I barely 'practice' at all these days and just use gigs as my daily playing but I remember practicing literally all day when I was at music college. It's easy when you're young with no responsibilities. I'd practice stuff I'd need to know for a class before college in the morning, play between classes for fun and then practice all night between writing essays and doing other bits of bass homework. People talk about 10 hour practice sessions but I think that's less than average for many music students in my opinion. I've seen classical pianists practicing from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed with a couple of little breaks for food while still sat at the piano. I don't think that's healthy but some people are VERY dedicated.
But remember practice doesn't have to be on the instrument. I would still consider 1 or 2 hour harmony classes as amazing practice. Much more useful than running scales that you've played a million times before. I used to sit on the bus going into school reciting arpeggio and scale spellings or playing through a Bach Cello Suite all in my head. I found that more useful than basic finger exercises. Sight reading practice is another thing you can do in your head by just looking at sheet music and visualising playing it in your head. That can also be tied into sight singing/aural practice.
I think most players that have played a lot and done lots of gigs don't really need to practice (in the serious traditional sense) as much as when you're first starting out or developing. My chops aren't at the level they were at college but it only takes a couple of weeks to get the muscles working again. Speed of finger movement has so little to do with ability, even if speed is your aim. Clean and properly developed technique at a slow tempo is much more important. That said, it depends on your aspirations, ability and current gig. If I'd have ever played in Zappa's band I'd have been fully prepared for constant practice just to keep myself in the gig.
As for many of the important things like groove, communication and, what I call, bandsmanship (as opposed to simple musicianship), that will only come from playing live. 3 sets of diverse music a night every night will do more for your playing than 10 hours a day could ever do. That's REAL practice.
If you're not a full time pro musician and have a day job then it's going to be hard to find the time to practice long stretches so the practice has to be very specific and fine tuned. One good rule of thumb is to never practice something you can already play. Try to keep on the edge of your ability all the time.
However, if you don't want to be the next Hadrien Feraud or Richard Bona then I suppose it's best to keep it fun and play along with your favourite songs. Extreme practice can sometimes be detrimental to the musicians outlook on music and playing. It can be a chore rather than a pleasure. It's bad enough doing boring gigs. I know so many jaded players that see music as a job and look for every possible way to get out of playing. Resident players on cruise ships and UK holiday camp gigs are particularly prone to this. I know. It's happened to me a few times.
But remember practice doesn't have to be on the instrument. I would still consider 1 or 2 hour harmony classes as amazing practice. Much more useful than running scales that you've played a million times before. I used to sit on the bus going into school reciting arpeggio and scale spellings or playing through a Bach Cello Suite all in my head. I found that more useful than basic finger exercises. Sight reading practice is another thing you can do in your head by just looking at sheet music and visualising playing it in your head. That can also be tied into sight singing/aural practice.
I think most players that have played a lot and done lots of gigs don't really need to practice (in the serious traditional sense) as much as when you're first starting out or developing. My chops aren't at the level they were at college but it only takes a couple of weeks to get the muscles working again. Speed of finger movement has so little to do with ability, even if speed is your aim. Clean and properly developed technique at a slow tempo is much more important. That said, it depends on your aspirations, ability and current gig. If I'd have ever played in Zappa's band I'd have been fully prepared for constant practice just to keep myself in the gig.
As for many of the important things like groove, communication and, what I call, bandsmanship (as opposed to simple musicianship), that will only come from playing live. 3 sets of diverse music a night every night will do more for your playing than 10 hours a day could ever do. That's REAL practice.
If you're not a full time pro musician and have a day job then it's going to be hard to find the time to practice long stretches so the practice has to be very specific and fine tuned. One good rule of thumb is to never practice something you can already play. Try to keep on the edge of your ability all the time.
However, if you don't want to be the next Hadrien Feraud or Richard Bona then I suppose it's best to keep it fun and play along with your favourite songs. Extreme practice can sometimes be detrimental to the musicians outlook on music and playing. It can be a chore rather than a pleasure. It's bad enough doing boring gigs. I know so many jaded players that see music as a job and look for every possible way to get out of playing. Resident players on cruise ships and UK holiday camp gigs are particularly prone to this. I know. It's happened to me a few times.
