2 hours practice or 8 15 minute segments

[barny]

just thinking to day about practice and im going to approach it in a more manageable way...been thinking i get a bit out of ideas after 15/ 20 mins so whats the point in flogging away for say 2 hours
so what im going to try is practice 8 15 minute segments through out the day ..it will be more intense because i wont get bored ...and will be spread out over a bigger timescale so not so long gaps in between practices.....
just a thought but would like other peoples opinions if they do it this way...

 

[Sigmund Floyd]

uhh..... no. The shorter, better practice thing is a good idea but 8 15 minute sessions is too rigid, my life doesn't happen that way. Have fun, practice well, go with the flow.

 

[barny]

uhh..... no. The shorter, better practice thing is a good idea but 8 15 minute sessions is too rigid, my life doesn't happen that way. Have fun, practice well, go with the flow.

haha...yeah that was just an example to get my point across...i dont do it that way either ...but dont do it all in say a 2 hour session either..

 

[ZeyerGTR]

It depends what you're practicing. For some things, like certain technique types of things, it takes me an hour just to warm up and get "in the zone," let alone start to make progress. For other things like specific, focused ear training, I can get done what i need in 15 minutes, diminishing returns kicks in, and it's the type of thing I'm better off doing frequently but for less duration.

 

[cram]

time as a guideline, but I like to stop when I feel good with my comfort level for a spell and let it sink in.
Come back after some thought and it's usually sunk in better.

The only times I'm really truly playing for hours is with other musicians because we're playing and even then we have breaks. But we blitz through our songs with little in between for breaks.

 

[barny]

time as a guideline, but I like to stop when I feel good with my comfort level for a spell and let it sink in.
Come back after some thought and it's usually sunk in better.

yeah this is what im sort of meaning .....give it chance to settle then start the repitition for it to sink in....

 

[stevel]

What level are you?

Are you PRACTICING or PLAYING?

When you say, "a bit out of ideas" that tells me you're not practicing at all.

When you "practice", you need to have a goal in mind. Something you're going to accomplish.

Tell me this - what percent of the 2 hours are you actually "practicing" something. If your answer is 10 minutes, then that's all you need to practice.

Then, if you play 12 10 minute sessions and practice that 10 minutes of material each time, you've done it 12 times in 2 hours as opposed to ONCE in the same amount of time.

But, unless you're doing something goal-oriented in the first place, it won't matter. If you "play" 2 hours and aren't really practicing anything during that time, it won't matter if you play 16 hours or 20 30 minute sessions, or 80 2 minute sessions, or whatever.

Now, there's nothing wrong with "playing" without direction or goal other than to have fun. One disadvantage to short sessions is endurance - you won't build up endurance if you don't play long times. I go to gigs and see students give half or full hour recitals that they don't have the endurance for. If you're gigging 3 45 minute sets, you need to have the endurance to play 3 45 minute sets. You don't get that from 10 minute sessions.

But, if you want to learn something new, or work on something, obviously the more you do it the better. In that case I think more, shorter sessions are more effective than one longer session - you could play some new scale for 2 hours, but yes, your mind begins to wander.

But there's also more to music than just rote practice so you could spend 10 minutes on the mechanics of a scale, then 10 minutes on playing it in a musical context. In that case, if you're going to break it up, I would do 5+5 for 10 minutes, or 10 and 10 for 20 minutes, etc. rather than 10 minutes of mechanics in the morning, then 10 minutes of context in the evening - unless it's something that can stand that kind of break between.

Steve

 

[monty]

For me anyway the bigger block is better because it takes 15 minutes just for my fingers to get up to speed.

 

[gennation]

A mix of both for me. If I get 10 to 15 minutes in before heading to work that's better than none. And when I get a 2+ hour session that's good as well.

 

[jb70]

i recently read an arcticle that said that you actually learn and retain more towards the beginning of your practice sessions. so by doing shorter stretches of time, you are constantly beginning your practice sessions. i don't know how true this is but i've been doing this for the past few weeks and i definitely feel sharper and more engaged when i practice. it's worth trying for a few weeks!

 

[Petimar]

PRACTICE in short segments is more efficient.

PLAY longer if you want.

 

[DrSax]

i always just practice as much as I can every day. The times vary due to life happening, I don't get hung up on it.

 

[Tone Loco]

One interesting way to do it is to "walk away from success". Put down the guitar the first time you've nailed whatever it is you are working on. At least for a little while, or move to something else.
This as opposed to going over it again and again. You may have "just gotten lucky", but you did it. It's possible. If you leave it with it sounding and feeling good fresh in your mind I think it tends to sink in more.

 

[barny]

What level are you?

Are you PRACTICING or PLAYING?

When you say, "a bit out of ideas" that tells me you're not practicing at all.

When you "practice", you need to have a goal in mind. Something you're going to accomplish.

Tell me this - what percent of the 2 hours are you actually "practicing" something. If your answer is 10 minutes, then that's all you need to practice.

Then, if you play 12 10 minute sessions and practice that 10 minutes of material each time, you've done it 12 times in 2 hours as opposed to ONCE in the same amount of time.

But, unless you're doing something goal-oriented in the first place, it won't matter. If you "play" 2 hours and aren't really practicing anything during that time, it won't matter if you play 16 hours or 20 30 minute sessions, or 80 2 minute sessions, or whatever.

Now, there's nothing wrong with "playing" without direction or goal other than to have fun. One disadvantage to short sessions is endurance - you won't build up endurance if you don't play long times. I go to gigs and see students give half or full hour recitals that they don't have the endurance for. If you're gigging 3 45 minute sets, you need to have the endurance to play 3 45 minute sets. You don't get that from 10 minute sessions.

But, if you want to learn something new, or work on something, obviously the more you do it the better. In that case I think more, shorter sessions are more effective than one longer session - you could play some new scale for 2 hours, but yes, your mind begins to wander.

But there's also more to music than just rote practice so you could spend 10 minutes on the mechanics of a scale, then 10 minutes on playing it in a musical context. In that case, if you're going to break it up, I would do 5+5 for 10 minutes, or 10 and 10 for 20 minutes, etc. rather than 10 minutes of mechanics in the morning, then 10 minutes of context in the evening - unless it's something that can stand that kind of break between.

Steve

probably intermediate/advanced..yes playing and practicing..maybe when i said out of ideas it was the wrong word to use...maybe out of steam would be better..yeah always have a goal in mind unless im playing over a backing track or something then i dont really think anything unless its awkward changes that im playing through..i used to divide the time up up into slots in say a 2 hour period and work on different things within that time ...now im keeping the times further apart and just working on the one thing until i can do it well...

 

[ZeyerGTR]

I get a lot more out of my time when I started thinking "what am I going to learn" instead of "how much time am I going to put in." Keeps me more focused and keeps the practice more effective. That's the goal anyways - learning.

 

[barny]

i recently read an arcticle that said that you actually learn and retain more towards the beginning of your practice sessions. so by doing shorter stretches of time, you are constantly beginning your practice sessions. i don't know how true this is but i've been doing this for the past few weeks and i definitely feel sharper and more engaged when i practice. it's worth trying for a few weeks!

yeah i agree ...thats what i think..you seem to retain things better as well.