What/How to practice for hours?

[andrewedwardly]

In order to become a professional pianist, one must practice alot. But what I don't know is what do we have to practice? I mean, we can practice scales, arpeggios and stuff to improve.. But certainly we don't play them for hours right? And does practicing mean playing compositions for hours? I need some tips on what and how to practice for hours.

[keyboardclass]

It's not about mechanical play, it's about finding the textures/colours hidden within.  For that you need a lot of guidance.

[stevebob]

In order to become a professional pianist, one must practice alot. But what I don't know is what do we have to practice? I mean, we can practice scales, arpeggios and stuff to improve.. But certainly we don't play them for hours right? And does practicing mean playing compositions for hours? I need some tips on what and how to practice for hours.

Keep in mind that practicing is something generally different from playing.

Many people find it beneficial to structure their practice routines to incorporate a number of elements like technical exercises, repertoire (working on the piece(s) one is presently learning), memorization and retention, sightreading, etc.

Personally I do not, but I'm decades past any thought of becoming a professional pianist and can now utilize my piano time as I wish.  Still, I can spend hours daily (cumulatively, not in a single stretch!) just working on the technical challenges within the music I'm learning.  The time so spent is enjoyable and fleeting—"in the zone" or "the flow" (although that wasn't always the case for me).

If you have aspirations of being a professional musician, you probably already have a good teacher.  It would be a very reasonable question to ask him or her how people manage to practice for hours and what they're generally doing during that time.

[andrewedwardly]

Thank you for all the replies! I certainly will ask my teacher.

[gyzzzmo]

You can study hours a day by practising multiple pieces and vary with etudes (that are usually supportive to those pieces). Hammering on parts of one piece is very inefficient, thats why you cannot practise the same thing for an hour. Better play the same thing in the evening or day after, so your brains have time to learn.
Also it is very important to take your breaks and have some relaxing moments. That also makes you learn things more efficiently.
I personally usually study like 1,5-2 hours, run for half an hour, study, eat, study, shop/other house stuff, study and fill the rest of the evening with variable things. And with 'studying' you dont have to play non-stop, do some stretching or whatever for moving, to keep concentrating properly and prevent backaches etc.

Gyzzzmo

[andrewedwardly]

Thank for the valuble reply! I would like to know what people would be doing during that few hours of piano playing. Are they always playing the a few pieces until they "perfect" it. I have a few preludes and sonatas uncompleted but I wouldn't spend hours hammering on it.

[keyboardclass]

At intermediate stage polish a few pieces to a high degree.  At a higher stage unless you're sightreading it's annoying not to.

[jbmorel78]

At intermediate stage polish a few pieces to a high degree.  At a higher stage unless you're sightreading it's annoying not to.

Good point, but if I may add a bit:  A teacher of mine once suggested cultivating three categories of works-in-progress, that is, keeping pieces that fall into three stages of development. 

First, fresh pieces.  These are brand new, the kind that offer an unfamiliar world, untrod terrain, and feed curiosity. 

Second, half-cooked ones.  These have passed the sight-reading stage, the interpreter having developed an idea of the organization of phrases, structure, and climax.  At this point, you know more or less what you want and work to find and ingrain the physical means to achieve it. 

Third, repertoire pieces, or those to be polished and performed.  At this point, the work is probably memorized, though you continue to practice and study from the score to deepen your knowledge and stave off inaccuracies.  You work to more clearly define character, timing, and tone (all of which are addressed in the earlier stages, but at a much more rudimentary level).

For me, these categories not only helped me to clarify my process, but to maintain interest during a practice session.  There is nothing worse than growing tired of a "category 3" piece after six months of labor, nor being robbed of the chance to perfect material (a danger in accompanying) by constantly remaining in category 1.

May your practicing be fruitful, interesting, and joyful!

Sincerely,
JBM

[maestro1987]

Well, I would ask how it is possible not practise for hours? For example playing some scales in unisons and later thirds, sixths, octaves, tenths, chords in legato and staccato (both 3-note and 4-note), arpeggios (short, long, broken), cadences, chromatic scales takes about an hour. After that practising or polishing 1-2 pieces takes another two or three, maybe more. Playing through main repertoire again half an hour or more. You can also add techniqal etudes...endless possibilities. I usually practise 3 hours a day, in weekends 4, maybe 5.

*I'm amateur pianist, don't earn a living with it.

[pianissimo123]

Depending on which level you are at you may need to devote different amounts of practice time. However , for each level it is good to have an AM or morning practice and then a PM or afternoon/evening practice. For my morning I work on technique, scales, arpeggios, practice, learning new pieces and concepts. Afternoon I work on theory, wips(works in progress) and memorization. Night time or early evening I enjoy playing repetoire, composing, or polishing my pieces.  I hope this helps.

A guide to times: *this is highly interpretive- what works for me may not work for another individual -a suggestion to whomever is curious*

*Preliminary Grade- 2x 15 min -2x 30min dep.
*Gr.1- Gr.2- 2x 30 min optimal. more if necessary.
*Gr.3-Gr.4 2x45min- 1hr. optimal results depending.
*Gr.5-Gr.8 3x 45min-1hr. or more as needed
*Gr.8- Gr.10- 2x2 hrs.+ as needed.

what ever works for you..Make your own personalized practice regimen and stick with it . Hope this helps. Write back and let me know how it goes....