Frank
5298 posts
Sep 12, 2014
6:35 PM
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For Someone Touring and working constantly like Kim, Dennis, Rick, Hummel, Sugar Ray etc, etc...
Are there any adventurous mathematicians out there in MBH land that could come up with a ball park figure in hours, that players like those mentioned actually had the harmonica in their mouth after one year of touring etc?
Or anyone who cares to can also share how many actual hours you speculate having had a harp in your mouth this year so far?
Last Edited by Frank on Sep 12, 2014 6:52 PM
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STME58
1061 posts
Sep 12, 2014
7:44 PM
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Seldom does a day go by when I don't have a harp in my mouth for at least an hour. However, judging by my rate of progress, time playin the harp is not necessarily quality improvement time. Playing in public does force some focus on what you already know well enough to play in public, but does not really help you learn what you should be working on to improve. Playing with other musicians helps a lot but is not often an option.
As soon as I get my finances cleared up a bit I am going to spend some time with a good instructor and try to get some targeting of skills in my practice.
Last Edited by STME58 on Sep 12, 2014 7:45 PM
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BronzeWailer
1448 posts
Sep 13, 2014
12:19 AM
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This year... average of at least two hours a day, year is 2/3 over so guesstimate is 2*2*365/3 = 486.6667 hours so far this year. When I first got into serious harping about four years ago I was probably doing five hours a day. Now I am working on my other instrument (voice) so am doing about 50:50.
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Steamrollin Stan
798 posts
Sep 13, 2014
2:34 AM
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WTF??
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STME58
1064 posts
Sep 13, 2014
12:08 PM
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I don't see this question as so far off the wall, other than being expressed in annual, rather than daily hours.
I have always heard that professional classical musicians practice about 6 - 8 hours a day and that the practice is structured so that nothing is left out. I also know that my middle and high school band directors ask for an hour a day but frequently say that 15 minutes every day is better than an hour every 4 days.
I have a method book for Alto Trombone that recommends a minimum of 6 20 minute session a day for a total of 2 hours, with 30 or 40 minute sessions being preferable. Brass is more physically taxing than harmonica. I can play harp for hours but my chops start to give out after 20 minutes or so of trombone.
Of course most of us do not make a living with our instruments and so 6 hours a day is out of the question.
Another thing that came to my mind as i read Franks question is something I have heard from top level bicycle racers, that is "you don't train to race as much as you race to train" there is no substitute for actual competition and so it is better to enter smaller races to train for a big one. I expect for a musician race would translate to performance. The best improvement you are going to get is when you are on stage in from of an audience. Something about knowing you have a performance coming up also helps focus your practice.
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