How many hours to practice an instrument a day?
There's no magic number: lt's up to your level, age and goal. These are realistic references and how to get every minute of practice to count.
To be general reference, a beginner advances well with 15 to 30 minutes most of his day, an intermediate student usually needs 30 minutes to an hour and who prepares for an admission or studies music as a race practice several hours, spread out into blocks with rest.
More important than the number is how you use that time. A half hour focused with a clear goal, yields more than two hours while playing an automatic pilot and no practice time is worth if it ends up in pain.
To sum up
- Beginners: 15 to 30 minutes nearly daily. Intermediaries: from 30 minutes to an hour. Advanced and aspiring: several hours in blocks.
- In young children, short sessions work better and sometimes they should be divided into two moments of the day.
- The quality weighs more than quantity: each session needs a concrete goal.
- Do short breaks every 20 to 30 minutes and if you practice much, distribute time at several sessions.
- Pain isn't a part of learning: if it hurts, stop and check with your teacher.
How much to practice at your level
These figures are indicative and have an almost daily practice with a day or two of rest a week. Your teacher sets them up according to your instrument and your goals:
| Level | Daily time | What's his focus? |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner (first months) | 15 to 30 minutes | Posture, sound, basic reading and creating the habit |
| Intermedio | 30 minutes to 1 hour | Specific technique, scales, longer pieces |
| Advanced amateur | 1 to 2 hours | Expand Repertoire, Expression, Playing as a Group |
| A purport to a music race | 2 to 4 hours in blocks, more theory and solpus | Repertoire of hearing, technique, reading and pronouncing |
| University or professional student | Several hours, depending on period | Repertoire of concert, essays, technical maintenance |
If you are preparing for an admission test, time doesn't go all to the instrument: reading, solphis and dictation also require daily practice. preschooler of music That time's been set up for weeks.
How much to practice by age
| Edad | Session duration | Consejo |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 5 to 10 minutes of musical play | More than formal practice: singing, tipping, exploring sounds |
| 6 to 8 years | 10 to 20 minutes | With an adult close and a small target per day |
| 9 to 12 years | 20 to 30 minutes | They start to practice alone and check out the work paper of his teacher. |
| Adolescentes | 30 to 60 minutes | The motivation goes up if they include music they love |
| Adultos | What's on your schedule, with constancy | Better 20 minutes a day than 2 hours on Saturday |
| Older adults | Shortcuts with more pauses | Take care of his hands and his back and his posture and his time goes up and about. |
With children, it's better to finish the session with a desire than tiredness. If your child resists practice, check our ideas to [motivate your child to practice]](/blog/como-motivar-a-tu-hijo-a-practicar-su-instrumento).
Quality vs. quantity: what makes time give up
The time of practice only counts if you are solving something. The difference can be noted in what you do during the session:
| Reaping practice | Automatic pilot practice |
|---|---|
| That's what you're about to get better today. | That's how you feel about "see what goes out." |
| Isolate the tough suit and work slow | You play the whole play again and again |
| That's how you use a methonomer and get up and about. | Do you play at the speed that's coming out? |
| That's how you get and listen. | Trust how you felt while you were playing |
| You stop when you lose your concentration | Still about to turn time around. |
Ten minutes tipping a passage with the [metronome]](/herramientas/metronomo) they can be more than half an hour after what's coming out of you. To organize every block session, follow our [practice routine at home]](/blog/como-practicar-musica-en-casa).
Reparations: how to distribute time
- He works in blocks from 20 to 30 minutes and lays his rest for a few minutes between them: his hands are loose, his walk and his water is water.
- If you practice more than an hour, divide it into two or more sessions throughout the day. It usually gives more than an hour in the morning and another hour in the afternoon than two hours in a row.
- Alterates the demand with light: after an intense technical exercise, play something quiet or read.
- Leave at least one day a week's rest or practice very soft.
- Sleep well: Rest helps to consolidate what you have been practising.
According to your instrument
The winds and the singing have been tiring their lips and their voices before their hands, so they have to have shorter sessions and more frequent pauses. In violin, watch his shoulder and his neck. If his face gets upset, check with his [violin's] teacher.](/clases/violin) The height of his manga and his mintimator. He takes care of his wrist and his forearms at piano and takes care of his wrist and his forearms. The first few weeks of guitar, his finger yolks hurt as his cheeks form and his cheeses: he practice several times a day in short sessions rather than a long one.
How to avoid injuries by more
Overuse injuries usually occur with increased blow time, for example before a recital or hearing, or with tension. Learn how to distinguish signs:
| Signal | What to do |
|---|---|
| Minor muscle tiredness with rest | Normal. Take a pause and continue soft |
| Pressure that doesn't go as soon as we get out | Stop and check posture, height of chair or atril |
| Pain that's always back at the same place | suspend that practice and discuss with your teacher |
| Hormigueo, numbness or loss of force | To and consult with a health care professional |
- Warm up before playing with slow exercises, not with the most difficult passage.
- It puts up practice time little by little, never from day to day.
- Check your posture with teacher: height of the bench at [piano]](/clases/piano)how you support the instrument.
- If you feel the body tense, put down your tempo or change your homework.
If you have little time: how to get his best
Between work, school and trackies, many adults and students have an opportunity to find an hour's free. Some ideas:
- Prioritizes: the technical exercise of the day and the most difficult fragment. The rest can wait.
- Take short sessions: 15 minutes before you leave count.
- Do without an instrument: read rhythms, mentally review the piece or listen to the repertoire with the score while travelling.
- Use the weekend for a longer session but as a replacement for practice every week.
- Keep an eye on the instrument and ready to play and get them out of the box shouldn't be an excuse.
Frequently asked questions
Is it bad to practice every day?
No, as long as you have an intensity and listen to the body. Even so, a day of rest or very soft practice a week helps to get back hands, lips or voice.
How many hours do professional musicians practice?
It would vary greatly according to the instrument, stage and commitments. Many practice several hours a day but most often divided into blocks with resting. What differentiates them isn't just time but how focused each session is.
Do you have to practice only for the weekend?
It serves less than while at the same time during the week. Hands and memory better consolidate with regular sessions. If you can only get the weekend, add up even if it's a mental practice or reading every week.
Do practice without an instrument count as practice?
Yes, as an accompaniment. To mentally review a piece, read rhythms, make solphis or listen with the score strengthens memory and reading. Do not replace physical work with the instrument but help with few days.