How long do you practice guitar per day?

**asoalone** · 03-25-2012, 01:11 AM

so I mean .... I have to practice about 6 - 8 hours / day . I have to turn my amp on 6 - 8 hours / day .

I want to know .. when you're practicing long time ( 6 - 8 hours / day ) .... do you turn your amp on all the time ? And if you use your amp heavier .. they life is short ?

( I use Fender twin reverb & AI corus amp ... )

ps sorry for my bad English TT .

**Cane Burl** · 03-25-2012, 02:51 AM

I practice 3 to 4 hours a day. Split up into 30 to 45 minute sections. I turn my amp off between sessions/"sets" like on a gig. Your tubes will last longer; they have a life expectancy based on use. It's probably better for your speakers and other electronic components, too.

**jorgemg1984** · 03-25-2012, 07:25 AM

I practice around 6 hours a day during some days of the week, others 3 / 4. On the weekend if I don't have gigs it can be the whole day - 8-10 hours. I play unplugged usually, but that's because I have an archtop with rounds. When I plug I always go solid state amps so I am not wearing out tubes (actually these days I only have solid state amps but I did the same when I had tube amps). Because I have several amps I might trade between them.

I think your best solution is buying a cheap and small Roland Cube or Fender Frontman just for practice so you don't use the AI and Twin (which are good gigging amps) that much. Or practice unplugged

**Classicplayer** · 03-25-2012, 08:11 AM

And what do you practice? Scales, arpeggios, songs, composing songs? I tend to play at least an hour a day.....mostly ideas for chord progressions......at least for the last several months. I'm not proficient at reading music (slow), so I concentrate on taking chords "apart" and playing them in different positions on the fingerboard.

Classicplayer

**jorgemg1984** · 03-25-2012, 08:14 AM

Hi Classicplayer, I think "what to practice" will take this thread in a whole new direction

**El V.** · 03-25-2012, 01:26 PM

With me it varies. Some days I'm happy to get in an hour or two after work. Other days it may be a couple of hours in the morning, a three-hour rehearsal in the afternoon, then a couple more hours in the evening.

It just depends on what else I want/need to do on a given day.

**asoalone** · 03-26-2012, 10:36 AM

I think I have to use Roland Amp for practice and use AI and Twin re for gig .... Thank you

I'm beginner . I have to practice 6 - 8 hours / day because I try to play jazz better ....

**jorgemg1984** · 03-26-2012, 10:40 AM

It seems the best solution, those amps used are very cheap! No need to use the AI or the Twin that much

**Retroman1969** · 03-26-2012, 11:01 AM

Wow, I'm amazed anyone who isn't exclusively a working pro musician has that kind of time. I'm lucky if I can squeeze in a couple of hours a day. It's my fantasy to be able to stick in there 6-8 hours a day to make progress by leaps and bounds instead of slowly/gradually.

**Classicplayer** · 03-26-2012, 11:15 AM

There was a time years ago that I could practice more than two hours a day. I found that I did not make progress quickly though. My progress was through those rare moments where a light bulb come on and I realize that I just made a discovery that advanced my playing. I guess you might to call it the "learning curve".

These days those discoveries come with longer intervals in between. When they arrive it could be that I've spent well under and hour's worth of paractice.

Classicplayer

**Tom Karol** · 03-26-2012, 11:21 AM

With a 9-to-5 day job, I play for 2 hours a day - 8-10PM on weekdays. My family more or less knows that that's my guitar time. I usually practice by simply working on tunes. I normally play unplugged at home. On weekend afternoons, I play a bit longer and practice with the amp just enough to make sure I have the tone I want. Rehearsals and gigs when they occur generally replace practice time. Even if I'm really busy with other stuff, I try not to miss a day - even if it's only 20 minutes of noodling - in order to keep my fingers from atrophying. Roy Buchannan is purported to have said, "If I don't play for a day, I can tell; if I don't play for 2 days, my wife can tell; if I don't play for a week, the audience can tell."

**FatJeff** · 03-26-2012, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Tom Karol

Roy Buchannan is purported to have said, "If I don't play for a day, I can tell; if I don't play for 2 days, my wife can tell; if I don't play for a week, the audience can tell."

Or was that Segovia? Or maybe it was Coltrane. Or Horowitz?

**FatJeff** · 03-26-2012, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Classicplayer

There was a time years ago that I could practice more than two hours a day. I found that I did not make progress quickly though. My progress was through those rare moments where a light bulb come on and I realize that I just made a discovery that advanced my playing. I guess you might to call it the "learning curve".

These days those discoveries come with longer intervals in between. When they arrive it could be that I've spent well under and hour's worth of paractice.

Classicplayer

Could it be possible that the longer intervals in between discoveries are related to less time spent each day practicing?

**Classicplayer** · 03-26-2012, 12:55 PM

fatjeff,

No, I think my practice time has been steady over the years, more so in the past five years as I'm retired and have more time to devote to it. I was referring to the little pieces of knowledge that happen when we practice, that makes us advance as a guitar player...... something you might learn about chord substitution, how to use positions on the fingerboard and how to tie them together, or a new way of playing a phrase that you alone invented. That can happen to you in a short practice session or a long session. There have been days, (we have them once in awhile) where my playing becomes mechanical and my concentration is not as other practice sessions. That's when the guitar gets put back into the case as I don't want to keep playing "licks" instead of trying to work on a song, or compose something.

Classicplayer

**stevedenver** · 03-26-2012, 02:15 PM

im a lawyer
i work about ..8-6
i run everyday too-after work, its first priority

i practice everyday at least 1/2 an hour-even if im mentally and physically drawn-the running helps
-i am working on berklee/leavitt and reading and other basic stuff-sometimes, honestly, im so beat i have a hard time reading staffs-and frankly, jazz is difficult for me at this point-its entirely different than what i have honed for decades....-theres so much to know but its the repetition and focus thats pulling away the 'fog' for me

if i come home after 8, probably not, ....sometimes a glass of wine and dinner and tube is all i can do before bed (im the cook at my house 90% of the time-if im beat ill listen to emily or kenny or mimi fox. or...jennifer batten -ooops-while i prep dinner-its important to have some face time with my wife -not to simply disappear ) , or, if i have a hearing or court the next day-theres no time, and theres no room in my head to let go

on other days-when im not too frazzled, about 1.5-sometimes more-practice is work, and i find sometimes the focus relaxing, sometimes im so stressed /wound the muse and creativity arent there

the weekends are different-and i often will while away several hours playing guitar and mando on my patio-my sunburst fern has actually faded a bit (the red of the triburst) as a result

**Classicplayer** · 03-26-2012, 04:28 PM

SteveDenver,

I know the feeling of trying to practice when being tired. I find it hard to focus and usually my fingers don't go where I want them to go on the fret board.
That's when the guitar goes back into the case. A good night's sleep works wonders for most endeavors and that includes guitar practice.

If staffs and notation are getting you down, I recommend finding a copy of Mickey Baker's book from 1955. Book #1 on Jazz and R&B. It still is in print and I think Amazon has it. He keeps it simple in his lessons, and it was and still is IMHO one of the better books at explaining the secrets to his style of playing. It can be useful to many styles of guitar too.

Classicplayer

**stevedenver** · 03-26-2012, 05:20 PM

i shall do so-many thanks-i actually am digging the berklee books-it brings out a different part of me-sort of disciplined and academic forward movement

**zigzag** · 03-27-2012, 03:54 PM

I practice from 8 to 9 PM (sometimes 9:30) every weekday night, and two hours a day on weekends. I'd like to play a lot more, but I just don't have time.

**coolvinny** · 03-27-2012, 04:22 PM

Now that this thread has irreversibly morphed into one about practice routines (rather than amp life), I see no harm in me also responding to our new topic

I used to practice in the evenings, but I found that I was often mentally dead by then...and obviously if you're head's not into it, it's hard to improve. So now I try to get a bit of practice in each morning...I probably average 30 minutes. Also, and many think I'm nuts for this, I keep a guitar at the office and play for about 45 minutes each day at lunchtime. This is some of my best practice time. Sometimes I sneak in another 30 minutes at the end of the day before driving home while waiting for the traffic to get lighter.

I think one of the keys of making good use of practice time is to ensure you practice at a time of day when you are still mentally alert and able to soak up information. I still practice at night, but often to reinforce the things I already worked on in the day when I was mentally sharper, or to perhaps do my "first cut" at transcribing something (i.e. when I'm not into the 'analyzing' part yet).

**kid deluxe** · 03-27-2012, 09:00 PM

"I never practice ... from time to time, I just open my guitar case and throw in a piece of raw meat."

wes said that..

**Flint** · 03-28-2012, 09:41 PM

I have some concern about using up tubes, but I have a nice hybrid that plays like an electric and sounds good acoustically, so I use that a lot for practicing.

I started to learn the guitar when I retired. This is NOT like starting the guitar at age 12 or some such. I'm no longer any good at staying up all night, focus is harder to maintain, arthritis is just something to deal with, nothing is intuitive anymore. I rarely noodle less than 2 hours a day, and rarely more than 4 hours. Focused practice on new material, maybe 1-2 hours a day on average. It helps to know that at my age, making inoffensive noise is all I can hope for. But it's a great way to relax.

**whiskey02** · 03-29-2012, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by asoalone

so I mean .... I have to practice about 6 - 8 hours / day . I have to turn my amp on 6 - 8 hours / day .

I want to know .. when you're practicing long time ( 6 - 8 hours / day ) .... do you turn your amp on all the time ? And if you use your amp heavier .. they life is short ?

( I use Fender twin reverb & AI corus amp ... )

ps sorry for my bad English TT .

Turning off and on (which simply means heating up and cooling off) will shorten any electronics lifespan, FAR more significantly to tubes of course than transistors. I wouldn't worry a bit about the AI. If you are concerned about the AI, just leave it on all day. You'll use a little more electricity, but leaving it on shouldn't be a problem at all. If your tube amp has a standby mode, you can use that, but I think tubes use more electricity than SS.
I have a friend who is an electrical engineer/audiophile; he told me years ago to just leave my stereo on all the time after he'd performed a rather expensive repair (for free) for me.

**stevedenver** · 04-03-2012, 03:04 PM

thats what standby is for
frankly, with heavy usage, you will use, about one set if of power tubes a year, and possibly well less at lower volume

**Makani** · 04-03-2012, 04:41 PM

Stevendenver:
As a fellow lawyer I fully understand your situation...I use my lunch hour and set aside one hour to practice each day...sometimes I can actually squeeze in more...despite interuptions and phone calls. I keep an acoustic guitar in my office with a small acoustic amp and its great for practice or stress relief...good luck and keep playing!!

**teleman3726** · 04-03-2012, 08:36 PM

I can usually manage about 2 hours or so a day - about 30 mns in the morning with my little girl in the music room (she loves to fiddle with the amp settings, pedals, and then eventually knocks over the sheet music stand and then cries.

), maybe an hour during the day in the early afternoon, then an hour in the evening before bed, or noodling or working on scales or arpeggios in front of the tube.