How Much Do Great Pianists REALLY Practice?

#piano #pianomusic #productivity

Ever wondered how much time the world's greatest pianists dedicate to honing their craft? In this captivating video, we delve into the practice habits of renowned virtuosos, uncovering the diverse approaches they take to reach the pinnacle of musical excellence. From the legendary Arthur Rubinstein and his grueling 16-hour daily sessions to the enigmatic Glenn Gould's unconventional mental rehearsals, each pianist shares their unique perspective on practice. Discover the fascinating stories of Frederic Chopin, Vladimir Horowitz, Claudio Arrau, Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini, Lang Lang, and Yuja Wang. Join us on this musical journey and learn the invaluable lessons these maestros offer. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more intriguing insights into the world of music. 🎹🎶✨

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[michaelprozonic]

Rubenstein wasn’t devoting to practice. He was avoiding his newborn at home

[cletusfordwicke]

Horowitz purportedly said, “If I don’t practice one day, I can tell; if I don’t practice two days, my wife can tell; if I don’t practice three days, anyone can tell.”

[johnschlesinger]

Louis Kentner said "There are two kinds of pianist: those who practice and admit it, and those who don't admit it. The ones that don't practice are, by definition, not pianists".

[LearnThaiRapidMethod]

Chopin is the man! When I followed his advice, my playing improved over the next 3 months more than I had achieved over the previous 5 years (of 5hrs per day).

And also not 2hrs straight. The only practice time that is useful is the time you can be fully focused and dealing with problem solving. I can normally do 20-30 minutes at a time, no more than 3-4 times per day. After that, I’m no longer “practising” (or learning, improving, perfecting my play), it’s just performing, (for myself, mostly).

It still takes time to master a piece, but ironically, it takes far less time with this less-is-more approach than if I practiced more!

[jamespeyton]

Pollini said he didn't practice much, but his neighbors say different.

[theoredori]

Yuja Wang is „a rising star” ... 😭
Well, imo she is better described as already one of THE BEST pianists of the 21st century 🙈

[paulpadillo]

I was considered to be a good pianist, and began college as a piano major. Starting as a boy I was required to practice 1 hour a day. As I improved, and excited by my progress, that increased to about 3 hours a day. In college it varied, depending on course schedules, ensembles, etc., . but was always beween 3-5 hours daily. I think it varies from pianist-to-pianist, but at the start I think most of us require a lot of practice, just to become serious about it.

[markoartz]

There's a world of difference between people who play the piano and a career musician, especially when first starting out to learn an instrument. To become a concert pianist takes a special kind of person as this level of dedication is just not possible for most other people. It's not enough to simply love the piano, you must live the piano, often to the exclusion of many normal childhood activities. For those that truly make it, this is not felt as a sacrifice but rather a life long joy and purpose.

[arpeggiomikey]

I had the pleasure of attending a performance in San Francisco of Evgeny Kissin, and briefly chatting with him afterward. We were discussing the rigors of life on the road, and I asked him how much time he was able to devote to practice while on tour, and without giving a specific figure, he just smiled and said, "Each day is different...." He was just a bit reserved, but nice, and I greatly admire his art. 🎼🎶🎹👍

[gtd]

It's hard to see how Chopin could accomplish so much with just 2 hours of practice each day. But, I read his advice as something like this: You can spend several hours at the piano, say 4, but never spend more than 2 hours of it practicing. The remaining hours, the fun stuff, should be spent experimenting, making variations, composing, improvising, basically recreation. For it's in playing, that one can be fully engaged without feeling like mental strain or effort. Finally, for most people, they learn best when they can create. And you'll enhance your musical abilities if you also 'create' instead of practice. There's a synergy to composing, analysis, and performance. And you'll learn each one deeper and broader if you do all three.

If this reading is correct, I wish I had this advice decades ago. I still enjoy playing Chopin, Rach, Debussy, etc., but I feel the fatigue entering. I'd like to compose my own stuff, but it's like an adult learning how to draw for the first time, it sounds rather infantile. I would have been in a better position had I just followed the above advice long ago! One thing I like to do is scribble an additional melodic line into the pieces I'm (uh..) practicing. I'm often admonished by my teacher, but he is largely just amused by it. But what do I care? I can decently play a Rach etude to impress friends and strangers, but I will never be a concert pianist. And anyways, this is way more fun.

Not to dismiss concert pianists but there isn't much creativity in reinterpreting someone else's work that's been reinterpreted by 1000x before. You won't convince anyone that the nth interpretation of a Chopin Nocturne is just as creative as writing it in the first place. You are just splitting hairs. It's not Evgeny Kissin! with Chopin. or Yuja Wang ! with Chopin. It's Chopin; no matter how great these pianists are. In a thousand years, who will be remembered? I'm more impressed with Bach than I am with Glen Gould.

For Chopin, he must have spent a noticeable percent of his days doing partimento. For those who don't know, look up partimento and how Chopin likely used it. It is an excellent story and you might learn a lot about Chopin's musical education and learn an less-known technique to improve your composition chops; very useful for learning to compose on the fly like Chopin did. I'm sure Chopin modified it for his taste. Happy piano playing.

[Metasisic]

Wonderfully brief, very informative and interesting, I've always been a big fan of Classical music.

[DrakonicVi]

I on day 5 piano practice. Spend consistently 4-6 hours a day on the piano practicing reading sheet music and 20 mins of finger independant exercise a day. And spend most of my time practicing a piece. First piece i choose to learn is canon in c since its all white keys and its pretty easy.(Slighly easier version. Just chords and melody) I learnt alot and my finger become so much more independant. I learnt 90% of the song.

Well yes 4-7 hours practice is too much but i really have nothing else to do after i finished up my work. And im pretty obbsessed with piano after i got it lol. I used to play guitar 5 hours a day when i was a kid because im bored.

[hmind]

In my son's first music school, there was a quote on wall from the director: "Tell me how much you practice and i will tell you how good you are." That said, it's definitely important to practise, which is targeted, with specific goal in mind, and involves much more than just "playing a concert for yourself". When new material is required, all bets are off- it takes however long it takes. One trick: set a timer every hour for a ten-minute break.

[junacebedo]

Just under 6 minutes and this is very informative and concise. Thanks.

[jamchiell]

You put a lot of research and hard work into your video -- I had to subscribe to thank you for your hard work!

[alexzajickova]

I started on the beginnign of the year, started at 24 y and practice usually 1-2, 5 hours daily, and making huge progress. My friend who play for 3 years told me im better than she is in the three months . But im not very stable person, some days i was too depressed or chronic pain was too bad and id say in this year it might be 7-14 days i left out and i also dont like routines, it makes me bored, depressed and impulsive after a while. Watching this video actually gave me new inspiration, im self learning and im getting too impatient when somebody explains their practice or how to play, maybe i should try leaning more into it ❤ this was helpful, thanks!

[EL-hmlz]

This is a sign for me to practice, lol

[capezyo]

Fantastic Bibi, thank you very much...

[sirdicaudore]

Often pianists say "I practice two hours a day" meaning "I practice two hours ALONE a day" They don't count 3-4 hours of rehearsals the same day or the two hours recital they play in the evening...

[woodlakesound]

Early training, where the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve cells are most receptive to development, seems to be a major contributor to exceptional life long technique