Posted by John Urling on October 14, 2000 at 23:39:38:
I was just curious about everyone's practice habits. My gig requires me to play over 180 services a year; consequently this kind of work can throw a wrench into my daily routine. I realize this is a good problem to have. However, when I have seven days of gigs in a row, like I did last week, my chances of getting into the practice room are slim. As a result, my lack of practice catches up with me.
Lately, I've been managing to toot the horn for four hours a day, even on gig days when the schedule isn't too demanding. I split it up and try to avoid going for more than 2 - 2.5 hours in a sitting. On non-gig days, I may do as much as six hours, but the same rule holds true . . . 2 - 2.5 hours per session.
I've been told that if you can't get done in four hours what you do in six, you're probably doing something wrong. In that same conversation, I was told that after four hours of practice, even if you split it up, you can cause damage to you chops.
I�ve never had any serious chop problems, so I�m not sure what to think about that.
What are you experiences and what do you think?