How long do you practice?

title says it all, how long do you practice for?
I try to practice atleast 3hrs a day. If I'm really busy that particular day then I just practice for 30 minutes or not at all and make up for it the next day but ya, mostly 3hrs a day for me.
I just love playing!

:) It matters little how LONG you practice, but it matters much more HOW you practice!

Originally Posted by: Matteo Miller:) It matters little how LONG you practice, but it matters much more HOW you practice!

Not necessarily. You won't find a great guitarist that didn't put an insane amount of time into practice.

I practice 2 hours a day. The first hour I will work on my guitar skills or theory, then the other hour is for jamming or learning songs.

Like hunter said, top knotch guitar players have praticed for years 5 or 6 hours a day. I remember reading somewhere that Steve Vai practiced up to 9 or 11 hours at some point in his life :o

Just remember to have fun. If you can have fun 3 hours a day, good for you. If its only 30 minutes, good for you :)

No doubt. Also no doubt that the amount of practice time is directly correlated to guitar achievement.

But the quality of that practice, i.e., the 'how', can reduce the time it takes to reach that achievment.

I read that when John Williams first started he never practiced over a half-hour a day. And even that was under the supervision of his teacher to ensure that the practice was correct. Initially in the case of this virtuoso, the 'how' was as important, or more so, than the how much.

I've had students come to me that spent hours a day practicing a specific thing, and never got anywhere. After I showed them a few strategies for how to improve the quality of their practice time, results started showing up immediately.

So, I'll change my previous statement, because it's missing something... I agree with both Sebastian and John of course.

The more you practice, the faster you will become great, IF AND ONLY IF you know how to practice effectively. If you spend all your time practicing something incorrectly, you'll never really get anywhere, no matter HOW long you practice...

Sadly, this is why most of the common myths and misconceptions about guitar playing and how to become a great guitar player have been spread... :/

Originally Posted by: Matteo Miller
Sadly, this is why most of the common myths and misconceptions about guitar playing and how to become a great guitar player have been spread... :/

Completely agree.

Perfect practice makes perfect playing. :)

Since a fell in love (again) with my guitar, I work it for 2 to 3 hours a day. I just bought myself my first electric guitar and I am running out of time.

I always wanted to be this "RockStar", I know that's never going to happen, I'm too old not quite as talented as I should but I'm having fun now!!! :)

Yup, like you guys said. Good practice is the essential thing.
Also, taking a break will help you come back to your guitar refreshed and motivated.
Somedays when I practice, my head keeps wandering elsewhere (especially in the last 2 holyday weeks :p). When that happens, your better off to just put the guitar down and come back to it later.
After all, its supposed to be your pleasure time, not a duty.

To avoid injury. You shouldn't practice anything technique wise for more than 3 hours. :)

Originally Posted by: Ryan TunisTo avoid injury. You shouldn't practice anything technique wise for more than 3 hours. :)

To avoid repetitive strain injury, I agree.

If you can't get enough, may I suggest mastering your Music Theory as much as possible? ;)

I share your passion; I can't wait to produce epic rock songs, but I'm progressing steadily and surely with the guide of the professional tutors :)

I practice maybe 2 hours at a time, with an hour's break in between.

Best of luck and welcome to GT!!

How was the three-hour limit arrived at? Currently, I'm a few minutes over three hours nearly everyday and now I'm really worried. :) But then, my three hours are split into two sets; a morning and an afternoon session. Does that count? ;)

All generalizations are false. (But some are good guidelines)

Well it all depends. If you have been playing for many years, chances are you can go over 3 hours with no problem. But the best judge is you :)

I spend about 2 hours a day just practicing. But then I also spend time writing songs which is not part of the practice time. This has worked pretty well for me but everyone is different so it is important to find out what works best for you.

Originally Posted by: Matteo Miller

....

The more you practice, the faster you will become great, IF AND ONLY IF you know how to practice effectively. If you spend all your time practicing something incorrectly, you'll never really get anywhere, no matter HOW long you practice...

...
:/

So how does one insure that one is practicing *EFFECTIVELY*? How does one know?

Or, the converse, how does one guard against practicing ineffectively?