Too much practice?

Technique
1

Is it possible to practice too much? Is it better to work hard or work smart? How long should it take to master a study song?

Practicing wisely is always something I try to encourage in others. Working too hard on something can sometimes cause one to go into a bad place… Frustration and tension can then become a problem and soon one’s concentration goes out the window. With the multiple layers of sound and technique needed for playing blues, it is easy to forget about something like correct breathing or embouchure. I recommend mastering one technique before layering it with others that might yet not be fully developed. Also slowing things down is something many just don’t do. Work smart. Not hard. Shorter practice sessions sometimes are better than long ones.

7 Likes
2

I’ve no choice, we’ve got a Bloke on shifts down stairs so I have to snatch practice time when I can.

2 Likes
3

I view it as “playing” in terms of fun and “practicing” when I’m doing a specific exercise to get better at it.
I usually do a bit of practice when I’m playing but it’s mostly just randomly what I want to play.
But then,I’m not driven to master the instrument or reach a certain level, I’m in it just to amuse myself.

4 Likes
4

Great advice.

1 Like
5

I definitely have moments where I feel as though I have practiced for too long. Some days, after a while, things just seem to fall apart. I usually try to nail one last riff perfectly and then put it down for the time being. I usually practice about 30 minutes during lunch(after I eat and then rinse my mouth out) and then about an hour or more at night. Every single day. Weekends atleast one hour straight and then 5-15 minutes here and there when I have a second to sit. I actually am really loving playing and I think that helps fuel my fire. This is definitely an instrument I want to excel at. But yes, some days I feel like i hit a point where I have practiced too much. I have also only been playing for a little under 2 months.

3 Likes
6

Thanks David. I’m a single note Guy and now have 30 or more songs or parts of songs I can play. I wouldn’t say that I’ve mastered any of them, but my learning varies enormously. Theres one song I’ve been working on for months and I only have about half of it bedded down, there’s a couple I’ve given up on as they were frustrating and stressing me as you mentioned. On the other hand, I can sometimes pick up a harmonica, think of a tune and play it straight away with no awareness of the tabs I’m playing. (Usually those that I listened to a thousand times in my car when I was a young buck, until the cassette tape unraveled. Are you old enough to remember cassettes?)
I agree that quality rather than quantity of practice should be better but how do I know what quality looks like? For example, all of us learners are trying to bend, but none of us are going to master bending before we practice other techniques.
How do I work smarter? Or is it just about slowing down and enjoying it, rather than stressing about it? I can certainly understand and appreciate that.

2 Likes
7

Hi David!
Greetings from London!
You give very sage advice - for which thanks.
I don’t (and sometimes can’t!) practice enough because I have not yet elevated the harp to its correct priority (you might say!).
I have to devote most of my spare time to playing sax in a concert band - having renewed my acquaintance with the harmonica having discovered this site (thank you Luke!).
I found your recent video (which you appear to have removed) most enlightening and I hope I can still find it on YT when required!
So please don’t think (if you do!) that your encouragement, knowledge and generosity are not appreciated - they are - greatly from my little corner of the planet!
For which, many thanks.

2 Likes
8

Piglet nailed it. But let me say this. After over 50 years of exploring experimenting contemplation and conducting workshops all over the world I have seen over and over that true mastery is in the expression. And expression (the reason we are drawn to play music) can be mastered by a six year old in minutes. When you feel you are practicing too much it’s because you are not experiencing expression. If you think about you have had moments of soaring. That’s because you were not just playing notes, but “putting in expression.” It is so simple it’s silly. I hope that helps. - corky

6 Likes
9

Brilliant post as always @Corky_Music

3 Likes
10

Small chunks. Don’t bite off more than you can chew and don’t set unrealistic goals. Good things take time. Harmonica is about layers of sound. You must have a solid foundation before adding additional layers. Get me?

4 Likes
11

Thanks David, I don’t have any particular goals, but I think I am biting off more than I can chew. Too many songs to practice and there’s always another one that I want to learn. As you say, good things take time.

3 Likes
12

Thank You Corky. That’s a wonderful simple answer to what seemed like a complicated question. Wise words indeed.

3 Likes
13

Just do it a song at a time. There’s no rush. Just make a list tick them off as you go.
When I left the forces, all I could get was a part time job. Luckily It was a well paid job. I supplemented my income on the weekend by collecting glasses in a rowdy club. But I got to see the bands every weekend for free. That left me a good 8 hours a day to practice ( I’d bought my own apartment and at the time the rest of the estate was being built I was the only one there. I was lucky enough to practice each technique 8 hours a day every day for about a year and a half, before I finally found work in the north of England on a nuclear power station, I also started bouncing in clubs around this time. I couldn’t practice enough because of time restriction where I was staying and so on. Luckily I was allowed to go in most of the clubs early when there were few people around and have a little practice session. I decided that rather than constantly working on single techniques I would listen to music ( blues) and pick out my favorite songs make a list of five. And try to copy them as best I could. The stuff I couldn’t hear or indeed struggled to play I inserted my own bits of stuff that I could do really well ( later I was able to play those parts but stuck to adding my own bits as people seemed to enjoy that) it was a puzzle, or a pattern, as I recently discovered ( I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at 52) I am pretty good at noticing patterns in things and puzzles I can break something down into small constituents and build them up. This is a long winded way ( my autism :roll_eyes:) of saying treat each song like a puzzle it has small pieces and big pieces it’s fun trying to work them out. If you can’t set it aside and listen to the song over and over go back to it, I will guarantee you pick up another tiny part. It takes time, but what’s the hurry? It’s not going to kill me if I don’t learn it all, I’ll just keep adding my own stuff and make it mine. Eventually you get there.

3 Likes
14

@Andy2 “Small pieces and big pieces” That’s an interesting way to look at it, Thank You. Picking up little snippets like that make participation in the forum so worthwhile. Reminds me of something that Luke said, and I don’t want to misquote him, but I think he said something like, “a single note can make the song” As I play melodies, the tunes can get monotonous, because they mostly just repeat. Works when the song is sung because there’s different lyrics but with a harp, I think it can be a bit boring. So, the little juicy bits within it are really important. Thanks again.

2 Likes
15

In the classical music world, I can say that people angling to be professional level musicians will range from 4-8 hours a day of practice time early in their development, and after a certain level of skill is acquired, they ease off to about 2 hours. Others who really love practicing might do more.

Also, practice won’t be the only musical activity they do during a given day, there’s also rehearsing, teaching, writing, etc.

Some research on musician injuries shows evidence that sudden changes in the number of hours musicians are practicing results in a higher incidence of injury. So I do recommend that one scales up practice time slowly.

I’ve found lately, with the more intense practice I’ve been doing (e.g., play for about 2 hours of intense focus on specific parts), holding your harmonica up for hours at a time fatigues the muscles in the middle of the back. If you squeeze the harp harder than needed, you can end up with muscle and tendon issues, particularly in the left hand.

I’m working to use the Alexander Technique to overcome tension. And to make sure I take little breaks during my practice time. Also, it REALLY helps to practice in small chunks throughout the day.

I can also say even classical musicians DO take rest days. Rock climbers do the same if they are going to be climbing many days in a row. The mind needs rest and boredom.

4 Likes
16

I do a lot of stretching push ups planks breathing exercises just to keep loose.

2 Likes
17

I am a big supporter of daily practice. Initially consistent single note play was my primary focus. I never played a musical instrument until I got a cheap harp, tossed it and got a few Crossovers. I then began learning basic tunes and found out its one thing to play the tabs and another to really play the song as it should be. Correct rhythm quickly became apparent and it is essential to play anything well .

Its very much a work in progress but now I pick a song I like that is more difficult than the previous one. Right now I am working on El Pasa Condor and its coming along. I select a tune that requires me to play up and down the harp and try to sharpen up bending.

I feel its one thing to be able to activate a bend but another to play them well enough to really augment a song. Its going to be a few years before this starts to take shape, probably longer. Bending consistently is something I have decided years are required to come close to really play well. Herb Alpert, which I feel is about the best trumpet player, was interviewed and said he never quit learning even at his best.

Increasing the difficulty of the next tune has helped me practice with a purpose and never let mistakes, which are great learning experiences, get the best of me. Its the way I learn quickest, Not much of a book person unless music theory is involved.

As to how long it should take me is a tough question as some are much easier than others. If I know the lyrics and rhythm it shortens the time but cleaning up the notes to the point I can play it and not have a shoe tossed my way by my wife after several months of converting air to noise and even listen involves months. She was a great flute player but never picks one up now.

I will have EPC down in a couple more months to the point it will be a tune I really enjoy playing but there will always lots of improvement to follow. Then I plan to tackle the sound track played in Dances With Wolves, long version. If I get this one close to being respectable in two years it will be a surprise. John Barry wrote it and its what I like to listen to and try to learn. That being said increasing the difficulty is what will push me up quicker and give me the confidence I can learn about anything with time and persistence. It puts discipline in practicing and for me a great way to measure improvement. It seems that I learn certain parts of a tune along the way I practice until I l get worn and then put the harp down. I practice a couple of hours a day. Given the only thing I have is persistence and diaphragm control lots of practice is essential. I do like to practice and may not get my next tune down but I’ll die trying. Practice is my one and only option to improve and practice not what I know but what I want to know… I played billiards for decades and saw players play what they knew and not what they needed to learn to get to the next level. learning curve for them was as level as a lake on a calm day.

2 Likes
18

@Hogie.Harmonica very cool. Practicing tai chi helps me with the whole concept of working on using only as much force as is necessary to accomplish a task and no more.

Since I’m playing almost exclusively diatonic, I have the luxury of switching back and forth from holding with left hand to holding with right hand.

I’m one of those blokes who LOVES to practice. 2 hours a day or more is like heaven for me, but my reality, for better or worse has me mostly practicing in smaller chunks - driving in the car, chasing my 2-year-old around the playground, walking the dog.

When I am practicing in the woodshed, I frequently change my position: standing, sitting, pacing, lying on my back.

Even though I rarely get large chunks of time to practice at home, I feel like my smaller practice times are effective because they are very intentional: I’m working on the train, or transcribing something, or ob’s/od’s, or intonation on -3 bends, or tongue switching, or splits - I usually have something very specific that I know needs development that I’m working on.

But, ever since the last SPAH, I’m tempering that with also just jamming along with backing tracks because I realized since I hadn’t been gigging or doing that before last SPAH, my actual improvising muscle on the harmonica was letting me down.

Sometimes jamming along with backing tracks I’ll still be working on something very specific, like taking a pattern through a sequence in some scale or what have you, but it still feels more like I’m playing a solo than just practicing a technique.

I agree with the idea of the day off, a “sabbath” if you will. My goal is practice 6/7 days a week. So if a day gets away from me without practicing I’ll say, “ok, that’s my day off.” But if it happens again within a few days, I’ll force myself down to the studio for 5m of playing train with a metronome before going to sleep.

And sometimes that 5m segues into…hours. :see_no_evil::rofl: But I’m trying to be better about prioritizing sleep! I’m in the past year to averaging 7.25 hrs/night up from 6.25 hrs/night.

I mention that intentionally because sleep is another VERY important ingredient to the brain’s healing that’s needed to advance as a harmonica player (or any endeavor!) This is scientifically proven, and I think very relevant to this discussion?

So of course you can practice effectively or ineffectively. But can you practice too much? Not really, I don’t think so - unless it’s negatively affecting your health. Practice certainly ain’t worth the cost of divorce or prolonged sleep deficiencies, for example!

4 Likes
19

I think its great exercise for your lungs and a great way to turn a bad day upside down, Spoke with my G P during a check up and he mentioned my lungs very very strong. With respect to helping your brain how could it not? Its good mental exercise from a use it or lose it aspect and also takes what is work for the brain a lungs into something fun. Its also legal and cost nothing.

I am a use it or lose it believer both mentally and physically. I am chasing 70 and always want to something to learn and enjoy. Physically my wife has no problem sending me out to split fire wood or patch out uphill drive way. It only took 114 bags of concrete in a number of loads. She was even nice enough to let me paint her art room for nothing, the whole nine gallons.

I say the harp helps a person in many ways. I play first thing for an hour and when I get tired put my harps on a table and find myself picking them up a play a tune or two. I realize I will never be a really great player as young muscles are much easier to train and if I get another good decade maybe my play will be acceptable. I really don’t worry about it as I enjoy practicing and learning a tougher tune each time. I feel I cannot play each one but after a week a part of the riff starts to sink in and with persistence more comes.

Playing bends really well is going to takes years and patience is not my virtue but persistence is. I drop my harp when my ticker stops. Both my parents were married 70 years when they passed 10 months apart. I still have some time and a need for exercise, especially what I enjoy. I would ay on that green sand beach near you and play and come home when I have to.

3 Likes
20

What a Lovely post. I agree, I’ve never been in this for the fame etc, I’ve always played for myself even in front of an audience I also like to push my boundaries when I do that sometimes I pull it off and (in my own head) I don’t although I’ve not seen an audience yet who has come up to me and said " you didn’t do that trill right or you didn’t pull that overblow off" audiences have always been gracious to me. I think they understand I play from the heart and I always have. My Wife supports me and loves me to play live, I think practice is another matter because there’s no music and just perfecting one thing at a time must be irritating but she suffers in silence. But at a gig or a jam she’s my spotter she will let me know where I’ve gone wrong and she will actually make notes, her dad having been a musician she grew up around rock and blues bands so she knows her stuff. And the last few months I’ve had a lot more compliments than usual and people coming and saying they think I’m getting better but they say it in a way that, they didn’t think it was possible. Which is fantastic it’s nice to know my hard work is paying off.

2 Likes