I just wondered because when i tell people that i am learning piano they often ask me how i find the time, energy to practise, and can i be bothered.

Its never been an issue for me to find the time or energy to practise. My piano sits in my living room, and i actually feel like i play it too much its the first thing i do when i get home, and periodically thourgh the day i play a little go do something else then play a little more,
im lucky we have stone walls so that my neighbours can't here me even if its 2am im also an imsomniac.

What do you guys think
is it better to have a set time of practise a day like one or 2 hours at once
or lots of mini practise
i kind of do both but as i find regular breaks seem to help me learn better.

Ladylily

My piano stands in my room. I see him (his name is Wolf) everyday. To keep him handsome, I dust him clean every morning.

But I don't play everyday, at most 5 days a week. Some days of rests allow my tired hands to recover from any strain caused by working at the computer.

I usually do 1 to 2 hours during a session, since I am not at home in the day. During those sessions, I am most motivated when learning a new piece. I can hardly pry myself away from the piano when I am in the mood to improve a piece Sometimes I can go without a sip of water for hours when I am working at the piano, because I can't bear to leave my stool.

But when I play too much of a piece (especially an exam piece), mental fatigue sets in, and I have to take water breaks during a session to refresh myself. If I have had enough of a piece and seem to have hit a bottleneck, I would put it aside for a day or two, so that I don't risk hating it.

I just go with my heart, and a little practice notebook to keep track of progress. Sometimes long practice sessions work. Sometimes they don't, and switching to mini practise sessions work better for the time being.

Theoretically, I can play throughout the night if I want, since I have a digital piano in the living room. But to sit up in the living room in the middle of the night might worry my familly members, so I hardly do it. If both pianos were in my room, I might be making music throughout the night...

That is because they can't be bothered to make the mental effort to develop new skills, and they would really prefer it if you didn't either, because it embarrasses them.

Most people seem to think that what they do is the "right" way for everyone else, but the truth is that there is no one method that is right for everyone. You have to find what works for you, within whatever constraints you have on time and location and facilities.

Until recently I used to have to do almost all my practice in one big block in the evening. On week days I now practice a minimum of: an hour in the morning, a half hour at tea time, and another hour and a half late in the evening. I get as much value from those 3 hours as from one long evening session of 4+ hours.

The value of fixed, scheduled practice times is that they becomes a habit, and you are less likely to miss practicing. The disadvantage is that you might find it strange to play at different times when you perform.

I think a little and often works best for most people - it is something to do with giving your brain time to assimilate what you have learnt in between sessions. If a student is struggling with something like finding a tricky chord or interval, I often advise them to play it every time they walk past the piano - seems to be a fail-safe method and works for me personally. That way you don't sit down and play something 150 times until you are sick of it, it is just part of everyday life!

Some people are creatures of habit and work best with a fixed timetable, others prefer to be spontaneous and let the mood take them. Just work out what is best for you and stick with it - ignore other people and their irrelevant comments.

I'm sure everyone is different

FWIW, I do some sessions up to 3 hours (things are going well, good progress, etc), but I find little and often is probably more efficient use of my time.

I used to play practice pieces all the way through but I rarely do that now, concentrating instead on the problem bits. I might treat myself to a complete play through at the end of the session. I don't tend to practice any problem section for more than a few minutes. I find it best to play something else or do something else altogether and then come back to it, sometimes several times. On a good day I sometimes amaze myself with the progress I can make in a relatively short time by doing this. Otherwise, I go and mow the lawn.

Mole