How much should you practice? Well, that all depends… What are your musical goals? One person may want to become a virtuoso and play like their musical heroes. Other people just want to learn to strum chords and sing their favorite songs. In any case, you will definitely progress more quickly towards your musical goals when you play your music every day.
How much better do you want to be a year from now?
Consider this…
If a student takes 1-hour weekly guitar lessons or violin lessons but never practices at home, they could go a whole school year having only spent 36 hours with their instrument. 36 hours for a whole school year? Some people spend that much time watching videos or playing video games in just a week or two.
However, if in addition to their lessons they were to spend just 30 minutes at home, six days per week, they could spend 144 hours with their instrument over the course of a school year.
Now if a student plays and practices an hour, six days per week, in addition to their weekly lessons… This diligent student will have put in 252 hours with their instrument over the course of a school year. Wow! Imagine what a difference that can make for learning and musical progress.
The difference that daily practice makes becomes crystal clear when we look at it this way.
Talented, Gifted, or Diligent?
The answer, more often than not, is all three. The first two are usually byproducts of diligence. Diligence is one of my favorite words for music students. Diligence means steady, earnest, and energetic effort. Or in other words, persevering application. In this case that means applying the suggestions from your teacher to your everyday practice. That is exactly what is called for when it comes to practicing for musical excellence.
It always gets me when a student is singled out after even just a year of study when someone says something like, “They are so talented!” or “They have such a gift!” It always makes me laugh knowing just how much time, how many days in a row, and how long that student has been developing their musical abilities. Yes, they are talented. Chances are that student became talented by training them self through diligent and deliberate daily study… over a long period of time. And, of course, having a great teacher that shows them how to practice can make a big difference, too. It doesn’t matter if you want to become a virtuoso or just learn to strum and sing songs. By being diligent and practicing well each day, just about any student can seem to magically become talented and gifted.
How long should I practice each time?
A good rule of thumb is five minutes for each year of age up to age 12. Even beyond age 12 most students will make good progress with an hour a day. Remember that taking breaks during longer sessions is essential to maintaining one’s health and sanity. Some students have found great success by splitting up their practice time, and doing it twice a day. Regardless of how long you practice, the key is to play and practice your music daily.
I have a bookmark in my violin case that my teacher gave me when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. It says “Happiness is having your practicing done.” It was a funny notion to me at first, because I always felt that my practice was never really done. I knew there was always more to do. After thinking about it for a bit, I came up with another meaning… To me it meant that after I finished my practice, I could happily return to my violin later that day to simply enjoy playing music for the fun of it.
Frequency of Practice
How often you practice makes a huge difference in your learning and ability development. There is no substitute for daily time spent with your instrument. Playing a musical instrument such as the guitar (and especially the violin) is an athletic pursuit. Just like a sports athlete, being a musician requires a frequent schedule of deliberate physical and mental training in order to keep getting better and better.
Speaking of deliberate training… How you practice obviously makes a big difference in what you get out of your practice and training. Even if you do it every day it is crucial to practice in smart and efficient ways. And just like a great sports coach, a great music teacher will help you create exercises for learning new skills and for getting better at playing any tricky spots in new songs or musical pieces. I will discuss how I teach my students to practice more effectively in my next article: Play, Practice & Record.
White Belt Approach
A certain world-renown martial arts studio requires a minimum of 100 hours spent during lesson time for a beginner student to even be considered for a rank advancement beyond the beginner stage. That time doesn’t include the student’s time spent practicing and training outside of the studio lessons. Granted, we are comparing apples and oranges. But the message is clear… Frequency of practice has a lot to do with how abilities are developed.
This example of practicing may sound far-fetched at first. However, when you consider that many of the students at that martial arts studio show up to their lessons 2-3 times per week for an hour or more at a time… You can see how that time quickly adds up. Remember that our music student can accumulate 252 hours on their instrument during the school year by practicing just an hour a day, six days per week.
Imagine taking music lessons 3 times per week. How frequently and how effectively would you have to practice in order to take advantage of multiple weekly music lessons? Once daily practice becomes a habit the next question becomes “How many times a day should I practice?” The important thing is to spend time with your instrument daily.
How can I practice that often?
One approach, just like the martial arts studio, is to schedule your practice time, actually put it on your calendar. I recommend scheduling your practice on six days each week. And then it’s up to you to show up for it and do it. Consider your daily practice time to be just as important as showing up to your weekly lesson. Remember 36 hours vs. 252 hours… How much progress do you want to make in the next year?
You can schedule an early morning session or an after school/work session. Perhaps you have the freedom of schedule to practice in the middle of the day. Regardless of what time of day works for you, just put it on your calendar, make sure to show up for it, and do it. After all, your practice sessions at home are valuable training opportunities that should mirror the previous lesson with your teacher. The difference at home is you have to be your own teacher. Don’t know how to be your own teacher? I’ll give you some ideas on how to accomplish that in the next article.
Another consideration is how much fun is your practice time? Do you have strategies in place to make practice time fun? How much fun do you have making music? Do you have opportunities to make music with other people and to share it with others? It’s obvious that watching shows, movies, or playing video games can be fun. That’s probably a big factor in why people spend so much time doing that stuff. So, it’s probably a good idea to look into ways of making your practice time a little more enjoyable.
Have you played your music today?
If you love playing music, or even if you just want to love playing music… you owe it to yourself to practice daily. If you aren’t already doing it, you will be amazed at how good you can become by playing just minutes a day. Maybe I’m making it sound easy, but I know how challenging it can be sometimes. It often takes more than just a little effort.
You may have to plan, prioritize, and schedule your practice instead of doing something else. You may not feel in the mood to practice one day… When you don’t feel like practicing, that’s when you need to play your music until you do feel like practicing! Play your music every day. Be diligent! Actually, it’s nice to take a break sometimes. I recommend six days per week to my students. You can rest on the seventh day.
Having a great teacher helps, too. There are many reasons why taking lessons with the right teacher is so beneficial for any student. This is especially true for someone who is just starting out. A good teacher keeps you accountable and gives you valuable feedback and guidance from week to week. A great teacher does that and helps you put effective strategies into action, and helps you learn ways to train your mind and body so you learn better and make quicker progress. The best teachers do all of that plus they provide opportunities for you to perform and share your music with others.
All the best to you in your practicing, teaching, and music making.
JB
Please contact me if you are interested in lessons.
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