Limited practice time.

[chefrusso]

Hey Alex,

It seems that there are a number of us wrestling with the very same issue. I've gone through a number of job changes and also with my toddler grandson living in the house, it seems my free time has been eaten up lately. I wish things were different, but they just aren't right now. I still find the time to actually practice, it's just not nearly as much as it was before. That being said, I think it's still beneficial to at least pick up the guitar and play as much as you possibly can. Even when I don't have the time to do focused practice, I still find myself discovering things as I play the guitar in a more relaxed setting. Then I'll stop and work on that particular thing for a while, even if it's only for 5 minutes. I know it's not an ideal situation, but sometimes you just have to work with what you're given.

[Jamie]

Hey Chris, sorry to hear about the practice time. It can get tough at times, but life goes through many phases, and I will hope that it phases into more practice time for you asap!

[chefrusso]

Thanks Jamie,

It's OK for now because I've been able to maintain my current level of ability and I've managed to learn a new song or two. I've also been working for charter boats and I've injected myself into their experience on the yacht so that I can have at least one night of playing guitar during the trip. I don't mind this phase in my life because I'm helping to raise a new human being and I'm giving him an appreciation of music already. He loves it when I play for him and we'll go out to the garage and bang on the drums for a while if nothing else. I just haven't had the time for as much focused practice, but I still play the guitar as much as possible. I'm actually enjoying the ability to pick up the guitar and play anything at this point and like I said, I haven't lost anything, so that's good. Before long, I hope to have a new and eager pupil and that's where the real growth will start to happen. After all, I'll have to keep myself at least one step ahead of the little one!

[Jamie]

That sounds great Chris, it is going to be very fulfilling to pass on what you have achieved to your own family! And yes, you will not lose your ability, you will just have less time for growth and repertoire maintenance. In any case, in the end, doing the right thing is the ONLY thing I would say is more important than playing the guitar!

[Bill]

I find that during the summer my practice time is limited as well but I make the time on my work days in the early morning for an half hour of practice. Even though the time is very limited, the quality of the practice is high (with the discovery of various insights) because my concentration is much higher than in the afternoon after I have returned from giving a wilderness tour to up to 52 people in Denali. After my tour, my mental focus has been exiled to oblivion and it takes while to get it back.

Being consistent in your daily, let limited practice can contribute greatly in the long term as your skill building is accumlative.

There is an ebb and flow in life and that include guitar practice. It is during days off and especially the winter that I can spend more time on daily practice. My journey maybe longer but it can still be rewarding.

Hope this helps,

All the best.

Bill

[72reissue]

Wow. I'm really discouraged after reading this thread. I though 1 to 2 hours per day was pretty good for a hobbiest. Not sure if should even bother now. Thanks for the constructive feedback.

[chefrusso]

Wow. I'm really discouraged after reading this thread. I though 1 to 2 hours per day was pretty good for a hobbiest. Not sure if should even bother now. Thanks for the constructive feedback.

Don't be discouraged at all. That's plenty of practice time for a hobbyist. I think Ney was just playing around with Alex because he's been in this forum for quite a while and he seems to be more of a serious guitarist rather than a hobbyist. The beautiful thing of learning any instrument is that you can literally take it as far or as little as you want to. For many people, it's their entire lives, for others, it's what they like to do on he weekends. For quite some time, I was studying guitar way more seriously as I really want to play really well and my life and work circumstances were better suited to studying in that manner. Since then, things have changed and I've had to put some of my serious guitar study on the shelf for the time being, but that's ok too. I'm just enjoying playing the guitar at this point whenever and wherever I can. If it weren't for Jamie and the Principles, there's no way I'd even be able to do that.

I also think it's much more important to put in the serious time into learning to play guitar because you haven't developed the muscle memory to be able to go long stints without playing and not lose a lot of what you've worked so hard on to achieve. So be careful if you're just starting out.