Practice makes perfect they say .......I try to get in at least an hour each day at home trying new things with songs, sounds, styles, learning new playing technics, and just relaxing and enjoying myself playing music. Life is TOO Short..

How about you?

About 2 hours...
From which imspend atleast 30 minutes playing piano lectures

At least 4 hours a day. Do 30 hour straight sessions (three per month) and 24 hours per week at clubs.

Woodshed on steel, banjo, vibes, mandolin...lots of others.


R.

... usually only when I'm getting paid to play. I leave my keyboard at work as a rule, although it's home right now, until Friday. It's setting right beside me all hooked up and I haven't turned it on since Monday, when I changed some settings.

Since the 'gigging days' are history, serious practicing vary a lot.
Some days or evenings quite a lot if I'm in the right mood. Some days a couple of hours, some not at all.
Generally it's far less than I should have done, at least for keeping my fingers and two brain cells in shape.

Not practicing, actually, but more like learning or re-learning new or forgotten songs that me and my jam buddies have decided to add to our imaginary 'gig' list. Too old and stiff to improve technique anymore, so just concentrate on learning new songs.

chas

I stopped practicing when I stopped working - no need to practice anymore. However, I usually try to record a couple songs a week, so I guess, in a sense, that can called practicing.

Gary

Three hours each night 7pm-10pm learning new songs and especially
lyrics (I don`t use music or fake books)then it`s my turn for the
tv and a few beers.

I usually play (practice) the evenings before my 3 day weekends I work a 4 day week so it gets late when I finally get home. When I do play during the week..........why is it that I don't get creative until after 10pm and I have to get up at 5am?? I get much less sleep since getting this Genos!! -charley

Don't practice like I did for years with technical exercises,etc. Now its to learn something for a specfic job which also involves pregramming time ot just playing piano for myself. Today I did spend about two hours on the BK9 working on some specfic things. See the thread on Arranger Chords for that.

If I have an off day, I bring in the board the night before and could spend 8 hours, no problem.

If I have continuous bookings, I usually leave it in the car, or bring it inside.

Weekends vary, roughly 4 - 6 total.

= 20 hours per week. HAVE TO keep working on new material.

I play just about every day, going over old stuff, and trying 'new' stuff ... I really don't play any of today's new songs, even though some of them pretty good ... I just don't see, that even in a venue like the restaurant I sometimes play in, a heavy, bald guy in his mid seventies is going to be appreciated performing an Ed Sheeran song ...
The 'new' stuff I work on are songs that are new to ME ... Like the past few days the Nat King Cole song "That Day, Last Summer" has been going around in my head, so I will probably work on that next week ...
Although I am not a 'Jazz player' by any stretch of the imagination, I also like to pick up the Real Book and go through songs from there ...

Donny...I give you credit for sticking to a routine after semi-retiring. I’m pretty toasted after dealing with idiot inmates for 12 hours.

If a jingle project comes in...that’s my practice time.

By the way Mr. Mason...how is the 970 working out?

jingleman

It is perfectly fine for now! I didn't announce I had changed and nobody commented other than the usual BS about how wonderful I sound!

For now?.... Mr Mason?

It all depends on how my health goes. No plans to change right now, but I do get bored pretty easily. There are lots of choices, old and new.

"The keyboardist, not the keyboard"

I good steak, a fine wine and a flaming table-side dessert all go together to make a great filter for the music! I can play a hundred songs with girls' names in them and everybody feels special! Throw in Brown-eyed Girl and Wonderful Tonight and they all leave happy!

Ditto! As I have stated in the past, I played for the ladies.

Gary

I am at one of my three keyboards and SD40 or my pc and tablets at least seven hours a day when I am not playing out. Since I don't chew the same cud twice, I am always looking to improve something. It is either organizing material for a show, learning new songs, improving on registrations, or learning something new about the keyboards.

People may say to get a life. Well. this is my life, and I love every minute of it.

I like to spend at least an hour per day with music and that’s not nearly enough. 2 to 3 hours would be more to my liking and on occasion I do get that amount of time. Some days I work on piano solo material but most of the time is devoted to the arranger(s).




Bernie have to say I’m envious of you with that amount of time. I could spend that amount of time every day because it’s what I love doing. Unfortunately, I have a wife who thinks just because I know how to play already I don’t need to improve or work on the instrument. Her thought is I’m stealing hours from our retirement when I play too much. We’ve had some debates about that topic in the past. I don’t think non-musicians or those who do not have a time consuming hobby would understand it’s a labor of love. I guess it comes down to balance.

+1

Another thing I Like to do is seek out acts with keyboard players and watch, & absorb KB playing & singing technics of those better then me. I have learned thru the years so many kool things doing this listening, & asking questions also. No one is above learning more.

On our drives to and from Florida there's a billboard for a husband and wife owned motel. The billboard reads something like " The manager is John, The Boss is Helen."

I have to give credit to my wife Anneliese who loves music as well as I, and never has even hinted that I spend less time with music. She is happy that it is a passion that keeps me home, except for gigs, and she is my roady and PR lady even then. I consider myself blessed. We have been married 25 years and my third marriage. I should add that I don't drink and carouse anymore, and that might be a factor. You think? lol

Just in case you need some inspiration to practice....

Interview with Oscar Peterson. Oscar Peterson facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles ...
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music.../oscar-peterson
No doubt Oscar derived much of his sense of responsibility and dedication to his art from his father. He began practicing continuously all day long; as he told Lees, “I practiced from nine a.m. to noon, took an hour off for lunch, practiced from one to six in the afternoon, then went to dinner, and went back to the piano till his Mom ran him off to bed...He's more famous than all of us on this Forum put together and I never heard him sing a lick. Haha

Sorry Boo, no 'Alt facts' allowed .



chas

Bernie, how do you use your sd40?

Wow ... He sounds like Nat ! ... certainly has the style down ...
Thanks chas

Chas, never did a bunch of research on Oscar. Thanks for sharing. He could have made it singing too probably being the best or in the top three players of all time with Art Tatum, and Hank Jones and a handful more huh?

I use it several ways. I use it with my Hammond SK1 to provide great styles along with alternate voices to the Hammond. With the press of one button on the SK1, I switch to the bank of favorite voices which I set up in banks of 10 or so per page. This means no fumbling at all.

The second way is using the SD40 as a full arranger slave with many song registrations I made up in playlists, available immediately by entering a number. I can set up the regs to include or mute any part, if I am using one of my keyboards to play a part also, or, of coarse, both.

The third way is with my Notate Composer 3 notation program I have in my tablets and laptops. I simply connect an interface to my computer in socket to play the midi, and a midi cable to the keyboard in socket of the SD40 and out to keyboard. This works great with the Pa4X to play style registrations of the korg or Midi songs immediately, and with no interference between the two.

The fourth way is to use the SD40 for singing Karaoke style from either midi, MP3, or CD&G or displaying lyrics for singing and playing my keyboard.

I like the fact that the SD40 connects to any midi mode, including accordion, without any hesitation or rebooting. I think it is great, especially since I sent it to AJ for his upgrade. Let me tell you, the addition of his instruments and supplemental material is a great addition to the factory voices, which are also very good.

I'll play for 3 or four hours...then not for 3 or four days..motivation wanes lately..

Just keep practicing and maybe one day.....??????

If I played like that I would be out of work!!!

Jerryghr

Or working other venues ... know your audience ... 'different strokes ...'