Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum How much do you practice?

I have read/heard that 15 minutes a day everyday is better than say two hours in one day once a week (did that make sense).
I don't put a time limit on my practice because that makes me anxious. Rather, I sit down with a goal. Like, I will play through my scales/chords/arpeggios. Or, I will work on particular song. Before I know it I have been at the piano for hours. If I had set out to practice for hours I probably wouldn't do it. Also, some days if feel a little too hyper or my attention span is just not there. So, I will practice in spurts. Scales for about 15 min, watch a little tv, during the commercials play a little more, go clean the kitchen, play some more...you get the idea. Sometimes it's quality not quantity. I think you will find once you get into a routine that you will build your endurance to play for an hour and it won't feel like AN HOUR?!

I started in February this year and I have managed to practice at least an hour per day on weekdays and 2 or 3 hours per day on weekends when I'm not traveling. So that's about 10 hours per week at a minumum. Probably not more than 12 per week total, except when I went to SummerKeys this summer. I still work fulltime also.

But it's really dependent on the other demands and priorities in your life. A home, 3 children, a husband, and some pets are a handful and a full time job by themselves. I'm surprised you get 20 minutes a day of uninterrupted time. My wife and 1 have basically been orphaned as our kids are now out of the house. So our time is more our own. I am golfing more and have found time to pick up the piano. But I was 61 when I started that (62 now) and I decided it's one of my highest priorities. Fulltime work is quickly receding as a priority and one of these days soon I will retire from that.

For beginner 30 minutes will do it, for 7th grader 2-3 hours...

I endeavor to put in 30 minutes or more per day, but it ranges from zero time (my family and my job are higher priorities) to an hour or more -- sometimes more on the weekend, but rarely on any of these occasions in uninterrupted segments.

When I have enough energy, after the kids are in bed, I can sometimes put a chunk (90 minutes or so) into doing rudimentary fingering etc on my Yamaha keyboard with the headphones on. The keyboard is a great option for basic, preliminary work, but I need to move to the grand to work on touch, pedaling, etc.

3 to 5 hours per day - everyday.

Regards, JF

Not as much as I probably need to, considering that I don't usually do everything with 2 hours of practice a day. Though proportionally I'll spend a lot more on technique than on pieces and studies, since I tend to learn those relatively quickly.

Meri

I'm like you, Virginia Mom. I have two kids, 2&4. I just started piano for the first time four months ago. I knew that practice time would be a challenge, so I set the goal of getting on the piano every day. Not for a specific amount of time, because my time is frequently not under my control. It is not uncommon for me to start practicing and then the kids come in and want attention, and if it is not them then the wife wants attention. I ended up buying an electronic keyboard, so if all else fails, I can practice with the headphones on after everyone else goes to bed. In reality, I probably get in 20-30 minutes a day, 7 days a week. I think being consistent about doing it everyday helps the most. I also have a teacher who understands the time limits when you have small kids (and a wife). Afterall, reality is reality.

Melwig, my best practice time is before anybody gets up. That keyboard could come in very handy if you just start getting up an hour earlier.

+1

I believe that forcing yourself to practice to a schedule that feels unnatural or uncomfortable is a risky thing to do. Too many students seem to end up on a treadmill of expectation that sucks all the joy out of it.

The ones who do keep playing (and a large percentage do drop out) are usually those who have done the best job at sorting out what motivates them in particular (and we're all a little different) rather than simply those who do x, y, or z amount of daily work. If you study to be a professional than you need professional standards and timetables, but as my aim is to enjoy music as a hobby then I've found that the number one criterion is to keep my enthusiasm up, and to play and practice with 100% attention once I start, rather than just going through the motions.

I have no daily timetable at all. I play whatever I feel like, whenever it suits, on whichever instrument I'm most interested in on the day. It might be minutes or weeks between sessions. But I'm moving forwards, getting better, and enjoying every minute of it all. Works for me.

Good luck finding whatever balance and motivation works best for you.

Chris

It's interesting to see how others fit piano into their lives! I remember somebody telling me how difficult time gets when raising a child, and I spurted out "Yeah I know what you mean"... Then I thought about it half a second and corrected myself "wait, actually I have no idea".

Anyways, at 19 I fell in love with classical music and determined that I would become a good pianist and began to tailor my life around that goal.

By keeping my expenses low I'm able to work 6 hours/day and save money for school. It's a good balance for me to have time and energy to practice while making a living. It's just me living in the cheapest apartment I could find. So, I have pretty good conditions to learn piano.

BUT, I often get distracted. Sometimes friends call me out and I can't resist, sometimes I'm simply lazy and wind up procrastinating an evening away on various things, sometimes work takes over my life. Often I whip myself into shape and make a lot of progress, then become complacent and gradually wind down to dissipation.

I get about an hour a day for the past few weeks, I've gotten election fever and have been spending too much time reading politics. This irks me

The way I see it is I can treat piano like my job, I'm happy enough to do what needs to be done once I'm there. So, if I consider working on music, 3 hours of that in addition to 6 hours at my job is nine hours/day. Definitely manageable, especially since I enjoy this sort of work.

I am like many of you here. Full time job, 2 kids (3 years old and 8 months), hubby and house keeping. I manage to play 2 to 3 hours a day. I do it after puting the kids to bed (love my DP). Practise is not very efficient because I am a bit tired, but for me it is worth cutting on sleep time. I would love to get up early to play, but little one does not know yet that he is not allowed out of the cot before 6 am.
While I am playing hubby is also wearing headphones to play his silent guitar. We are a very musical family, but not noisy at all

Pixie- A 3yr old and an 8mo old AND you find time to pracice 2-3 hours a day. I think you are superwoman!

i ll just change my previous answer to "not enough"

I'm blessed to be on staff at a church (as worship leader), so taking time out of my day to practice is part of the package....so I can just sneak off and slap on the headphones and play....sometimes up to 3 hours a day!

It's a matter of setting priorities. I don't have small children but up until a month ago I was working two jobs and still managed about three hours a day. I just don't watch TV.

Usually, about 3 - 4 hours a day of practice. Just "playing" could add another 2 - 3 hours onto that. Remember is almost Christmas - time to start playing those Chirstmas Carols....

Just wondering those who play >2hrs a day, any interval beside...ahem...toilet break?

Aside of time allocation for practising, on average how many pieces should a beginner ideally work on during the 1st year of playing? Let's say each piece is about 2 page?

Thanks Kymber but I am not.
I would be superwoman if I managed to play while the kids are awake. They are usually in bed by 7:30 so there is still a lot of day left to practise (Doesn't time fly when you play?)

I'm up and down. I have a timer I keep switching off. My 3 - 4 hours can actually occupy about 6. I can practice about an hour straight without feeling the strain, that's the max. Then I need a break. When I practice in the early morning, it's an hour at the piano, then the bath, the hair, make lunch, etc, and then back at the piano until time to go to work.

I have four teenagers and a full time job. I practice every day in the evenings for 30 min to 1 hr. Sometimes, on weekends, I practice twice a day (mornings and evenings) which can add up to 2 hrs for that day.