Five minutes on my practice clavier every second day or so maintains my technique at the level I need.

If learning pieces counts as practice then I could increase the figure slightly, but thanks to help from a member of this forum I have been able to reduce learning times considerably.

[dana_minmin]

I personally feel that 3-4 hours is a happy medium. It's small enough to be reasonably manageable, but long enough to get some very solid work done.  I like to do it in two two-hour chunks. 

Agree! sometimes I do 5, minimum 3.

[tanman]

I practice for 3 hours in 1 hour chunks.

[concerto_love]

One hour, I guess... Don't have much time for practice... But if I have it'll be more than 2 hours...

[amelialw]

2 hrs is a really short practise time, it is'nt much for me.

Ideally I always practise for at least 4 hrs min a day.

[shortyshort]

I only normally manage about 1 hr. 

1.5 if I have an unexpected breakthrough. 

[aewanko]

I would recommend 2 hours a day but I myself could not achieve it due to some strange reasons (don't ask). Or you could try Sviatoslav Richter's recommendation: 3 hours. The only problem about practicing is the stamina.

conclusion:
You should be physically fit also to play the piano.

[pianowolfi]

Or you could try Sviatoslav Richter's recommendation: 3 hours. 

That would fit with what I read often quoted as a recommendation by Chopin. But actually, there are so many different individuals, and so many different ways to practice. Some can/need to practice 8 or more hours a day, some can't. I think that everyone should work in sync with his own specifical stamina/concentration span, health, body/mind capacities and find out what their specifical best practice time is and how it is best integrated in ones daily schedule.