How Much Do You Practice? [POLL]

Polls are important for keeping this site relevant to you, the reader. I want GuitarTeacher.com to help you play guitar better and the feedback these polls provide helps me shape the the lessons I post here. With this in mind, if you can take a moment to complete the poll below I would genuinely appreciate it. It should be fun! And informative!

Practicing long and hard is no guarantee that you will achieve all of your goals on the guitar. But not practicing guarantees that you won’t achieve any of your goals on the guitar. There is no avoiding that practice is a primary component of moving your guitar playing towards where you want it to be.

I have heard and read all ranges of answers for how much guitarists practice, from “I never practice” to Steve Vai’s monk-like “10-Hour a Day” practice sessions. I have provided some quick tips on practicing in previous posts. Coming up, I have a series of posts devoted to the subject of guitar practice in more detail. These cover practice routines, structuring your practice time, developing proper practice “mind set” as well as covering tools and resources to get more out of your practice sessions.

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But to start I want to know more about you - here’s the poll (it’s also in my sidebar):

Do you practice every day? Every other day? How long is a typical practice session? Do you have a routine, do you just wing it or do you just “jam”? I would love to get comments below to add on top of the poll results. I think we could all learn a lot! I will weigh in with my 2 cents without trying to influence the poll before it is complete.

I’m looking forward to seeing the results on this one!

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  • http://dy-sphoric.blogspot.com/ MJK (Mike)

    Do you practice every day? – I try to.
    Every other day? – This is more of how often I practice.
    How long is a typical practice session? – 15 to 30 minutes, sometimes longer.
    Do you have a routine, do you just wing it or do you just “jam”? – I am winging it but I am slowly coming up with a routine

  • Brandon

    Do you practice every day? – at least 4 days a week

    Every other day? – no set schedule

    How long is a typical practice session? – usually about 30 minutes during the week (during my lunch break at work – I keep an old guitar here for practicing), and on the weekend I usually get at least one hour or two long session in.

    Do you have a routine, do you just wing it or do you just “jam”? – I usually warm up, play something that I already know, then work on a new song that I am learning (working through chord progressions or correct finger placement for fingerstyle songs) – all the while trying to improve my technique and keep my muscles relaxed.

  • http://dy-sphoric.blogspot.com/ MJK (Mike)

    “(during my lunch break at work – I keep an old guitar here for practicing)” – I wonder if I could get away with that at work. I have thought about bringing in a guitar but I am not sure how well that would go over in my office. However, this is making me think about asking….

  • Brandon

    Our office is pretty laid back. It’s an engineering company, pretty young employees mostly. Bicycles everywhere, crappy basketball hoop out back, etc.. The guy that works next to me has a guitar and some recording equipment here most of the time too.

  • http://www.guitarteacher.com Storm

    @MJK (Mike): Everyone is different when it comes to routines and what works for them. Monitor your results. If the results aren’t what you want, then rearrange your routine.

    @Brandon: Great point about having a guitar at work. Simply having a guitar available can turn ‘down time’ into practice time.

    Thanks for commenting, guys. Good stuff!

  • http://www.myspace.com/metalforGod Mitch

    I practice anywhere from 15 minutes a day, to 2 or 3 hours a day..depends on the the day..but i play 7 days a week always..

  • http://dy-sphoric.blogspot.com/ MJK (Mike)

    @Mitch: “…2 or 3 hours a day” – WOW.
    I would love to practice this much on a daily basis. However, I am getting more practice in and feeling better about my practices and self but I need to do more.

  • http://www.myspace.com/metalforGod Mitch

    well sometimes ill pick up my guitar to practice a little or just jam…and the next thing i know, ive been playing for hours…

  • http://www.guitarteacher.com Storm

    @Mitch: That is awesome! I think the consistency of playing every day is more key than length of time. Simply getting started is the hardest part for most people. And, like you said, once you get the guitar in your hands the time can add up before you know it!

  • Brad

    I found playing every day sucks you in. I play 1-2 per day, but some days it only 15 minutes, or a rainy weekend with a new song can be 4-5 hours a day. And this is just practice time with a guitar in my hands. Whenever I can, I read theory books/sites, hints and tips, tech on guitar, amps and effects etc. If I get a full hour I warmup, do a some finger condidtioning drills (speed, agliity) then work on few songs. I try to work on the hard parts and switch around alot to keep from getting bored/frustrated. Some nights I’ll just pick a key and figure out the chord progressions around the neck. Somehow I rarely get bored. :? P

  • http://www.guitarteacher.com Storm

    @Brad: You hit on many great points. And I am with you: learning guitar is the universal cure for boredom! Thanks for taking the time to outline your practice routine.

  • http://www.guitarteacher.com Storm
  • Mark Taylor

    I am currently working on improving my lead guitar playing so I practice from books I have purchased until I can master the material. Sometimes I am on a particular section for weeks. Like now, I am trying to get down the f-d-a roadmap on the entire neck. I usually play a few scales, some new chord inversions I might not be familiar with, and then a new song I might be wanting to learn. That happens about 3 times a week.

  • Slim

    I was practicing almost everyday then I broke a string I thought it would be easier to order strings so I did and now I have to weight 3 weeks for my check to go through I haven’t realy played in three weeks but I dink around without the e string

  • http://www.youtube.com/veronicadoesmusic veronica

    I play everyday. I usually will just jam, practice my bar chords, play some songs i know by memory, practice reading music etc. At least once a week I tend to look up tabs of my favorite songs on ultimate-guitar usually, o i’ll find some tutorial videos online. I love to write my own music and I record videos of me playing frequenty too, whether they be covers or original insturmentals, or a song and lyrics i’ve written. I also take a guitar class during school, which is about an hour long. I keep my gutiar in my own room and usually I can’t pass by it without picking it up and playing a few songs. ha. best hobby ever :)

  • tyler

    Do you practice every day? – I’ve Practiced every single day since i got a guitar
    How long is a typical practice session? Between 3-6 Hours mostly. I get home from school around 4 and usually play until around 10. And at night i practice the new songs i learned during the day. So coupled together i would say i practice somewhere around 5-8 hours a day.
    Do you have a routine, do you just wing it or do you just “jam”?  I really love music, so so far I have been learning a bunch of songs i really like. Usually the intro or something, because the verses are usually chords so they don’t really sound to well with out a band. I practice chords I am trying to learn. I go through scales, trying to memorize them. Sometimes in between i go online and look up tips and stuff.

  • Xiphaus

    I try to practice every day, sometimes only about half an hour other times it can be anywhere up to 6 or 7 hours but usually hangs around three or four. I try to have a routine but it rarely works out the way I plan. I try to learn new things but I get to a certain speed relatively easily and after that no matter how much speed training or repetition I do my speed and clarity stays the same so I tend to revert back to things I can do well which, while it sounds good and is quite fast, is also very limited as it amounts to only about 3 different runs, probably not the most productive use of my time!

  • susan

    I practice every day. I don’t have a set schedule, I just pick the guitar up several times a day for anywhere between a few mins to upto an hour at a time, except band practice which is a few hours once a week. I play the songs my band plays and learn/practice the new songs we’re going to do. I try to learn new things to improve my playing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003407250112 Edgar

    I need Guitar cords help?So I just recently buoght the house of blues learn to play Acoustic Guitar and I when im on the first cords lesson everytime i try to play the Am cord i have my finger in the right spot but when i play the strings which i have the fingers on dosent make a sound but just a plucking noise so can any body help me on this

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