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The way you get really good is to work on things you suck at.
This is why I keep putting pressure on myself to keep evolving as a musician, taking on other instruments, other genres, different tunings.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
It’s really not about time though: I used to get students who’d been through multiple teachers and still hadn’t got the basics in order because they hadn’t been practicing those basic skills. Others happen upon ways of practising correctly or have a good teacher right from the start and they sail beyond beginner in no time.
I play the piano as well as guitar ( and a bit of drums and bass but not as seriously ), in fact I’ve been mainly focusing on piano over the last 10 years, and I find the piano easier.
I say this because ( IMO of course ) sight reading, chords and scales are easier on the piano, and piano technique is more forgiving - on the ( electric - I don’t play acoustic ) guitar it’s really really easy for things to sound shit at the slightest sloppiness in technique, and to me this requires extreme focus and dedication in practicing.
This is in fact part of the reason I tend to play the piano more as I find it’s easier to enjoy myself even if I play half an hour here and there, whereas on the guitar I find it hard to be in a place where I’m reasonably happy with my playing if I don’t play at least 1-2 hours a day every day, which is hard with a full time job, kids etc.
I should clarify that this is my personal experience with drums, I think it is easy to get the basics but much harder to master than guitar.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
The observation was that the more these musicians practised the more capable they got; hardly a revelation in group already selected for ability.
To be a top level classical musician requires tremendous technical capabilities, and I can imagine an intimidating number such as 10,000 hours being in the ball park for an average amount of hours practice.
With top classical musicians I reckon, like top sports stars, you are really operating towards the limits of human capability, and whilst I can marvel at these peoples skills I'm not convinced that the majority of people can achieve that level of performance however long they practice.
That said, the level of ability required to play in the bands I play in is way below that needed to be a top level classical musician, which is fortunate as I reckon I may well have clocked up the requisite 10,000 hours over the last 35 years or so!
Hopefully I have not had 1 hours experience 10,000 times......
Regardless, you should play an instrument because you enjoy it, so enjoy it!
"People will always need plates!"
"Orchestras will always need violas!"
*DLM inserts Glenn Fricker bass player joke here and legs it*
10 hours is plenty. learn a couple of simple rockers so you can play then through and you're up and running.
enjoy the journey. there is no destination, except the one we're all headed to.
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Ignore Malcolm Gladwell ;-)
Bounce - Matthew Syed
The Sports Gene - David Epstein
They both take slightly apposing views on the subject but are both some of the most interesting books I've read.
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the talent code -Daniel coyle
peak - anders Ericsson and Robert Poole
outliers -gladwell
talent is overrated -Geoff Colvin
the inner game of music - Barry green
the music lesson victor wooten
effortless mastery -kenny Werner
the practice of practice - Johnathan Harnum
the little book of talent Daniel coyle
plus a guy on here who is called “Octatonic “ I think , he has like a Swiss flag avatar. He seems very wise , and I have often been inspired by things he posts on practice etc.
one for instance
“ it isn’t how much you practice ,it’s WHAT you practice when you do.
2 hours a day is all you need to get to a professional level of playing within 4 years (roughly)
The reason some people never get there is they are simply practicing the wrong way .
he seems to post some real pearls of wisdom which always seem quite motivating . I hope he reads this and shares some thing else with us.
i did see some of his practice schedule which involved , scales , arpeggios, drop chords (he must be a jazz player) etc I am sure his schedule could be adapted to whatever goals a particular person has for themselves. Although what suits some does not suit others , a proven routine could help greatly compared to blindly stumbling along if you are stuck.
i find the above books inspiring as it shows what can be done with repeated practice ,the 10 000 hours is for people who are virtuoso type players so imagine what could be achieved in a fifth or quarter of the time with focused practice.
You have one advantage of being able to manage practice and available time more efficiently and make it count than when you were a teen . Even a couple of 20 minutes focused practice sessions a day could yield some acceptable skills for playing some songs rhythm and lead .
plus each new achievement / improvement will spur you on to progress more