8 Hours a day?

[kaspersson]

What do you think would be the optimal amount of piano practising hours in a day? I currently have been practising about 5-8 hours a day, and I try to stay away from piano once a week, to be safe from any annoying muscle injuries or such.

Now, I've seen some say that 5 hours should be the max amount in a day, because after 5 hours a day your hands are more likely to be injured. I might agree on that, because few days ago I noticed some pain(or burn) on my hands and forearms. I try not to play the piano for at least three days now.

What are your experiences?

Thanks!

[Bob]

Take breaks.

Work up to it.  As in calendar time.

[bronnestam]

You should NEVER play so much that you experience fatigue and/or pain. Believe me - been there, done that, I paid dearly for it.  

Otherwise I think this should be an individual choice. My personal opinion is that you should never push yourself in that extent that you start to get negative feelings around your piano playing. There is no point in getting exhausted. I know this attitude might upset those who are fostered in the "no pain, no gain" spirit, with old fashioned teachers who drilled their little students to tears and got "fantastic" results - there are plenty of stories from big stars about this kind of drill, the idea that you must experience blood, sweat and tears in order to "get somewhere". In some places it is a whole philosophy, not to mention a moral thing - if you push yourself you are a "better" person than those who are just having fun, according to this moral.

I mean, it could be right. For some people it could be right. Some people are masochists, deep down they enjoy being tormented. But this approach also has got its victims during the years, some students have been totally broken down by it. Some of the big stars lived unhappy despite their apparent successes. I have made up my mind that it is just rubbish. Pianists who truly enjoy every moment at the piano are the best pianists in the long run - if you ask me. And they are also happier as persons, and what could be more important than that???

So, IMO you should follow your heart and do what feels best. If you don't feel like playing, then don't play. If you feel like play, then for God's sake, PLAY. At least until you start to get tired, like already mentioned. But if your body sets some limits, you can always go on practicing away from the piano. You can memorize, analyse, listen to your own recordings, plan your upcoming exercises and so on. Or go out and do some workout and mental exercises in order to stay strong and fit.
It is also true that some people can practice for 20 minutes and do it very, very efficiently and smart, and others can practicie for 8 hours and achieve practically nothing.

So there is no absolute answer to your question, this is an individual thing. Generally I would recommend far less than 8 hours a day, but I know those who play even more than that and are comfortably with it.  

[kaspersson]

You should NEVER play so much that you experience fatigue and/or pain. Believe me - been there, done that, I paid dearly for it.  

Otherwise I think this should be an individual choice. My personal opinion is that you should never push yourself in that extent that you start to get negative feelings around your piano playing. There is no point in getting exhausted. I know this attitude might upset those who are fostered in the "no pain, no gain" spirit, with old fashioned teachers who drilled their little students to tears and got "fantastic" results - there are plenty of stories from big stars about this kind of drill, the idea that you must experience blood, sweat and tears in order to "get somewhere". In some places it is a whole philosophy, not to mention a moral thing - if you push yourself you are a "better" person than those who are just having fun, according to this moral.

I mean, it could be right. For some people it could be right. Some people are masochists, deep down they enjoy being tormented. But this approach also has got its victims during the years, some students have been totally broken down by it. Some of the big stars lived unhappy despite their apparent successes. I have made up my mind that it is just rubbish. Pianists who truly enjoy every moment at the piano are the best pianists in the long run - if you ask me. And they are also happier as persons, and what could be more important than that???

So, IMO you should follow your heart and do what feels best. If you don't feel like playing, then don't play. If you feel like play, then for God's sake, PLAY. At least until you start to get tired, like already mentioned. But if your body sets some limits, you can always go on practicing away from the piano. You can memorize, analyse, listen to your own recordings, plan your upcoming exercises and so on. Or go out and do some workout and mental exercises in order to stay strong and fit.
It is also true that some people can practice for 20 minutes and do it very, very efficiently and smart, and others can practicie for 8 hours and achieve practically nothing.

So there is no absolute answer to your question, this is an individual thing. Generally I would recommend far less than 8 hours a day, but I know those who play even more than that and are comfortably with it.  

Thanks for your lovely reply!
I don't play 5-8 hours a day, because i would think that i HAVE to, in order to achieve something. I play so many hours a day, because I LOVE IT. I want to practise, I just can't get enough of it. Of course I stop and rest if i experience some pain. I've only experienced pain once.
It certainly will be healthy to take breaks every now and then, I sometimes take a week or even a month off.

Bronnestam, you said you have experienced pain. If I'm allowed to ask, how bad was your situation?

[gyzzzmo]

Agreed with Bronnestam:
You have to discover your personal limitations of what is effective.
Also, you have to realise that everybody has limitations on how long somebody can stay focussed and therefor actually progress. Some need many, but short brakes to get the concentration optimal, some need few but long breaks. And a part of playing the piano (ofcourse, depends on your level,) is focussed on physical aspects only and dont need much mental activity, like technical etudes that some of us (me included) tend to play shortly each day.

So listen to your body and try to realise what kind of effect things have when you're doing it. Its very important.

Gyzzzmo

[gvans]

I used to play eight hours/day back in college, but I played in 2 hour increments: from 7-9 am, from 12-2, from 4-6 pm, and from 9-11 pm, or something like that, based on classes and including various rehearsals. To play eight hours at a stretch, at least for me, was (and is) impossible.

Be sure to take a ten-minute break mid-rehearsal, or every hour, too.

Now, when I'm not working my day job, I practice three two-hour stretches spread out through the day, with breaks for the gym, surfing, writing, and drinking beer.

Be sure and get enough sleep, though, or it's all wasted. Good studies show procedural memory (sleep scientists love to use keyboard performance for their studies) improves markedly after non-REM and REM sleep.

[amytsuda]

I came back from a long business trip and took one week off, and have been playing piano 8 hours a day last 6 days. You can definitely play 8 hours depending on what you are playing and how demanding technically the piece is for your level. I can practice Bach or Mozart for hours with no pain and no fatigue. The opposite end is I get tired in 2-3 hours from Brahms. So normally, I combine different pieces and composers during the day. I warm up with Bach in the morning and focus on technical work during the afternoon, and then enjoy the evening simply playing softly. I sight-read a lot of things softly and very slowly during the evening which I am not sure is a good thing to do or not. I am not trained so I don't have a good approach to learn a new piece, so I normally get used to the new pieces softly and slowly during the evening. But of course, I wouldn't do this forever, I have to start working again now! In any case, if you are playing in the right way and enjoying it, I don't see any issue with 8 hours.

[flashyfingers]

I practice all day sometimes, with cooking and cleaning breaks and doggie time walks

[coherence]

Thanks for your lovely reply!
I don't play 5-8 hours a day, because i would think that i HAVE to, in order to achieve something. I play so many hours a day, because I LOVE IT. I want to practise, I just can't get enough of it.

That's awesome.

Do you practice in chunks throughout the day, or is it 5-8 hours more or less straight?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Just do a bunch of sessions.

So like half an hour, then an hour, then another hour, then like two hours etc...

[cabbynum]

I can't tell how much time passes when I practice to be honest. I just play until i have to stop for some other reason. I don't experience any fatigue or distraction. To give an example. I started practice the other night at 11:30 and told myself I would be in bed at no later than 12:45... Well the sun came up and that's when I realized it had been longer than an hours practice. I got a lot done though! But that's not for everyone and occasionally i have days where I only get 2 or so hours in. I do it because I love it and I get so engrossed that I honestly have no idea how much time passes by.

This is off topic but not by much so I feel okay posting it

[kaspersson]

That's awesome.

Do you practice in chunks throughout the day, or is it 5-8 hours more or less straight?

Sometimes I play 5-8 hours straight with little breaks every now and then.
Sometimes I might practise an hour after the breakfast, then keep an hours break and practise 4 hours straight.
It just depends on the day . If i feel like practising, I'll definitely do that from the bottom of my heart, but if not, I'll take a break that lasts for about half and hour/one hour.

[kaspersson]

I can't tell how much time passes when I practice to be honest. I just play until i have to stop for some other reason. I don't experience any fatigue or distraction. To give an example. I started practice the other night at 11:30 and told myself I would be in bed at no later than 12:45... Well the sun came up and that's when I realized it had been longer than an hours practice. I got a lot done though! But that's not for everyone and occasionally i have days where I only get 2 or so hours in. I do it because I love it and I get so engrossed that I honestly have no idea how much time passes by.

This is off topic but not by much so I feel okay posting it

haha wonderful! That is so true that the time passes by so quick!
I've got a story about this as well. When i was 11, my friends called me and they wanted to hang out with me. I said that I'll come soon, after I practise a little bit.
*Time passes by*
My phone is ringing again. They asked if I'm ever going to get out of the house i lived in. I looked the clock... it turned out that I had practised six hours straight...

[pianoman8]

If you are practicing 8 hrs a day then at your own will that is fine. If you are trying to work on passages that use alot of 345 (fingers) do not work on them all day. It is important not to injure yourself. Good luck, and be EXTREMELY careful with those "weak" fingers.

[carl_h]

If you stay focussed and alternate practice, I don't see the problem. Working 8 hours on the same piece, I can't even imagine that being useful.
After work I have 4-5 practice sessions of 20-30 minutes with a 5-10 minute break in between. Every practice session is different material, but it can be from the same piece.

In the weekend, my ability to concentrate is greater and the sessions may become longer but never more than 1 hour. From the moment I feel the slightest wavering in concentration or I begin to question a section that I never had problems with, I stop and take a break. When I practice stuff that is heavy on the fingers, I alternate with learning/memorizing new music.

[kaspersson]

If you stay focussed and alternate practice, I don't see the problem. Working 8 hours on the same piece, I can't even imagine that being useful.
After work I have 4-5 practice sessions of 20-30 minutes with a 5-10 minute break in between. Every practice session is different material, but it can be from the same piece.

In the weekend, my ability to concentrate is greater and the sessions may become longer but never more than 1 hour. From the moment I feel the slightest wavering in concentration or I begin to question a section that I never had problems with, I stop and take a break. When I practice stuff that is heavy on the fingers, I alternate with learning/memorizing new music.

I hardly ever work 8 hours on the same piece, but I've done that and i must say it went quite well. I learned/memorized almost the whole piece.

[pytheamateur]

A lot of the 8 hours consist of learning new pieces and brushing up old pieces. So if you are not a busy concert pianist with a huge repertoire, 8 hours of practice a day will probably not do you much good.

[flashyfingers]

I hardly ever work 8 hours on the same piece, but I've done that and i must say it went quite well. I learned/memorized almost the whole piece.

That would work, if you had a structure and plan toward achieving a specific goal.

I would say, at the least, the goal should be to be able to sightread the piece.

[kaspersson]

A lot of the 8 hours consist of learning new pieces and brushing up old pieces. So if you are not a busy concert pianist with a huge repertoire, 8 hours of practice a day will provably not do you much good.

That's exactly what I'm doing, Learning new pieces and brushing up old ones. The more i practise, the more i learn. And i have to say that I don't see any problems with 8 hours of practise.

[pianoman53]

The point is, that when you practice, you should always be aware of what you're doing. If you practice 8 hours, and can focus the whole time, then good for you! However, many legendary teachers and musicians (the teacher of Heifez for example) said that 45 minutes with the brain is better than 7 hours without.

If you can't practice 8 hours, because of your technique, then that's a completely different story.

[flashyfingers]

Don't forget, that whether you work bit by bit, step by step, or leap and leap and leap, you will get the same amount done in a week's time, anyways. Except, if you leap nonstop, you will wear yourself out.

[themusne]

Indeed,I feel pain in my forearm after playing piano several hours.But this usually happnens when I practice a piano piece with very fast tempo so many times.

[flashyfingers]

Indeed,I feel pain in my forearm after playing piano several hours.But this usually happnens when I practice a piano piece with very fast tempo so many times.

Agreed

[Bob]

I keeping "8 days a week" when I see this thread.  Which might be possible... If you scheduled out the week into 8 time periods instead of 7.