How much should we practice?

Barry Blackwood · Posted 28 Sep 2010 4:30 pm

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/how-much-should-we-practice/

Tommy Gibbons · Posted 29 Sep 2010 12:36 am **Practice Daily???**

I read somewhere that a famous musician said, "if I miss practice one day I'll know it. Two days other musicians will know it, three days and everyone will know it".

Hope this helps.

TommyG...
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Joachim Kettner · From: Germany

I have to re- read the article, but my spontaneous thought is that if I plan to play on stage (very rarely), I practice a lot- If it's covers I'm trying to find the phrases the original player does, if it is original songs I try to find my own parts that I think will fit. Doing this I used to spend many hours in a row for several days.
But normally I practise about 20 minutes per day.

Buck Reid · From: Nashville,TN

I think the goal is to be able to play what it is you hear in your head. Here's a follow up...
From CNN:
Study: Musicians' brains wired for sound

November 15, 2001 Posted: 10:45 AM EST (1545 GMT)
SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- The brain waves of professional musicians respond
to music in a
way that suggests they have an intuitive sense of the notes that amateurs lack,
researchers said
Wednesday.

Neuroscientists, using brain-scanning MRI machines to peer inside the minds of
professional
German violinists, found they could hear the music simply by thinking about it,
a skill amateurs in
the study were unable to match.

The research offers insight into the inner workings of the brain and shows that
musicians' brains are
uniquely wired for sound, researchers said at the annual meeting of the Society
for Neuroscience.

Neuroscientists often study how we hear and play music because it is one of the
few activities that
use many functions of the brain, including memory, learning, motor control,
emotion, hearing and
creativity, said Dr. Robert Zatorre of the Montreal Neurological Institute.

"It offers a window onto the highest levels of human cognition," Zatorre said.

In a study by researchers at the University of Tuebingen, the brains of eight
violinists with German
orchestras and eight amateurs were analyzed as they silently tapped out the
first 16 bars of
Mozart's violin concerto in G major.

Brain scans showed professionals had significant activity in the part of their
brains that controlled
hearing, said Dr. Gabriela Scheler of the University of Tuebingen.

"When the professionals move their fingers, they are also hearing the music in
their heads," Scheler
said.

Amateurs, by contrast, showed more activity in the motor cortex, the region that
controls finger
movements, suggesting they were more preoccupied with hitting the correct notes,
she said.

Scheler, a former violinist with the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra, said the
findings suggested
that professionals have "liberated" their minds from worrying about hitting the
right notes. As a
result, they are able to listen, judge and control their play, Scheler said.

"Presumably, this enhances the musical performance," she said.

In a second experiment, the violinists were asked to imagine playing the
concerto without moving
their fingers. Brain scans showed again that the professionals were hearing the
music in their heads.

Zatorre, who has studied the brain's response to music for two decades, said it
was the first time
anyone had studied music and its relationship to motor control and imagery.
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Wayne Franco · From: silverdale, WA. USA

When I make it a point to figure out what I am going to play in advance and letting my hands and ears verify it as I go ahead and figure out the next phrase in advance immediately cleans up my playing. I find it takes lots of practice.

Jim Pitman · From: Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA

Interesting post Buck.
I figure if I can immediately play what I can imagine I've arrived.
The late, Duane Almann, is quoted as saying he practices to be able to play what he feels - quite intuitive for a young guy. He died at age 28.
BTW love your playing.

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

Thanks for those articles, very interesting.

One of the best drummers I ever saw is named Tyshawn Sorey. He said that when he was a kid his mother had a room in the house with many record players and records in it. He was so excited about music that he would put on four albums at once. In fact he said he'll still listen to two albums at a time at home. You can hear the influence in his playing. He's played some of the strongest polyrhythmic stuff I've ever heard. I got to meet him shortly after he landed a spot in Dave Douglas' band. He'd been playing drums for less than three years!

Hey Jim, Duane was just 24 when he died, and he played slide for how many years? maybe 4? amazing...

Elton Smith · From: Texas, USA

That was refreshing.Someone that can't play a steel guitar telling me how to think.Go figure.
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Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Playing the same tired old runs/phrases quickly become a habit; good or bad.

Once your noteable progress for the day halts.......you should put the practice session away but devote the remaining time you've set aside to playing something 'NEW' for your pure enjoyment.

You might discover more can be acquired here under the relaxed circumstances.

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I pretty much think of "real practice" as trying to learn to play something I can't, but there's a lot to be said for the Zen aspect of just playing. It is called playing an instrument, not "working" a steel guitar.... When I'm working, it's usually to play something on steel that doesn't belong there, like horn or guitar parts.

But Daniel Lanois refers to his pedal steel as a "church in a suitcase" and I'm down with that. What percentage of the forum here get paid to play a different instrument, but also play steel? The Grand Old Opry stage isn't big enough to hold all of us.

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

Next question: What do you practice?

I practice the normal 3 finger exercises, as slow as possible sometimes, and as many scales as times allows out of one key.....
JJ

Jim Pitman · From: Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA

I stand corrected Brett - amazing Duane died at 24.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Buck Reid · From: Nashville,TN

I agree with David and Ray... practice what you know you can't play but don't forget about the enjoyment part. While it's important to practice scales and phrases, it's also good to just play without thinking about what your doing. Also, take a new tune, learn the melody first and in the process you'll find little gems along the way that you can apply to many situations and still have the satisfaction of progressing. There's a fine line when it comes to making a science of practice and taking all the fun out of it shows up in your playing.
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Roger Francis · From: kokomo,Indiana, USA

well said Buck, i noodle a lot and one thing i do sometimes is take lead guitar lics and turn them into steel lics, ive found some interesting things from doing that, makes you think a little differently, i only play E9 so i dont know if its easier on C6th or not

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