Practice

pPRACTICE REQUIREMENTS ...........................

The opinions expressed on this page are one teacher's, and are totally subjective. The author is not suggesting that there is any single "correct" recommendation for how much students should practice. Expect most good teachers to have their own carefully-considered recommendations and expectations. Please read this whole page before forming a conclusion about practicing. Many important details and disclaimers are discussed at the end.

Teachers: I welcome your opinions regarding this important subject. Please email if you wish to chime in. I'll post your commentary (if you wish). ~C.C.

How much practice is required?
Keeping in mind the infinite variables in each student's situation, I'll offer this simple formula for minimum acceptable practice: Starting around the fourth grade, practice for at least 10 solid minutes every day, and increase by about 5 minutes each year, until you're practicing about an hour a day.
This means middle school students are practicing for about 20-30 minutes daily; high-schoolers approach 45 minutes to an hour. This does not mean you have to start playing by the fourth grade. If you are starting as a 7th or 8th grader, prepare to practice about 30 minutes daily even as a beginner. Adults without prior musical experience should build up to practicing an hour a day as quickly as reasonably possible. Of course, adults with musical experience also like to devote an hour a day to improving (or at least maintaining) their skills. It's tough to find the time, for kids and adults alike. One's willingness to meet these minimal requirements is a fair indication of one's commitment to learning the instrument.

Minimum Practice Requirements:
(This is just a rough guideline; numbers are approximate!)

3rd grade & under: discussed here

4th grade: 10 minutes daily

5th grade: 15 minutes daily

6th grade: 20 minutes daily

7th grade: 25 minutes daily

8th grade: 30 minutes daily

9th grade: 35 minutes daily

10th grade: 40 minutes daily

11th grade: 45+ minutes daily

12th grade: 50+ minutes daily

Adults: discussed below

Defining "practice":
All playing is not practice. Practice is working on assigned (or self-imposed) material which you can't already play, toward the goal of mastering that material. It may require more than ten minutes on the clock to achieve ten minutes of actual practice. Generally speaking, playing songs is not practicing. Sure, you may "practice" a song, but that's not what I'm talking about. Practice here means working on a specific skill, with repetition, repetition, repetition. (Get the idea? Repetition.) "Maintenance work" on technique also does not count. For instance, a basic routine of scales and exercises that serves as a warm-up is done before the actual practice clock starts ticking. Practice so you can play the music you want. Playing the music you want isn't practicing; it's your reward for practicing.

Defining "daily" (as in "daily practice") :
Daily means practically daily. I encourage my students to practice "practically every day", and I expect them to practice every single day unless circumstances dictate that it's absolutely impractical. Five days per week is a bare minimum. For a more detailed discussion on the virtues of "daily" practice, see below (or click here).

Some things I like about this recommendation:

It applies to any age, regardless of ability. For instance, if you don't start playing until the 7th grade, you should still begin by practicing for about a half hour each day. It's based on age and maturity, not musical proficiency. Also, younger kids' muscles learn with less repetition, requiring less practice to achieve a reasonable result. Adult beginners: sorry, but you'll typically need to carve out a solid hour a day if you expect to progress at a reasonable rate.
It assumes very focused, efficient practice.
It's reasonable. Especially for younger kids: you may ask for more time, but you won't often get it. Asking for less time, but with a focus on daily practice, nets greater results.
It assumes that you're practicing the correct things. (That's where Sensible Guitar can help!)

Some things I don't like about this recommendation:

Like any similar list, it assumes that broad generalities can be drawn. At best it provides a rough idea of reasonable practice requirements to achieve basic skills. At worst, it sells ambitious students short by recommending too little, while demanding too much of the casual dabbler.
It does not apply well to a small but important group of students: very young beginners who quickly excel. A fourth grader who has already been playing (with good results) for a few years will be practicing more than 10 minutes a day. (In fairness, this is a very small minority of all young beginners. I discourage starting too early; you can read more on "when to start lessons" here.)
It has modest expectations. As a teacher, I want students to excel. These practice requirements are minimal. Monetary value aside, meeting these requirements will typically yield acceptable value for the time and effort invested in lessons and practice. It's like breaking even, or coming out a little ahead. Within these guidelines, the more you focus and apply yourself, the better you'll do. But players who achieve serious musical proficiency practice much, much more than the minimum recommendations presented here.

What results can you expect from this plan?:
Before you can answer this, there are two points which must be established:
1. What is the quality of the practice?
There's a tremendous difference between ten minutes of well structured, focused practice and ten minutes of noodling on the instrument. Having a musically trained parent, peer, or other influence on hand can increase the "quality" of a student's practice time. However, all the encouragement (or yelling) in the world can't make someone practice harder. The student has to want to improve. Parents: if you have to argue with your child to practice, you're fighting a losing battle. Discontinue the lessons.

2. To what degree is the student "musically inclined"?
There's further discussion on "natural ability" below, but let's just say this: Some folks are naturally inclined to play in a reasonably "proper way", while others instinctively use poor form. If you don't have to spend time correcting bad technique, you move forward more quickly.

With those 2 factors in mind, here's what you can reasonably expect from our Minimum Practice Requirements:

Ability to play moderately demanding music (admittedly a relative term), and sound good (also a relative term). Good enough to play presentably in front of people. For example, if you sing, you'll be able to make a good presentation of playing & singing after a few years. If you don't sing, you should be able to accompany a singer. If you don't aspire to play in front of people, you should be able to derive some enjoyment and relaxation from your ability to make music.
Ability to play in a group setting (orchestra, church, heavy metal, folk, whatever). However, practice of the group's material is not reflected in the Minimum Practice Requirements. If you join a band or orchestra, get ready to practice more!

What results should you not expect from this plan?:
Don't expect excellence. This is not enough practice to equip one to play on a professional level. It's probably not enough if you're considering music as your college major. Serious students are warned about practicing "only" an hour a day. But not all good music students are "serious" in this sense. At the very least, exceeding (or failing to meet) these requirements provides a reasonable gauge of one's commitment to learning the instrument.

5 days a week vs 4 (the importance of daily practice):
As noted above, "daily" in this context means "practically every day", or "every day unless it is absolutely impractical". To give further clarification, for students of any age, and any level of ability, five days per week of practice is an absolute bare minimum.
Consider this: practice is largely about "muscle memory"; teaching the muscles in your hands to achieve the required proficiency. This requires consistent repetition. On an average, if you practice four days a week, you've missed three days, which allows your hands enough time to "unlearn", or "forget" the material you've worked on. Generally, practicing four times a week is about the same as not practicing at all. Five days a week is a vast improvement. It means that you've only missed two days that week, and have probably reinforced the material enough for your hands to improve. Of course, the goal is to play every single day. (You should never wake up in the morning and say "Hey, I'm not gonna play guitar today!") Missing a day is reasonable, so practicing six days a week is fine. Missing two days is alright; you may see some progress. But missing three days out of a week pretty much ensures "maintenance" at best (skills not improving, but not diminishing). If you're not playing at least 5 days per week on a consistent basis, you should not have any expectations of improvement. And, unfortunately, longer practice sessions on the days you play does not make up for missed days.

Students who already play an instrument:
You have a huge advantage. What this means as far as practice time, I don't know. Do you require less practice time, because so many basic musical principals and techniques are already familiar? Or do you require more, because you're presumably capable of applying a greater spectrum of concepts right away? It depends on your goals as a guitarist.

About adult beginners:
If you're playing guitar simply because you find it relaxing and enjoyable, then relax & enjoy; don't burden yourself with too many goals or practice requirements. However, if you hope to reach an intermediate level (or beyond), you'll probably need to find a solid 40 mins to an hour of daily practice. If you're just starting out, remember that playing guitar is like physical exercise. Don't do too much at once. Allow your muscles to build up some strength and stamina. Increase your practice time gradually. Any pain or discomfort that could be caused by playing the guitar (except for the normal fingertip pain until you develop calluses) should be brought to the attention of your teacher and an experienced doctor or physical therapist.

Who's your teacher?:
Even among teachers, practice expectations vary wildly. Despite the recommendations here, there's really no "correct" answer regarding how much practice should be required. Before selecting a teacher, you should have some sense of how much practice is likely to take place, and what your goals and expectations are. Be sure that the student, parents, and instructor are all on the same page regarding the expected amount of practice.

Warm ups and reviewing material (Important, but not practice):
Many teachers recommend a warm up routine before doing any physically demanding practice. Such a routine (typically running through some scales or musical exercises) takes place before the actual practice clock starts ticking.

Expectations

If you aspire to be a great guitar player, you'll almost certainly need to practice lots, lots more than the minimum recommendations given here. But if that's what you want, most of your practice shouldn't be chore. Enjoy it!
What is the level of difficulty of what you want to play? Some fine guitarists play simply. There are countless great songs which can be played with reasonable ease on the guitar. If you wish to play more technically demanding music, adjust your practice schedule accordingly.

Natural ability:
It's no secret that some folks develop musical proficiency at a faster rate than others. Without trying to determine why this is, I wish to briefly touch on how this relates to practice requirements. Keep in mind that there are many different skills required to become a competent musician, and a given student may excel and some facets, but not others. The importance of proper technique is mentioned above (and is a recurring theme on this web site). The ability to focus and a willingness to work hard are huge advantages. When it comes to learning music theory (the study of how musical pitches are organized and utilized), some students will "have a head for it", while others will need more time. Ear training is similarly unique from student to student. One's ability to "hear" (i.e., identify or repeat upon hearing) chords and melodies will govern the speed of their progress. Without starting a lengthy discussion about the role of innate talent, it's obvious that some students will progress more quickly than others.

If you practice an hour a day, you'll be like everybody who practices an hour a day. If you want to be great, you be the one doing five hours a day.
~Wynton Marsalis

I hope this information is helpful. Parents: please weigh the opinions here, as well as of those of your local music instructors, in determining how much practice to expect. Teachers: (a reminder): we welcome your thoughts via email.
~CC

This website is a companion to the book Sensible Guitar, an instructional method book for all guitar students. Most of the site is dedicated to providing supplemental material for students and teachers using the book. However, the "Getting Started " pages are offered as a service to potential students (or, more exactly, the parents of young students). All of the material is provided by the book's author and publisher, Chris Cass, a long-time music educator who teaches guitar in southern Connecticut. All recommendations and opinions expressed here are the author's own. Questions, comments, and opposing view points are welcome via email.

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