Posted by Sean Chisham on June 30, 1999 at 17:21:08:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: PRACTICE!!! posted by Rob on June 30, 1999 at 17:00:12:
I started to keep a log of my practicing schedule for the last 2 months or so and have noticed some tendencies. Also have seen and heard others progress at various speeds. The variations can almost always be directly coorelated to time spent preparing on the horn.
Try keepin a log for a couple months of the exact times you practice, the total hours, and comments on how things went that session/day/week. You will then begin to get a more honest feel for how progress can be directly affected by sheer time on the horn.
Why 4.5 instead of 4 or 5? Well, at around 5-6 hrs/day my brain starts to drift more and the facial muscles don't get enough time each day to recover. I have also found that 3-4hrs/day is slow progress. 4.5 for me is right at the envelope for both mental and physical stamina.
Keep a log for a while of time spent playing and you will see what I am talking about. The log will keep you honest and maybe explain the ups and downs. Without the log, it can be easy for one to think one if getting everything taken care of. It is about honesty.
Is this all subjective and individual? Well, of course it is, to an extent. There is truth that 30 minutes/day will not win a job and 15hrs/day cannot be sustained for very long. Where in the middle is the most efficient use of one's time? Well that is a matter to be worked out. If you just "practice until you are done", then there may be days when you feel tired or lazy and just put in 2 hours. Three days later you may feel great, wish to play for 10 hrs, and wish you had spent a bit more time a few days ago to make today more enjoyable.
As you said, there are TONS of ways to get creative with ones time to improve efficiency. Now imagine that increased efficiency coupled with more time to get to more music. That is where things start to click.
sean