How Many Hours Should I Practice Guitar?

Practicing guitar can be exhausting, especially if you notice that you have been making slow progress.

Increasing the number of hours for practice is what comes to mind for most guitar players who are trying to get to the next level of playing.

While the amount of time you spend practicing guitar is important, the quality of your practice sessions is even more crucial.

Read on to know the number of hours you should spend practicing and how to make the most out of your practice sessions.

How Many Hours Should I Practice Guitar? (Quick answer)

The average time for practicing guitar is half an hour a day. If you are a beginner who is just getting started with guitar practice, you can have 15 minutes of practice every day. Typically, The amount of time you should spend playing guitar depends on your guitar playing level and what you want to achieve.

How Many Hours Should I Practice Guitar to Become a Professional?

It takes about 10,000 hours to master professional guitar. If you want to be a pro, you need to dedicate 3-4 hours of practice every day. To achieve long hours of guitar practice, you can start with 90 minutes a day and then advance to 3 hours.

Is Playing Guitar Same As Practicing Guitar?

One might think that time spent playing guitar is equivalent to practicing guitar. While the two seem similar, they deliver different results.

Playing guitar includes time spent in performances, live recordings, or fun playing with your friends without focusing on learning a new thing. Playing guitar is fun and is a great way to maintain and master your skill. However, playing guitar will not help you improve your skill or get you to the next level of playing.

Practicing guitar is the intentional time taken to learn and repeat new guitar techniques such as chords, songs, and scales, all aimed at improving your skill. Practicing guitar is equivalent to working out, and is not as fun as playing guitar.

If you have been playing guitar and substituting it for practice, the best way to improve your skill and ensure growth is to create intentional time for practice.

The Best Way to Practice the Guitar 

Set the Goals

To effectively monitor the progress of your practice sessions, you should set goals. It is best to have daily goals for every practice session.

If you are taking guitar lessons, either online or in person, ask your tutor or refer to your training manual to get ideas on the best goals to set. Also, ensure that you follow up on progress by having someone evaluate if you have achieved the goal.

Have a Guitar Practice Routine

It is easier to get used to practicing when you have it as a routine. Hence, come up with a consistent practice routine that includes warm-up exercises, scales, chords, and songs you want to learn.

If possible, have your practice sessions at the same time every day to make them sync better with your other daily routines.

Break Down Difficult Sessions

Practice won’t always be easy. To keep yourself motivated even when you have something difficult to learn, break down your tough tasks into small manageable parts.

For instance, if you have a difficult song to practice, break the song down into a few parts during the practice session to keep it easy. You can also break down difficult tasks and distribute them into a few practice sessions.

Recording

Remember, it is essential to monitor your progress. Get a good camera to record your practice sessions so that you can monitor and evaluate yourself. The recording is also part of the practice as it is a skill in itself. You could also think of making money off your practice by starting a YouTube channel or sharing the recordings on TikTok or social media platforms.

Take Breaks

Breaks are important especially if you have long guitar practice sessions. For example, if you are practicing on a professional level, you can have breaks every 30 minutes to stretch and refresh. Regular breaks prevent burnout and monotony.

Are Long Guitar Practice Sessions Harmful?

Long guitar practice sessions can help improve your skill significantly fast, but they don’t always help. Here’s why:

• Long practice sessions cause sore neck, back, and fingers if done continuously
• Long practices cause mental exhaustion and burnout
• It is easy to lose focus when you have long guitar sessions
• Long sessions spoil any fun left in guitar practice

Tip: If you prefer long sessions, ensure that you take your breaks effectively to avoid the negative effects. Also, have several goals to account for every minute spent practicing.

FAQs

How long should daily guitar practice take?

The shortest guitar practice should be 15 minutes. You can have longer sessions too, for instance, 90-minute sessions.

Can I learn guitar in a month?

You can learn guitar in a month, but only on a basic level.

Can I self-teach the guitar?

You can learn guitar on your own by using manual and online resources. However, you can learn faster if you have someone to guide you.