08/26/2020 04:35 PM
When beginning to learn a new instrument, it can be a bit confusing to know how much you should be practicing. Musicians hear all sorts of stories on both ends - the prodigy who never practiced but became famous or the professionals who practice up to eight hours a day!
While both are true, it’s more useful to know where the rest of us fit in, especially as we’re just getting going on our musical journey.
PRACTICE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
When it comes to how long to practice, I always like to remind my students that how often we practice is much more important than how long we do it for. Trying to practice at least a little bit everyday is far better than practicing for a long time only once a week.
Think of it like how our teachers always tell us to study for tests - it’s never better to cram the night before! Regular practice everyday or at least 3-5 days a week helps us grow over the course of a long time. And if we miss a day here and there, it’s no problem!
I occasionally get so busy during a day that I don’t have time to practice, or maybe I was traveling for a few days. If I ever can take an instrument while traveling, though, it never hurts to practice during some down time!
TAILOR YOUR PRACTICE TIME TO YOUR GOALS
For each practice session, the amount of time you spend depends on how fast you want to learn. For beginner students, I typically recommend trying to get in just 10-15 minutes a day. Once the practicing habit is formed, you can try bumping that up to 20 or 30 minutes.
The longer you spend practicing, the more you will get to accomplish, and the faster you will grow as a musician. The reason you hear of professional musicians practicing for hours a day is because they’re constantly trying to get better and grow - it’s their job!
These days I aim to practice around 45 minutes to an hour each day, but sometimes that gets swallowed up by gigs, rehearsals, or other work I have to do. When I was going to college for music, though, I practiced as much as two or three hours every day.
STAY FOCUSED!
When practicing, it’s also important to maintain focus and stay free of distractions. If we can’t focus on our music and are constantly getting interrupted, it is much harder for us to learn and remember what we’re doing.
When you go to practice, try to free yourself of distractions like phones, computers, social media, or anything else that can interrupt your focus. This is especially true when you might only be practicing 10-20 minutes each day - if you spend half your time scrolling on your phone, the work you’ve put in is severely reduced.
Making a practice session a good one requires more than just trying to practice for a long time. How often and how focused you practice are also super important! If you want more practicing tips, be sure to check out Katie’s blog post Five Tips for Practicing More Effectively.
Need help developing good practice habits? Sign up for lessons with one of our teachers!