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I was wondering, for most advanced-level high school-aged players, how much practice time is put in per day?

I am talking about very talented and advanced players.

Practice enough to get better. But not so much you get sick of it.

As someone who goes to an arts school for high school and am majoring in music for college I feel like I could answer this question for you. I aim to practice at least 2 hours a day. Now I have plenty of other ensembles that most kids don't get as well as less homework but I feel like 2 hours is a good amount for me to really get some work done. It isn't as much about how much time you put into it as long as you don't waste the time that you spend practicing.
Hope this helps,
Chris

You can look at it this way. 2 hours focused and intense practice will be better then 4 hours of just playing around. I say put in as much truly focused practice as you can in a day (face and sanity are both valid concerns) on a regular basis and then decided whether it's enough.

i think it should be more of a matter of WHEN to practice. now, im NOT stating the obvious times such as times that would piss of your neighbors. i would say don't do any in depth practicing right after you wake up but to focus on breathing, buzzing and long tones. this will let the natural swelling in your lips go down. after then i currently shoot for somewhere around 3-4 hours (5 if i'm compelled). when i was H.S. i was doing around 1 1/2-2 hours. i never practice more than 30 min. at a time so that i can keep my mind fresh and absorb everything that i've practiced so far.

all-in-all the amount really DEPENDS ON YOU and what you want to accomplish. just gauge it on any future goals you have. hope this helps!

-Casey

I average at an hour, taking into acount days when I don't practice at all, and days when I'm playing all day long for honor-bands and such. Actual practice time? Still probably an hour average. Guess I need to step it up compared to these other guys.

I try to squeeze in an hour each day, more on the weekends, but I have been slacking off recently.

I believe I am a good player. I love what I do and I do what I love which is way WAY more than I can say for most of my peers.

I usually get an about 2 hours a day on school days, and 1 hour on weekends and such.

I got 3rd chair district 1 in IL, which is Chicago and a whole bunch of the surrounding area as a sophomore.

I usually shoot for 2 hours a day depending on the day and how crazy my classes are. I usually play my horn about 10 hours a day between ensembles and such. Don't practice so much that you get tired of practicing and practice challenging stuff but also work on things that you can play and that are fun to break up the craziness of difficult music.

The late Milt Stevens(principal trombone NSO) used to gauge his students' expectations of progress by correlating it to their individual practice time. It was basically:

1 hr per day= to maintain where you are at presently
2 hrs per day= progress at a slow rate
3 hrs per day= progress at a moderate rate
4 hrs or more per day=progress at a fast rate

Rex Martin expected 3 hrs per day from his students when I was a Grad student. He said that he figured most brass players at Northwestern University were practicing between 2 and 4 hrs per day, and felt that some needed to practice more than others in order to improve. I have found this definitely to be the case in my study of the tuba.

Are you asking because you are afraid you are not practicing enough, or that you are practicing too much?

The players with the intention of doing it for a living and who have the drive to succeed (a separate issue from talent, perhaps) are those who practice all the time. They usually have to be forced not to practice in order to address other areas of need in their lives.

There's always another guy who if he's awake, he's practicing, performing, or strongly wishing he was doing one or the other.

If you just want to have a good life and enjoy being a tuba player while you do other things, then you can fine-tune your practice on the basis of evaluating your objectives. It's not measured in hours, it's measured in accomplishment. Actually, that's true for those destined for the pros, too, but their standard of accomplishment is usually just out of reach no matter how much they practice. That's part of what keeps them practicing.

The pros are really, really good at evaluating themselves. That's how they know when they are practicing too little (or too much).

Rick "who practices as often as possible, which isn't nearly enough" Denney

I try to shoot for 3-4 hours of practice a day, I find that beyond that I either don't have the physical or mental focus to be using my time effectively, so at that point I may study music, listen to recordings, or actually go home and be a real person . I do count rehearsals in that total a bit too. usually at a rate of 1/2 (two hours of rehearsal I count as one hour of practice)

I guess a long day for me would be like a tuesday.
8AM Group Warm-ups with the 'bones (mostly flexibility stuff)
9AM Drone/tuning work.
10AM Brass Choir
11AM Lunch break
Noon General practice
1PM Lesson
2-4PM Wind Ensemble rehearsal
4-6:30 Dinner/classes
6:30-8 Tuba Ensemble.

and a short/regular more like a monday:
9AM Group Warm-ups
10-2 Class
2PM Wind Ensemble
3PM Practice
4PM rep. class
5PM dinner
and i'll come back in the evening if something on a deadline is on the stand.

so i guess it varies...

I was a four year 5a texas all state member including being first overall my junior year. Preparing for these competitions I was putting in at least three hours a day. It's not necessarily about how long you practice, it's more about how you practice. Without proper practice techniques sitting down for three hours a day really won't do you much good. Practice smarter not harder.



AS

I am a freshman and made Texas 5A All-State this year and I put in anywhere from 1-4 hours per day. I usually practice around 2 1/2 on average.

Rick Denney wrote:Are you asking because you are afraid you are not practicing enough, or that you are practicing too much?



It's not measured in hours, it's measured in accomplishment.

I always thought that I was practicing plenty. I have an incredibly busy schedule and lots of homework, and whenever possible, I try to work in an hour of practice time. (I also play the piano, so I try to put in equal practice time for that as well.) During the summer, I practice tuba more, usually two hours, sometimes more.

Also, I understand that it's measured in accomplishment.

I asked the question because it only recently occurred to me that most advanced high school players probably put in several hours a day, and I wondered if I should be stepping it up.

I stopped counting hours years ago. When I was at FSU, it was anywhere from 3-6 hours a day.

Rick Denney was right: QUALITY over QUANTITY! My shedding on the euph is very intense. But my daily shedding doesn't stop there.

I play both upright and electric basses, which demand just as much attention in the shed.

I am constantly playing an instrument, and when I'm not, I'm doing copywork on Finale. So, altogether, I get a LOT of ear training throughout the day. Everything I do applies to everything else I do. Shedding electric bass will improve my rhythm on euphonium. Shedding upright will improve my intonation. Doing copywork will improve my hearing intervals and improve my reading.

You can shed while in front of the T.V. This is where I do long tones. If you're bored, pick up your horn.

Here's some ideas about time, though:

-Bird would play his horn while walking around. It was just about always at his lips.

-Trane didn't stop playing at set breaks at the gig. He walked to the back of the venue and kept playing and working on whatever it was he was working on.

-Santana says he sheds 10+ hours a day.

Nick

The key is to practice smart. You can practice for 2 hours a day or 4 hours a day and receive equal results. But if you practiced as efficient as the 2 hours = 4 hours, then a 4 hour practice day would be even more beneficial.

So.....I would say that practicing the MOST you can without injuring yourself, and practicing the most efficiently will help you progress the fastest....

of course, this is all ideally said....the "real" world doesn't always allow for this.

There was some interesting scientific research done on getting what has been studied into long term memory. One of the surprising results was that if you spend time learning something, it takes five or six hours of "not studying anything else" to get what you studied into long term memory, and if you study something else within that five-to-six hour time frame, you actually "cover over" the first thing you studied and it doesn't make it into long term memory nearly as well.

I think people who can put in the hours upon hours required to reach an extremely high level, are able, in the physical sense, to retain what they have learned better than those who put in equal time but don't get as far.

It would be interesting to set up a self-research project, practicing with the five-to-six-hour "rest time" in between learning episodes, contrasted with just going full-bore all day. Personally....I find I learn better with shorter, condensed practice sessions (read "intense" for "condensed") as opposed to just flailing away at it for hours upon hours.

I also think one should have some "fun play time" within the practice session, because as they say, "all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy."

MA

PWtuba wrote:...I asked the question because it only recently occurred to me that most advanced high school players probably put in several hours a day, and I wondered if I should be stepping it up.

It depends on your objectives. What do you hope to accomplish with your tuba playing?

When I was in high school, I practiced probably an hour a day on average, plus rehearsal at school. And I fit it into a busy life, the other aspects of which were just as important to me as playing the tuba. Those other aspects are still just as important, and I still fit tuba playing into a busy schedule. But here's the point: I never expected or intended to make the tuba my life's work. For me, it was a way to express one side of myself different from other expressions that were just as or more important to me. I went to a college that doesn't even have a music department, and that was the college I intended to go to all along, because of those things that were more important.

Had music been my primary focus, I would have needed to shed those other activities. But if I was the kind of musician with that sort of talent and drive, I probably would not have gotten involved in those other activities in the first place, because they would have kept me away from music.

(All that said, the thing I probably regret the most about my tuba playing in school was that I never had the opportunity to study privately with a good teacher. We just didn't think in those terms in those days.)

If shedding your other interests is what you are contemplating, you can only make that decision in terms of what you hope to achieve. Don't just heap more demands on yourself--that path leads to destruction. Make choices concerning those activities over which you have control. Tuba instead of homework is not an option. Tuba instead of going out with your friends, or instead of tinkering with cars, or whatever, might be.

Rick "thinking motivation usually follows desire" Denney

This reminded me of something in addition. You should NOT practice straight. You need short breaks OFTEN because otherwise your ability to retain becomes significantly less throughtout your learning.

This is most often quoted in terms of studying. I was once told that you should not study more than a half hour without taking a 5 minute break or so. I think this can be applied to practicing as well. I find that my most producting practices are when I practice for 3 or 4 hours, but about ever 25-35 minutes I take a 5 or 6 minute break. It gives your face and mind rest before cramming more information in. I think this definetely helps in the realm of efficient practice.

MaryAnn wrote:
I also think one should have some "fun play time" within the practice session, because as they say, "all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy."

MA

EXACTLY!!! What's the point of playing if you hate every minute of it. Sometimes you gotta eat spinach to get to the desert. (Unless your like me and are usually too full from the dinner to eat the desert ).

So you have to play some things you do well and enjoy so that it's not always work work work. (However, make sure your "goofing" is still applying all the good things you work on. Otherwise you may undo what you were just practicing).

Cheers!