I think it's hard to deny the reality of becoming a great musician; it's the law of diminishing returns. If you put in enough practice to get 80 percent as good as Art Tatum on piano, you might have to double that commitment to reach 90%. The reality is that so many of the greats really did practice long hours, and depending on your goals, I think its hard to get around that
I practice everyday for an hour or two, but I didn’t used to do that. I was very inconsistent. Now I practice in a goal oriented instead of time oriented way and that’s made a HUGE difference.
Trumpet player of 12 years. I just play nowadays because its fun and i enjoy it. Typically 30min-3 hours over the course of the day. Im fairly consistent too. 30 minutes is a good minimum but multiple 30-1hr play sessions throughout the day are more typical. Above anything else the most important thing is just to play and stay consistent. It pays off.
I know a guy who is a top in demand piano player who does international dates as a sideman and leads his own quartet. When I first met him he told me that the key is to shed 8 hours a day. Every time I have really practiced for over 4 hours it has impacted my playing permanently.
Hey Adam, playing for long hours certainly can impact your playing, but only if you are focused for the duration. More time= more opportunity to improve.
Great video man this gave me some good insight onto my own practice. appreciate the video!, practice as long as your focused is amazing advice!. I've been their where after I lose focus I'm just "doing it to do it" the only struggle for that rule especially for me is having terrible ADHD what a battle it can be! non the less I do my best Cheers!
I play saxophone I practice every day and sometimes it can be for long period of time or a short period. When I practice one thing I make sure to practice it in all 12 keys. I stop practicing when I get bored or just tired. So I can practice for a solid 45 minutes sometimes or it could be 5-6 hours straight. I realise that 5-6 hours can go by really quickly if I'm getting In a good practice. Sometimes it only feels like an hour. When I'm really not in the mood to practice I don't force myself because I usually don't have a good practice when I do that.
I make it a goal to pick up my instrument(s) everyday. I play the clarinet and the bari sax so getting efficient and long playing time on both instruments is sometimes difficult but I am trying to make it a habit to give myself quality time to do both, so that I can equally improve on both instruments. I try to practice each for a solid focused 45 mins each and then if my focus is still at its peak i will continue until I can’t anymore. I would love to improve on my focus so I can play more without loosing track of what I am doing. Thank you for this video, gave me something to think about :)
I practice the tenor saxophone one to two hours at least four times a week. Warm ups for maybe 15 minutes long tones for about 15 to 20 minutes sometimes a half hour and then working on scales and any particular exercise I'm focused on at that time. Seems to really really help. I might be working on a particular song or more than likely just trying to improve my knowledge of major and minor scales.
Practice every day at least for 15 mins - but longer practice sessions when possible. I always work on "lab" kinds of activities - things I haven't mastered and have to go slow (these are the things I struggle with the most) and then I practice on "playing" activities - these are like "gig" simulation. Trying to work on stretching myself on many tunes I might already play. Most gig days this is usually the songs I plan to play for the day - think of it as a pre gig warm up. On non gig days its the songs I really want to dig into deeper. So if it is a "15 min practice day with a gig and lots of stuff going on, then I might pick 3-4 tunes that I plan to play that night and do a few choruses to get head in a good mind space.
On piano, I practice but in a irregular way. Scales, warming exercices, and after, studying standards. For me, technics is different than comprehension of standards. In a first part, I can practice even my mind is elsewhere. But when I focus on music comprehension, it is very hard and then, I am on entire disponibility.
Hi, Brent here. Thank you for your query. Sorry, I don't do private lessons anymore but you are welcome to join my Inner Circle community where I supervise my members' progress. members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-youtube/. Hope to see you!
Good point! I like to think of it as being "pulled in" by the instrument, rather than having to push myself toward it. HOWEVER, there are points when practicing can feel frustrating, especially for adult students who want to learn things more quickly. And that can really put the kibosh on one's enthusiasm. Moreover, we all have times when the "muse" abandons us for awhile...something akin to what authors call "writer's block". And, when that enthusiasm temporarily wanes and you find yourself having to "push" for awhile, some tried and true guidelines --- how much to practice, how often, or for how long---can be very useful.
I think it's hard to deny the reality of becoming a great musician; it's the law of diminishing returns. If you put in enough practice to get 80 percent as good as Art Tatum on piano, you might have to double that commitment to reach 90%. The reality is that so many of the greats really did practice long hours, and depending on your goals, I think its hard to get around that
I play saxophone and I practice everyday at around the same time in the afternoon. I’ll usually practice for 1-2 hours depending on time constraints.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I practice everyday for an hour or two, but I didn’t used to do that. I was very inconsistent. Now I practice in a goal oriented instead of time oriented way and that’s made a HUGE difference.
I'm a professional trumpet player and I practice everyday from 10am to 12:30pm and then I start teaching, then go to a gig. Working good so far!
Trumpet player of 12 years. I just play nowadays because its fun and i enjoy it. Typically 30min-3 hours over the course of the day. Im fairly consistent too. 30 minutes is a good minimum but multiple 30-1hr play sessions throughout the day are more typical. Above anything else the most important thing is just to play and stay consistent. It pays off.
I know a guy who is a top in demand piano player who does international dates as a sideman and leads his own quartet. When I first met him he told me that the key is to shed 8 hours a day. Every time I have really practiced for over 4 hours it has impacted my playing permanently.
Hey Adam, playing for long hours certainly can impact your playing, but only if you are focused for the duration. More time= more opportunity to improve.
@@Learnjazzstandards agreed, I'm talking about actual shedding, not just playing through tunes or running through stuff I already know well.
Great video man this gave me some good insight onto my own practice. appreciate the video!, practice as long as your focused is amazing advice!. I've been their where after I lose focus I'm just "doing it to do it" the only struggle for that rule especially for me is having terrible ADHD what a battle it can be! non the less I do my best Cheers!
I play saxophone I practice every day and sometimes it can be for long period of time or a short period. When I practice one thing I make sure to practice it in all 12 keys. I stop practicing when I get bored or just tired. So I can practice for a solid 45 minutes sometimes or it could be 5-6 hours straight. I realise that 5-6 hours can go by really quickly if I'm getting In a good practice. Sometimes it only feels like an hour. When I'm really not in the mood to practice I don't force myself because I usually don't have a good practice when I do that.
Sounds like you have some good practice habits started!
I make it a goal to pick up my instrument(s) everyday. I play the clarinet and the bari sax so getting efficient and long playing time on both instruments is sometimes difficult but I am trying to make it a habit to give myself quality time to do both, so that I can equally improve on both instruments. I try to practice each for a solid focused 45 mins each and then if my focus is still at its peak i will continue until I can’t anymore. I would love to improve on my focus so I can play more without loosing track of what I am doing. Thank you for this video, gave me something to think about :)
Awesome Kayla!
I practice the tenor saxophone one to two hours at least four times a week. Warm ups for maybe 15 minutes long tones for about 15 to 20 minutes sometimes a half hour and then working on scales and any particular exercise I'm focused on at that time. Seems to really really help. I might be working on a particular song or more than likely just trying to improve my knowledge of major and minor scales.
Right on, thanks for sharing William!
I play alto sax, soprano sax and flute. I practice alto 4-5 times / week, soprano 2 times / week and flute 2 times / month.
Practice every day at least for 15 mins - but longer practice sessions when possible. I always work on "lab" kinds of activities - things I haven't mastered and have to go slow (these are the things I struggle with the most) and then I practice on "playing" activities - these are like "gig" simulation. Trying to work on stretching myself on many tunes I might already play. Most gig days this is usually the songs I plan to play for the day - think of it as a pre gig warm up. On non gig days its the songs I really want to dig into deeper. So if it is a "15 min practice day with a gig and lots of stuff going on, then I might pick 3-4 tunes that I plan to play that night and do a few choruses to get head in a good mind space.
On piano, I practice but in a irregular way. Scales, warming exercices, and after, studying standards. For me, technics is different than comprehension of standards. In a first part, I can practice even my mind is elsewhere. But when I focus on music comprehension, it is very hard and then, I am on entire disponibility.
I play saxophone, every day 1 - 2 hours per day and try to do at especial Points to improve. .....
Brett do you do private lessons?
Hi, Brent here. Thank you for your query. Sorry, I don't do private lessons anymore but you are welcome to join my Inner Circle community where I supervise my members' progress. members.learnjazzstandards.com/sp/inner-circle-sales-page-youtube/. Hope to see you!
Aww did you have baby crying around 4:28? Hope you enjoy the parenthood, if that was your baby :) they grow way too fast!
If you've ever asked this question, it's a sure sign that's you'll never be great. Great players have to be MADE to stop.
Good point! I like to think of it as being "pulled in" by the instrument, rather than having to push myself toward it. HOWEVER, there are points when practicing can feel frustrating, especially for adult students who want to learn things more quickly. And that can really put the kibosh on one's enthusiasm. Moreover, we all have times when the "muse" abandons us for awhile...something akin to what authors call "writer's block". And, when that enthusiasm temporarily wanes and you find yourself having to "push" for awhile, some tried and true guidelines --- how much to practice, how often, or for how long---can be very useful.