How much do you practice?

[fwd0120]

use it or lose it XD

 

[Raxa]

1 hour per 2 days

 

[LamaSabachthani]

im pretty comfortable having no social life, i have only a few friends but i like it that way. i have university soon so ill probably still have time to
practice loads.

Are you real?

 

[SenorDingDong]

I play about twenty to thirty minutes every couple of days. The rest of my time is spent reading and writing my book.

 

[Augury]

Some hours a day, usually between 1 and 5

 

[groovemasta]

Alittle bit off topic but what IS the right stuff to practice?

 

[degge]

When my guitar is home 30-60 minutes each day.

I really need to learn how to sweep-pick...

 

[jackfiltraition]

Alittle bit off topic but what IS the right stuff to practice?

Its like any training or excersize, keep it well balanced, start off slow and always re-enforce the fundamentals. I start off with left hand warm ups, right hand warm ups then excerises to synchronize the left and right hands. 10 minutes of each is more then enough and gets you burnin' pretty fast. I then move on to various techniques like legato, alt picking etc. and make sure im paying attention to both hands equally, again I spend about 10-15 minutes on each technique. I get my excersizes and examples from the John Petrucci "rock disciplin" book (awesome book, totally recommend it) and also collect various excersizes from magazines or the net and also throw in some that have stuck with me from the beginning and some common excersizes that everyone uses like the good ol' chromatics etc. That being said, I feel the most important part of anyones practice should be the "free time" because after all we practice to PLAY! I put no time limit on my free time and crank up some distortion and just have fun doing whatever I want. It breaks up the monotmy of strict technique practice and keeps you feeling fresh and excited about practice.

 

[Icecold]

Its like any training or excersize, keep it well balanced, start off slow and always re-enforce the fundamentals...

Just to add that I've taken a que from Marty Friedman who said "Learn what you want to hear and not what will make you a better guitarist." I made the mistake(even though I knew I was doing it) of trying to learn the hardest songs I possibly could when I start out and continued to do so for 8 years. I ended up a very small list of songs I knew how to play because the work of taking on Rust in Peace or Nevermore became so over whelming. Exercises are amazing for technique, but never forget to play music.

 

[28mistertee]

My teacher always tells me (and a few others too) practice a little every day rather than 5 hours one day then giving it a miss the next day or whatever.
I had a friend who did nothing but locked himself in his bedroom practicing. Seen him years later and he had no social skills whatsoever, apparently never even had a girlfriend.
Granted practice when u can but don't deprive yourself of a social life and getting out there and living your life.

 

[James B]

I WILL DO IT ALLLL!

 

[BrianUV777BK]

I try to get at least 2 hours in a night after the wife and kids are in bed. More on the weekends. Usually working on stuff that I suck at. I'm almost always playing unplugged while watching TV till the family goes to bed. And I play at work during my lunch break. That is as long as I'm not saving kids from bear attacks.

 

[eurolove]

Are you real?

i tried the whole go out and drink with people occasionally get wasted etc thing for a while, but living in a remote area wales means there aren't many people who are interested in the same stuff as me. i also got sick of the whole "omg i saw u last night you were soo waaaaasted" "dude no way you were waaaay wasted too though" shitty conversations. so yes i am really happy staying sober/playing guitar/working out and having 3 really good friends + my gf who i often visit. im not socially retarded or shy, just see guitar as the most fulfilling thing in my current situation.

 

[sleepy502]

Thirty minutes to an hour of EFFICIENT practicing is better than several hours of "playing". You don't need 81231238194 hours a day of practicing to become a god. It's all about efficiency.

I try to get anywhere from 2-10 hours of combined playing/practicing a day.

 

[gr8Har V]

hahahaha "djazz" I love it.

on days i dont have school or work i'd say at least 5 hours. days i have school like 2 hours and days i work like 3-4 hours depending on how many hours i work. its Never Enough

i usually try to practice a wide range of things, but i'd say i primarily practice improvising solos (and studying the theory behind it), shred technique (right & left hand stuff) and songwriting/Riffing. I also practice a little jazz, classical, theory, and Dream Theater covers.

 

[Kaney_21]

Like 8 hours a day (holidays/weekends) and about 4 hours on school nights.

 

[MatthewK]

I don't really practice. I just play. If I come up with an arpeggio thing or whatever I might slow it down and try to tighten it up, but I'm always concentrating on the musical quality. I never pick up the guitar without the intention of creating something.

 

[-One-]

I make sure to get one hour a day, minimum, no exceptions, unless I'm on vacation. This is my index finger of my fret hand right now, and I'm still doing it

 

[WishIwasfinnish]

Whoa, I didn't see how many posts were in this thread, thought it had died Thanks for the responses everyone, good to know and get a sense of what other people do for practice. I haven't really answered my own question, so I guess I will now. I just started college in new york a month ago, and in high school I'd probably get in about 3 hours on school days and probably an average of 4 or 5 on weekend days.

I feel like I have more time in college and I've been doing about 4 hours on weekdays and 5 or 6 on weekends, and my practicing is usually pretty structured, with a metronome for the majority of my time, so I feel like a get a lot out of it. I practice sweeps, eight finger tapping, other arpeggio exercises, jazz stuff, and random stuff I learn off of youtube or from teachers for the most part. Keep those responses coming, and -One-, goddamn man, that's dedication!

Edit: And balance is the key to everything, if you practice for 10 hours a day (which in my opinion is horrendously unnecessary) I think your playing will become too rigid, and other experiences besides guitar influence music so much that it is so important to have a life outside of guitar and music. BALANCE

 

[guitareben]

Edit: And balance is the key to everything, if you practice for 10 hours a day (which in my opinion is horrendously unnecessary) I think your playing will become too rigid, and other experiences besides guitar influence music so much that it is so important to have a life outside of guitar and music. BALANCE

Hmmm... nahh personally i think 10+ hours a day is great Works for me anyway, and most of all I enjoy it Plus im not really into the whole going out to parties, getting wasted and spending all your money on stuff you won't even remember anyway.... so i might as well spend that time on guitar! (or something musical)

Also, as for balance, i just do a variety of things on the guitar, playing, practicing, improv, different styles etc, sight reading, which all helps keep my brain alive. I think it is better for practice (variety).

You guys may also find this interesting - http://......./oGO3AX

It's an article on how varied practice is better than repeating the same thing over and over again