12 Hour Practice - Thoughts?

[Jimmy blue note]

I practice the guitar a lot, but I don't count the hours.
If I want to learn something, I practice until I can do it... :-)
I think the most important thing is to practice or play every day.
Listening to masters' albums is also an 'exercise".

Experiencing live music is essential. Call it the necessary complement to time in the practice room. It's one of the reasons to pick a city that has an active live music scene if you're serious about your own music.
I lived in a city where there was regular music at the highest level. I was surprised that despite the huge number of music students, there WASN'T a large presence of students in the clubs. Those that were there though, they were the names and faces that became the players to watch.
I moved to a city that doesn't have a live music presence of jazz on a regular basis. There may be people here who practice music, there's even a jam that one can attend, but I don't hear the sense of revelation and personal expression that comes AFTER a lot of practice. ...they've gone to NY as soon as they could. They play there and they certainly don't count the hours.

[Mick-7]

You can also practice away from the instrument, i.e., visualize the fretboard, how you'd play a phrase on it, and how it will sound. This can produce faster progress than only practicing with the instrument in hand because it requires greater focus.

Studies with athletes demonstrated that those whose practice routine was partly this sort of mental visualization advanced faster - sometimes much faster - than those who only engaged in physical practice of their sport.

[Liarspoker]

I think that if you are serious about music you will have had long days practicing and playing maybe you still do?

There was a period when I did 8 hours a day of pure playing.

This included practicing for my classical guitar exams, practicing my own stuff, rehearsing for duo gigs, duo gigs, teaching.....

[frabarmus]

I think I can sincerely and honestly say that my love of music and guitar is unlimited, while my physical body is not! + I'm 65 years old... hence my goal, nowdays, is 4 hours each and every day, for as long as I'm able to sustain it. It's still a dream (I know I won't be able to do it, for about a year and I'll spare you the details about the reasons for thats). As of now I (very!) rarely get a chance to do it... though whenever I can, I divide it into two sessions of two hours each, setting the timer on my phone on 2 hours and interrupting it every time I am disrupted by some other task or necessity... that way I'm sure that, at the end of the day, I've actually practiced for 4 full hours. Not always easy to stay "loyal" to that program because, same as Kris, I usually tend to work on something and not drop it until I've got it completely and confidently under my fingers.

Also, as soon as I've learned, say, a tune and can perform it still at a very slow tempo, I video-record it, so in case I for get it I can go back to it and revise/relearn it, also being able to see where exactly every finger falls on the fretboard. When I learn something new, I usually take quite a bit of time figuring out the most convenient fingerings (so many different options on guitar!) the ones that make it the easiest and most "ergonomic" for my fingers and body to play that material, later on, at normal (or fast) tempo.

[Gilpy]

I have never had a set practice routine or practiced for long hours. I practice only what I’m going to use on a gig or what I’m interested in learning.
I never work on technique except to learn a specific thing that I can’t do.
I always play at least an hour a day just for my own pleasure.
After a while, all this adds up.