How Long Should I Practice Everyday?

A common question that I am asked often is, "How long should we practice everyday?"

This is a great question because it is usually comes from parents wanting to make sure their child puts in the correct amount of time into their piano work everyday.

However, I find that sometimes giving an exact time frame isn't always helpful. My answer to this question is: However long it takes to complete the daily homework and practice assignments.

That might sound intimidating, but it's actually the opposite. Why?

Well, sometimes the assignments for that week might take only 15 minutes daily and in this scenario it is not helpful to say that the student has to practice for longer. Sometimes other weeks will take 30 minutes to complete, and the more advanced you get, the longer and more varied these hours can become.

My students have a Piano Journal where I write down their assignments for the week at the end of every lesson, and it is typically in bullet-point format, with very clear instructions. The student's goal is to complete those tasks. Throughout my years of experience, I have found that most students do better with a goal-oriented approach.

Benefits of a Goal-Oriented Practice Approach

1. Focus

When students have specific goals to accomplish in practice sessions this forces them to be more alert and focused. They often ask themselves, "What is the task at hand?" And that is all they are focusing on. These are common questions students are aware of with this approach:

Which section am I focusing on?

How many times am I supposed to play this section?

What am I trying to accomplish in this section?

2. Efficiency

This kind of practice approach makes practice sessions feel less daunting and so much more productive for the student. They feel shorter, because the student is focused on what needs to be done. The student also knows the sooner they complete the task, the shorter the practice session can be.

As a classical pianist who has had to perform several solo hour long recitals from memory, I cannot spend over an hour on each piece when I have to practice 7-8 piece in a single practice session. That is not helpful physically and mentally for a pianist. This forced me to be more efficient in my practice and to accomplish the task(s) at hand. This is why I am a strong advocate for this approach with my students.

3. Satisfaction

What can make piano practice difficult for students is delayed gratification. Preparing a classical piece will often take months to get it up to speed and memorized. When students check off each task they've completed, the practice sessions don't feel aimless and they can visually see tasks they've accomplished right away. It provides a source of instant gratification.

4. Prevents Burnout and Boredom

When students are forced to practice unnecessarily long sessions too soon, this can be overwhelming and they can feel pressured. It is also difficult to practice for a long period of time if the students don't know exactly what to practice.