How long should I practice piano? (2024)

One of the biggest questions for new music learners is "how long should I practice?" Throughout my years of learning and teaching piano, I've experienced the highs and lows of playing. Despite my love for music, there were many occasions where I dreaded practicing and found ways to avoid it. However, over time, I discovered tricks to make the most of my practice sessions. It wasn't easy spending 3 to 5 hours at the piano daily, working through mistakes, finger exercises, and scales. Many times, I found myself bored. Though this old method isn't very efficient, it taught me endurance and accelerated my musical abilities. Nowadays, with distractions like TikTok, YouTube, Netflix, and Roblox, it's even harder for new learners to replicate.

"So then... how long should I practice?"

I believe it's not about the duration but the frequency and quality of practice sessions.

Consider the analogy of carrying water to fill a well from a river. How long would it take, knowing you might lose some or all of the water before returning to the well? Would it be better if you tried multiple times carrying smaller amounts or one big attempt?

It isn't to say that practicing for 1 minute, spaced out 60 times a day will make you a great musician. There needs to be a balance of duration and frequency. For example, practicing for 25-35 minutes, three times a day, is more likely to be effective than practicing for 1 hour once a day. This approach allows us to replenish our memory multiple times before the next day. For younger or newer musicians, it's advisable to adjust practice sessions to 5-15 minutes, three to five times a day. Regardless of session length, maintaining high concentration and precision is crucial to avoid losing all progress."

In conclusion, alongside this regimen, you would need to apply various practice tips and tricks to maximize learning efficiency. So stay tuned for future posts where I'll share additional learning tricks and practicing tips!