20 minutes?

30 minutes?

45 minutes?

60 minutes?

2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours?

Music is not learned in lessons.  Instead, it’s slowly mastered through hours of quality practice time.  Yet hours alone are not enough to guarantee success.

When choosing how long to practice, consider for how long you are able to focus?  Studies have shown that practicing in shorter increments more regularly is more beneficial than super long practice sessions on the rare occasion.

How does this translate?  By practicing even just thirty minutes a day for 5 days each week, you’ll reap larger dividends than if you practice a single 2 ½ hours once a week.  Plus, by breaking your practice time into smaller and more frequent segments, you reduce mental fatigue and potential burnout.

Unfortunately, merely thumbing across keys does little to push a student to success.  Leapold Auer once stated, “Practice with your fingers and you need all day.  Practice with your mind and you will do as much in 1 ½ hours.”

So instead of merely practicing a set number of minutes each day, it’s vital to focus and fully engage one’s mind while practicing.

Still, deliberate practice is no walk in the park.  It’ll prove draining and consume lots of energy as students focus on and tackle hard spots.  For this reason, pay attention to your concentration level while practicing.  Choose what to focus on while practicing and work for as long as you’re able to focus.

For young children, this could be 10 – 20 minute segments.  Older students could try practicing for 45 – 60 minutes at a time.

Consider also during what part of the day are you most focused?  If you’re a morning person, begin each morning with a practice session.  If you thrive at night, save those difficult music passages to be practiced after dark.  In addition, keep a notebook nearby where you can record personal goals.  Have a target set and know what you’re practicing towards.

Below are several noted professionals and their typical practice time in a day:

Expert:                                      Instrument:                                         Hours per day: 

Lang Lang                                     Piano                                                            4 – 6

Franz List                                      Piano                                                            10

Vladimir Horowitz                      Piano                                                            2 – 4

Aurther Rubenstein                    Piano                                                            6 – 9

Valentina Lisitsa                          Piano                                                            12 – 14

Joshua Bell                                    Violin                                                           2 – 5

Sarah Change                               Violin                                                            4

So don’t be fooled.  Focused practice time is an absolute essential to musical success.  As stated by Lang Lang, a world renowned pianist, “My musical ability is 90% practice, 10% talent.”

How much should you practice each day?  For as long as you can focus.

Leave a comment below and share how much you’re currently practicing now.