acorn484

I have heard of trumpet players practicing 5+ hours a day. Is this really horn on face time or total time with breaks?

Decentplayer

I used to play 3-4 hrs a day. I guess everyone is different, some play more, some less.

Patric_Bernard

play until your chops are tired. then give it a rest for awhile.

While you are practicing, always take breaks that are about as long as you just played for. So say you just played long tones for 15 minutes, take a 15 minute break. That way you will be able to have a much longer practice period.

Eeviac

If it's anything like sports, at first you can't practice more than 1/2 hour and then you work up to an hour..... at the world class level yeah you're practicing 5 hours a day but you work up to that. Try to practice that much before you're ready for it and you'll just wear yourself down (which happens mentally as well as physically).

Vulgano Brother

I topped out at 6.5.

Jimi Michiel

sage advice on practice:

YouTube - Iverson Practice!

Toobz

Time spent practicing is important. But marathon sessions aren't always productive. Practicing for the sake of putting in hours is pointless , unless clear goals and results are achieved. Simply putting in hours won't mean a whole lot without direction.

Don't concern yourself with trying to match up to others when it comes to time spent practicing. What if the other player is a hack, who requires 10 times as much effort to achieve the same results as you. If your honest with yourself, you'll know what you need to do to improve your playing. Sometimes that may mean some long hours. But remember, focus on improving, that's what practice is all about.

rowuk

If your brain is turned on, it is possible to really practice for 5 hours or more. Naturally you may not succumb to the urge to blow walls down or cut glass.
The key factor is the ability to concentrate for that whole time, and that takes preparation.
Trumpet playing is work and we need to keep our blood sugar up, wear on the chops down, hydration stable (something to drink!) and focus on the job at hand.
If you have something in your life except for the trumpet, you could even be distracted - lowering the efficiency of the session.
I do occasionally practice for very long times, the juices are flowing, I am discovering something and have to try something else out, which leads to the next thing..............
This is not normal and only truly productive when everything comes together. Reality dictates that several 45 minute sessions are easier to deal with and do not put the extreme drain on our bodies! 5 hours like this is much easier to handle!

jazz9

All very good advice. Take it from these guys, they know what they're talking about.

Vulgano Brother

A good practice session isn't like running wind sprints 'til you puke! Adequate recovery time is part of the practice session. It is kind of hard to explain, but we want to gently tire the chops to the point of exhaustion, reducing the amount of actual muscle tear-down. If we go by the feel, and not by the clock, our playing will benefit most from the practice session.