Questions music teachers hear all the time: how long does it take to learn an instrument? How often and how long should I practise? When will I be able to play this or that song?
An hour. A lifetime.
Our short answer: “An hour, and a lifetime!” Being able to play an instrument brings great joy and satisfaction. Learning to play one is a process. What can you keep in mind as you begin your fascinating, adventurous journey through the world of music?
My child takes music lessons
For parents it’s good to know that, for children, learning to practise is itself an important part of the learning process. Children have plenty of other things to learn and process each day, so approach the lessons patiently and gently, with a long-term view.
For most people discipline is not innate but built up, through persistence, into a strong character trait, and learning an instrument can contribute fundamentally to that. In the early stage it’s good for children to practise 15 minutes at a fixed time each day. Once that becomes a habit, extend to 20 and eventually 30 minutes. Half an hour a day, 5 days a week, is a good starting point for anyone who’s been at it a while. Key: even short practice counts, in both quantity and quality. Twenty distraction-free minutes a day is very useful.
The process
The process is like a journey around the world: deeply enriching, with much to enjoy, but sometimes challenging too. Pushing through brings you to the next phase, with new joy and possibilities. Qualities you build along the way: patience, perseverance, discipline and balance. Had a spell where you practised less? No problem, that’s part of it. There’s no need to feel embarrassed at your lesson.
How long have you been playing?
A common question, really only answerable in hours played. “I’ve played for three years” doesn’t tell us how much someone practised or what they can do.
The 10,000-hour rule? In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell popularised the idea that top performers have usually invested 10,000 hours or more, in a deliberate and structured way. It’s not the only factor, but an important one. Others are aptitude, attention and consistency.
Hours and consistency count
The most important factors are hours and consistency, measured in hours, not months or years. Someone may have owned an instrument for 20 years and played occasionally, perhaps 1000 casual hours. Someone else has ‘only played three years’ but logged 6000 highly focused hours. Judging someone’s level means weighing the results against the amount and quality of time invested.
Keywords: minutes, hours, focus, concentration, dedication, consistency, balance.
Time and levels
Early on the instrument matters: on piano or drums you usually play your first melody sooner than on guitar or saxophone, each instrument has its own technical threshold. Over the long term, every instrument has comparable difficulty.
A first introduction to the instrument takes around 150 practice hours. A dedicated teenager manages that in one summer; a busy professional practising 30 minutes a day takes about 10 months. That’s not a value judgement, just reality. The satisfaction of the process and the outcome is the same.
Age does (not) matter
Younger learners often absorb information quickly and pick up motor skills a little faster. Adults, on the other hand, can often concentrate better and longer and have already heard a lot of music. Children discover their instrument and how they learn best; adults often already know which learning style suits them.
Plateaus
As in sport, you can reach a plateau. Your daily practice is then enough to maintain your level, but to make a new leap you’ll need to (temporarily) increase your practice time.
Anyone can make music
Anyone can learn to make music, eventually. Not everyone aims for mastery, and that’s fine. Keep realistic expectations, enjoy the process and all the joy each new phase brings.
Talent or effort
Good musicians have spent astonishing amounts of time building and maintaining their skills. So don’t worry about ‘talent’. Let’s talk about talent after you’ve reached 10,000 hours.
Perseverance
Twenty minutes a day, 5–6 days a week, beats 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Consistent, almost daily effort over many years pays off in a deeply enjoyable skill that brings many wonderful moments into your life. Decide how much time you can invest each day, and adjust your goal as life changes. But never give up!
Further reading: Daniel Coyle, The Little Book of Talent; Geoffrey Colvin, Talent is Overrated; Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers.