how often do people practise / work on music?

[gwEm]

i had a conversation with a cello player over the weekend, and it was quite interesting.

in normal circumstances i probably practise guitar for 1-2 hours a week. probably 30 minutes of that is technique based and the other time is purely improvisational.

i probably spend 5-10 hours a week working on other musical things, like producing and so on.

if i have a gig schedueled in the next week i'll spend my 5-10 hours practising my set. if the gig is two weeks ahead, i'll spend the 5-10 practising pure technique.

i must admit technique-wise i'm the first to say i'm pretty below par, but slowly improving. i'm not sure i want to spend much time improving it though, since i get more pleasure from practising different improvisations or writing new material.

i rarely play other artists' material, unless a cover version is planned.

was wondering about other peoples scheduals?

[indysmith]

I've given up practising. i don't care if i don't get better. I just pick up the guitar if and when i want to nowadays, and play random notes til it sounds good, lol :D

[Jonny]

Varies to be honest, I have folk at home so when they're out I can probably (and have done) noodle at anything like sweep picking (the same sweep) for about 1 hour+ trying to get it right.

But if they're at home I don't usually practise 'annoying' techniques as they put it. I just play songs. Can't really put a time range to it.

[_tom_]

I never really practise much in terms of scales, metronome etc. I usually just jam around playing my own riffs and boring pentatonic solos :lol: Though I did learn the fast end bit of Crazy Train solo which I'm a bit proud of (not quite up to speed yet though) :)

[Stevepage]

i used to spend up to 5 hours a session just sitting in my room playing. But that was when I was at college and didn't have to work.

Now I work full time and I'm in a band so I spend about 3 hours a week with the band, writing songs.

Any other time on the guitar is usually spent jamming along to covers my band wants to play, writing ideas or improving old songs.

I want to get back into a routine again, but working and having a girlfriend as well as a social life kinda limits any time I have free.

[il˙ti]

For my last two years of high-school, I practiced a rather strict 6 hours a day. Now I've slacked it off a bit (having other responsibilities) but I do take the time off for a guitar marathon when time allows it. On a good weekend day I can get 12 hours in, and I love that. If i'm at the computer or in front of the tele without a guitar in my lap, I feel I'm wasting time. I mostly work on my own music, in fact, I haven't learned a song in ages. When no creative juices are flowing I just practice technique and I even have fun doing that.
My teacher told me that when he has a record on the works, he'd practice 12 hours a day, every day. From 8am to 10pm (when you include breaks)

[Scotty477]

I practise only if I have a space between gigs.

For new songs I tend to cram it in and nail the parts I have to play. The rest of the time it's just improvisation for enjoyment.

[TwilightOdyssey]

I didn't 'practice' for a long time (unless I felt my chops were slipping) while I was teaching, since that reinforces the basics over and over again.

Most recently I've started practicing again for the pure pleasure of it and am really enjoying it!

I try to play guitar for an average of 1 hr/day, minimum. Yesterday I probably played for 3-4 hrs, plus spent another 4hrs mixing the new clip in the Players Room. (Subtle hint lol ;)  )

[Twinfan]

I play most days, for at least an hour.  Just keeping my fingers up to speed, mainly playing along with CDs.  Other times I'll learn new 'DC tracks for the band, or I'll be fiddling with my tone in some way - trying out different pedals on my board etc.

It's not really "practice" to me, it's just "playing"  :)

[samoth2]

I'm trying to practice at least 1 hour a day. Working on many different things, writing and a bit of each.

[Elliot]

I practise about an 1hr to 2hrs per day - but a mixture of electric, classical and acoustic guitar.   I normally run through a scale in one key in all positions on the neck, some licks from a DVD and a bit of whatever song i'm learning.

Don't seem to get any better, though  :D

[Will]

Every day really, a lot of improvisation, do a few Zakk / Jake style licks with my middle and little finger to keep them strong (well the Jake licks usually take up all fingers, but I try to use the weaker ones primarily).
Try to spend time thinking about the music theory though, its way more interesting, and I am happy with my technique.
GCSE study leave, I did no revision, but woke up and played guitar until I slept, cured a broken heart alright! However I gained very little during that time :?

[Johnny Mac]

Not as much as I used to. But when I pick a guitar up it's usually a 1.5 hours. I work on technique first then try and apply it in a musical context. Sometimes it's ok sometimes it's not so I fallback into a pentatonic comfort zone and just play around and enjoy it.

[38thBeatle]

I play at least an hour a day.If I have something specific to learn then I work at it but I generally try to improve fluency. I also work a lot on my bass playing though much of my practice is just playing and I also work on writing songs.

[dave_mc]

most days. not every day, and not always all that long, depends how i feel etc.

though i'd say i generally "play" rather than "practice".