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How many hours a day do you practise?
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[Poll]
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How many hours a day do you practise?
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| 0-1 hour |
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| 1-2 hours |
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| 2-3 hours |
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| 3-4 hours |
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| 4-5 hours |
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| 5-6 hours |
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| 7 or more hours |
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Total Votes : 44
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(last vote on : Mar. 7 2022 4:29:04)
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Ricardo
Posts: 14806
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
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 RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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This discussion came up on another forum and I just copied what I wrote there:
quote:
When I got into guitar in middle school/high school, I played as much as I could. Listened to music constantly. There were times school work, health, and social life suffered. But only a few years. I remember playing all day after school, 3:30 pm- midnight or 1 am. I would nibble at my dinner with the guitar in my hands. Then start the homework or project or whatever. Got to sleep at 5 am. Wake up at 7:30 to go to school. Finish what I could in study hall. Every day. I used to get sick a lot from lack of sleep, trying to make it up on weekends. Guitar and school was definantly a conflict. Once my girlfriend in 9th grade invited me over after a movie to "hang out". But I was so inspired to practice I said "no" and went home. Needless to say she was offended.
But by the time I was a junior, I had some chops and a band and semi normal girlfriend, and started to budget my time better. When you are inspired you can't put the guitar down. But even into college, there were periods were I would get so inspired to keep playing, the same **** would happen. Slack off on school work, no sleep, ignore your friends/girl friend.
Now it is wife/kid/house bills etc. Luckily my work is playing guitar, so my nightly gigs are enough. But every once in awhile something hits me and again, I don't sleep cause I am up ALL night playing.
Ricardo
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Date Oct. 21 2006 17:32:11
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ToddK
Posts: 2961
Joined: Dec. 6 2004
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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Random thoughts 
Its not the number of hours, but How you practice.
What and how you practice, and the amount of focus, is
huge.
Many people practice blindly. They dont really stick to a
regimen. There can always be time for fun, improv, whatever,
but there also has to be time for very strict discipline.
Having a very clear vision of exactly what you want to play
and exactly what you want it to sound like is very important.
Practice in your mind, without the guitar.
The better players are the more efficient and calculated practicers.
They have the discipline to sit with the metronome, and do it right.
Why? i think it all comes down to motivation. If you want to do something
really bad, you will pretty much do anything. Like an addict, who needs
a fix. They'll walk ten miles in the snow with barefeet without even thinking
about it.. 
_____________________________
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Date Oct. 21 2006 21:56:28
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ykabban
Posts: 251
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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I don't subscribe to this practice 9, 10, 12 hours a day. Todd's remarks are more on point with my belief. Someone's five hours could be another's 15 minutes. But...... it all really depends on the person and how he "sees" the guitar.
Here is an observation(Please don't take this the wrong way, it's not a zinger, this is my perception alone. And I'm using an example that everyone can comment on).
When I hear Ricardo play I think, " Man, this guy's got some chops".
When I hear Todd play I think, " Man, this guy practices a lot".
So..... strapping a metronome to yourself is great, but it depends on what you're trying to do.
Both of you might be an "A", but the sound objectives and product is very different. And the pick has nothing to do with it.
If you look at the big picture, neither "how long" or "how" you practice dictates the final result. Again, how does one "see" the guitar.
I'll use a personal example that led me to this way of thinking:
One day, quite a few years ago I sat down and attempted to execute a decent alzapua for the first time. Five minutes later, it sounded purrdy damn sweet. It has remained unchanged and sounds exactly the way it did the first day I learned it. To me, it's not perfect, but I'm very satisfied with it for the moment.
On the flip side, I've been trying to develop a good solid picado for the past 5 or 6 years, and I'm nowhere near satisfied. In fact, I think it blows big time. You could argue that one technique is more difficult than the other, but I don't think so. Somewhere, the connection is not there. For some reason, the alzapua just "clicked in", like it was always there, and I'll put it up against anyone's.
All goes back to one's way of learning. Some hear something only once, and never forget it. Some see or read something only once, and it's absorbed forever, while other have to read, and re-read and re-read.........
Wow...this is my longest post, must be the fine wine talkin'.
DISCLAIMER: The above post was written by a self proclaimed Bass Master.
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Date Oct. 22 2006 1:43:42
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Nemo Nint
Posts: 41
Joined: Jul. 20 2006
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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I put 2-3 hours but they're usually broken up down to half hour chunks, but usually more like an hour or two at a time.
Just finished 3 years of college and then I spent the summer in Alberta Canada. I dream about practicing 2-3 hours a day after I get a job! Living on savings is painful. Also I only own an electric guitar and a classical guitar, no flamenco... so that's sometime down the road. But that'll be a beautiful dream when it's near.
My preference is to learn new songs that use complex techniques, and master the techniques. Also, because I have only a classical guitar, my mind is sort of absorbed by both flamenco and classical guitar music because I think classical guitar music, opposed to flamenco, is more pleasing and soothing and welcoming to a lot of North Americans. Even myself sometimes. Some days I become exhausted from practicing soleares for 2-5 hours in a row so I'll practice a bunch of simple easy tunes for 20 minutes then stop for the day. Right now I'm working on learning Asturias (Leyenda) although it's not just simple. Also, soon hopefully Lecuona's Malaguena. I want to learn good versions of Fur Elise and La Cucaracha and Greensleeves and La Comparsita... got really simplistic versions of some already but I need to get them more polished and elaborate.
Actually, I think most of my information is probably useless to most people except as knowledge for others of who I am. Everyone here seems so very excellent and advanced to me! But my red blood cells now carry 40% oxygen, and 60% guitar music. I guess that means that when I play, 60 percent of my blood is going just to my brain... and most of the remaining 40 percent is in my hands.
I was considering getting a violin to learn, but then decided not to because the time learning it would take away from getting better at the guitar... sigh.
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Date Oct. 22 2006 2:26:04
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Florian
Posts: 9282
Joined: Jul. 14 2003
From: Adelaide/Australia
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to Nemo Nint)
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when i was a beginner I used to practice about 7 then when i was working i practiced about 5. now in the last 2 years i quit my full time job and i been doing about 12 hours a day atlist.
but when i say 12 i mean in between coffe, repling to posts here, looking at porn, cheking my email etc.
i dont have a set time or anything but once i pick it up i cant put it down until i cant sitt up anymore.
sometimes il watch a movie in between or listen to some music to realx a litlle.
I cant help it all the music i love to play is allways beyond my technical capabilities , so i always need to push myslef a litlle more and practice a litlle harder for it.
if i didnt have to sleep id do it 23 hours a day.
ohh but i should sday it dosent feel like practice, or work i mean to me is the same as playing computer games, i dont do it cause I shoud (unless a gig) i do it cause its what i wanna do, its my fun.
theres nothing else more fun that id rather do, and since i quit my job to play all the time, i practice between 9pm (after accompanying flamenco dance classes) until about 5 in the morning, then i sleep till about 12 pm or 1 and do it all again.
great life i make a litlle with playing for classes 5 times a week and guitar students and gigs, not alot but enough to keep me happy most of the time.
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Date Oct. 22 2006 2:45:26
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Ricardo
Posts: 14806
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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quote:
As far as the metronome, what I want to know is how long can people stand hearing that thing click away!! Although when I'm in sync with it I barely hear it, but even still! Sometimes I just want to throw it against the wall!
Oooh, I love it. I can just let it keep going all day. I love palmas and loops and drum machine, all that stuff, monotonous.
Honestly, I think those guys Romerito mentioned are good, not just because they have intense focused practiced, but because they have good rhythm. And they practice with rhythm in mind and their practice and playing "flows". I dont' learn a piece and memorize the whole thing then start to play it slow all the way through. I take just a small chunk of music, slow, over and over in a repeatative loop of rhythm (not necessarily a full compas, but perhaps just a few beats of a compas) and increase the speed until it feels natural and up to tempo, then add another small chunk and loop that to the part I have solid.
Even when working on free time libre stuff, if I have a student and it is not "flowing", then I make it a rhythm of some sort and have them loop it until it sounds smooth and fast as they want or need it to be. I think this SEEMS tedious to many, but it actually is pretty fast way to learn and prepare music to be played. I have seen so many folks spending hours, weeks, YEARS trying to get through an entire piece of music and it never really flows. The beauty of flamenco guitar is that you can master a short falseta and really have accomplished something in a short time.
Ricardo
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Date Oct. 22 2006 14:38:05
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comus
Posts: 23
Joined: Oct. 2 2006
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to fevictor)
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Im an addict who cant get enough fixxes, 
im really jelous that so may of you guys hasve the chance to practice so many hours a day. 
I would love to practice 8 hours a day, i maybe get 2 in, between a full time job working shifts, being a Dad, and general house hold stuff.
I cant wait to get my hands on my guitar to lay down some music, when i started playing guitar in 89 i was single and could practice everyhour, available and I did.
Still were all where were at,
my playing is done in the evening when my son is in bed, my wife moans that flamenco guitar is 2 loud, maybe it is my lack of practice, maybe i will be come quieter as i get better
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Date Oct. 22 2006 23:50:51
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Mark2
Posts: 1871
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
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RE: How many hours a day do you prac... (in reply to Guest)
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I think the reason most people outside Spain don't reach the level of the Spanish is lack of context, not desire or practise habits. Without variety in singers and dancers to play for, and other guitarsits to learn from and inspire, it becomes tough to develop the skills needed to play for different performers and reach the top levels. As an American growing up playing popular styles, I had opportunities to play with different kinds of bands, and after a number of years, could hold my own in a number of situations.
When i got into flamenco, it was a different ball game. It took years before I had the opportunity to play regularly for a pro level dancer, and singers..........well those opportunities are much more scant. Anyone who plays for classes in the US knows that that experience is only a start to learning to play for dance. I know a guy who played flamenco for 20 years before getting a weekly dance accompaniment gig. This was a guy who put in his time in Spain and played well. Conversely, It took me only four years of serious study from a rank beginner status before I was playing electric guitar in a pro band six nights a week.
I had to wait in line for years to get a flamenco company gig which itself left a lot to be desired. Up and comers in Spain have flamencos around them as we in the US have popular musicians-tons. Makes all the difference IMO. Oh, I practise on average two hours at a time, when I have time.
quote:
ORIGINAL: romerito
I hate the computer. It is addictive. Anyway, your point is well taken. But it is also true that sometimes you must practice a certain technique maybe for years until it "clicks" as you stated. In case nobody read my previous posts I mentioned what some of the greats have quoted to me. Diego de Morao, Paco Jarana, Chuscales and others including Paco Jarana, Pedro Cuadra, Paco Fernandez and Canito. If there is one reason Americans in general don't reach that level it is because they lack a certain technical regimen. All thes artist practice hours a day. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY PRACTICE HOURS A DAY WITH VERY INTENSE FOCUS. Focused practice should be a given, then practice many hours. We won't talk about talent because anybody regardless of talent should play Flamenco if they desire.
The formula is:
INTENSE, FOCUSED PRACTICE FOR MANY HOURS = GROWTH
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Date Oct. 25 2006 17:14:05
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i better not make those kind of jokes anymore, they getting a litlle tired. 
