How Many Hours of Guitar Practice Have I Done?

[@NowakP]

Practice makes perfect... at what you're practicing. So if you're putting in hours into bad habits... that's what you get!

[@fran6b]

pretty much it

[@georgeskarpo]

Practise makes perfect, but nobody is perfect so why practise? :-p

[@virnalinebrida-sunga7748]

NowakP practice does not make perfect, practice makes PERMANENT

[@raulperez2308]

George S anyone that thinks that will never be actually good at what they do

[@zerostarinc]

PERFECT practice makes perfect!

[@HannibalX33]

I've played same riffs for like 14 years, and I still play master of puppets with alternate picking, yeah

[@Bryan1234580]

Hannibal X :(

[@johnjohnson1191]

Hannibal X Lol. I just learned that today. 2 years in. I am also working on Randy Rhoads' stuff.

[@yourpokemonguy]

You started this around when I was born. I have like 15 more years to get there. So inspiring. Thank you Rick 🤘🏻

[@rahbirt]

By the way, Malcolm Gladwell didn't come up with the 10,000 hour idea. It was based on the Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson's theory, and was (is) a lot more complicated than that.

[@pinkponyofprey1965]

It's just part of life as a guitarist. You do what you think you need to do. You sort of feel when you're practicing too much and you definitely know when you've been practicing too little. Dissecting it too much will kill it. How much have you've been breathing? :D

[@travelingman9763]

Charlie Parker practiced 13-15 hours daily for 2-3 years. The very best Improvisor genius of all time.

[@MrLuismizraji]

Thank you Rick!... from Argentina...

[@radiator007]

Rick I agree 30000% with you. Quality over quantity, focus , metronome in low speed and proteins and vitamins and rock star attitude.

[@dansadiqui]

It's a trip as to how many hours you can put in and how time flies as you do it! Cool video dude!

[@aaronbergAPB]

I used to play 8-10 hours back when, as well. I started in '81. 10 years more than you!!! Lol, cheers and thanx again for all support sir. Many more hours to come! Play on

[@Geraet]

stop thinking about time. Just make sure that when you practice, focus on what you are doing RIGHT NOW. Try to make the stuff you do RIGHT NOW, be the most effective thing you can do to get to your goal.

[@podoz]

love the wink at the end! made me smile!

[@riccardosava13]

This videos are gold rick

[@milesharris335]

YES!!! This is what it's all about. You've been inspiring the crap out of me and my practice has gotten so much better because of it. Thank you so much and I couldn't agree more, perfect practice makes perfect.

[@virra98]

completely agree with you rick, developing at something is so much more complex than just bland "practicing"

[@tonybowen455]

Darn, that's so much, but I can definitely tell. Your vids like the cliffs of dover and ibanez vs fender ones are some of the best I've heard.

[@mr.pooples2871]

practise doesn't make perfect... perfect practise makes perfect. Best quote I have ever heard

[@paulirving337]

well if we all just put the work in we'd all be great guitarists right? wrong. there are of course other factors. all players have their different sources they learn from different players different music etc. but some of us just have "IT" that quality of having a special talent and applying it. the ability to work out every detail and apply it. to have an innate intelligence and catch on quickly. you are a special talent rick and a down to earth human being to boot.: a rare breed.

[@anthonybattista2394]

Outliers is a great read. He has a chapter on Mozart and the Beatles, about how much they actually practiced and played before they made it big. It's quite astonishing really. And it's not just 10,000 hours of practice, that is definitely an oversimplification, it's around 10,000 hours of intensely focused practice with a purpose or goal that you reach a certain "ease of ability." It's still tough to play tough stuff lol. Great video, helped motivate me for practice today!

[@marcoalexanderwinthermikke9132]

Hello Rick. I think many struggling guitar-players (me included) would be very Happy and Motivated to see a video of you, explaining what Intelligent Practicing is and what the most effecient Way of thinking would be in terms of practice. Maybe even practice routines or other stuff. Take Care! Marco (from Denmark)

[@andrasszotyi9139]

Perfect practice makes you perfect. That's such a perfect sentence. :) There are so many things. If you're dedicated for something, you did your research, you applied the result in your case combined your experience and what I find as important as the time you put in, or how perfect is your routine is never afraid to ask yourself if you really right. That's how you learn anything. I am amazed how much I don't know about things as guitar playing and other interesting stuff. I used to be very good at classical or electric guitar(good routine, lots of practicing), but my life went in a different direction because I had a really bad guitar teacher (bad relation with him, was arrogant and didn't put me on challenge) and that demotivated me. As a result in the last 10 years I was noodeling on guitar maybe 800 hours all together. No a single song learned from the beginning till the end.

[@andrewhollis4800]

If only guitar was like a steam game

[@AvocaSingleTrack]

He is a great player but all you really need is a good teacher and it's all basics. I was hanging out at Greg Howe's house in Easton back in the mid 90's . There is no magic, they have taken the basics to superhuman levels, but it all comes down to the basics. I've been lucky enough to hang with a few people that are "Pro" level in other things I like. It's the same across anything, it's all the basics that they have taken to world class levels. I learned more from a local Jazz/Blues cat that could really convey the basics . Then it's all how far you take it, just like he says in this video . I put alot of hours in, had alot of fun , never got to the kind of level I would have liked to ....

[@6stringsbrainfingers]

You are the best guitar player in the world Rick. Yes, even better than Steve Via. I have been practicing guitar for 25 years and I am pretty dam good. But I would have to practice for another 50 years to be as good as you are. Your playing is just stunningly amazing.

[@PabloFernandesbr]

when I discovered you by chance you took the same WOW out of me that happened when I first discovered Guthrie govan. I remember very well the feeling two feelings and it's still very similar today when I see you playing. wish you the best.

[@timjenkins502]

I've been playing for 13 years and I was the same as rick....the first couple years it was all day everyday practicing! But as life picked up I found myself with less time and only practicing about 12 hours a week for a while and now and down to probably 3-4 hours a week. But I've added it up and I'm still right at that 10000 hours :) gonna start hitting the guitar harder now

[@mikemccourt6225]

In my 40s now - the first 15-20 minutes of practice is just warming up and getting loose. Ha! I find that I practice much smarter now and have a particular skill to focus on. What I wish someone had told me when I was younger: build up slowly for difficult passages and, perhaps more importantly, relax and be loose (tensing up leads to mistakes). My, how the time flies. Thanks Rick.

[@mrmisterman999]

sadly i have to confess ive invested more time on pornhub than playing. Help me guys!

[@SimonGavriilidis]

well...that's a form of playing, isn't it?

[@landowar2162]

skin flute ... yeah it counts.

[@mazklassa9338]

MrMisterMan lol

[@gejugfeguug5623]

MrMisterMan lmfao

[@gejugfeguug5623]

check out nofap lmao

[@used019]

Love your videos and greeting Rick. Always makes my day

[@NicknLex]

I started playing when I was 17. The first 4 years ago would play from 5-6 hours a day. I just had to many things to do. School, girls, and stupid worthless things you do when you are young. Once I got as fast as Yngwie I though I was good lol. Then I discovered Allan Holdsworth..still practicing 1 hour at least every day.

[@jaymc6451]

Thanks Rick really good post

[@stevecook2761]

Looking good Rick!

[@trossbossinit]

As my high school chorus teacher always put it: "Practice makes permanent!"

[@patty3531]

You have great videos and mad guitar skills

[@PrestonSmithsMusic]

I tell folks 'practice makes permanent'. Some folks don't practice properly and thus get nowhere. Often, I find myself in the same cycle or empasse, as it were. Tough to break out of sometimes, too.

[@andyoc]

some legend, incredible player, one of the best (like top 3) Ive ever listened to/watched/followed/studied. Drinking Kinnegar Crossroads, American Pale Ale, as it is Friday evening and Ive worked like a fcker all week. Great, great beer if youre drinking. Anyway, Rick, youre an inspiration for anyone who plays an instrument bro.

[@ThoRick]

Thank you for this Video, maks me thouth and gave me Motivation.

[@soguitar2251]

I play 1 hour per day and I´m happy :D

[@arunsasidharannambiar]

What's that brilliant song playing in the background!!

[@clarkfeeley1959]

Nailed it on the quality of hours practiced. 2nd would be consistency. 90 Mins a day is more than enough to keep you edging forward after the initial 10-12 hours a day routine for a few years.

[@Arcnaught]

Looks like you're doing well Rick! You have definitely inspired me to make the most of my time spent practicing the guitar. 10,000 hours might be a rough estimate of mastery for certain things. However, if you start out with that mentality of "I only need this many hours to be a master!", you're not going to get anywhere. You need to desire mastery.

[@Arty_C]

Good morning Rick!

[@eztimesaverz]

you'e an absolute fuckin BOSS either way

[@thetrippasnippingsasquatch6539]

Awesome video, I know there are no short cuts but could you do a video on how to do efficient practice and what would be covered. I know you said you a few years back you never followed a Specific routine but would be good incite on how you would approach it

[@sagarock1012]

Perfect practice make perfect

[@Eduardoyanez__]

What is the name of the song playing in background? I assume it's a Rick Graham original? It sounds great

[@sonalmishra7726]

You are ultimately ultimate sir . I love u .

[@philsackett7341]

I did this little test not that long ago, on my FB page. Here is what I wrote at the time: An interesting thought crossed my mind recently. I was wondering just how many hours I have logged on the guitar. While there is no way I know of to get that exact figure, a rough estimate is doable. I started playing when I was nine. I had a twelve year layoff around Y2k, and am now 52. I am going to round off and say I've actually been hands on for thirty years. I'm also going to be VERY generous here and say I only practiced 1.5 hours a day average during my thirty years, a very modest estimate. It's probably much higher. I have guitar OCD! So, let's see... 365 x 1.5 = 547.5 547.5 x 30 = 16,425 BTW, a very smart person at GIT pointed out to me that practice does in fact NOT make perfect, practice makes permanent. So, you had better program good info in there, or you will only be cementing your mistakes and horrible habits. ;)

[@Shreddster]

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years meow and I practiced like every day and I think my practice time varied from 4 to 8 hours could be more mostly up in the 8s more but hard to calculate. so many hours so much blood sweat and tears. but its always nice looking back and knowing you can do something now that you worked so hard to get too.

[@WilliamsGoldsmith]

Hey rick! Could you please make a video about picking technique? Keep up the great vids.

[@rizzinthebox7124]

A Lot of hours Rick respect

[@octaciliolinoneto4520]

this is true. Quality is more relevant than hours of praticing. All good musician say it. but if you really love do something you just don't care about the hours. you just want to do it more and more and more.

[@Cluless02]

My time put into it dates back to age 6 which would have been in 1964. That was on piano then late about age 13 I picked up the guitar, then bass and percussion along and the rest gets a bit fuzzy. What have I got to show for it?? I don't know - if having developed a sort of signature style then I suppose I do alright - keyboard still being my primary instrument. I've had people tell me my style, oddly enough, is more like that of a guitarist! I could not really say but I would say my influences were, for example, Ritchie Blackmore as well as Jan Hammer, but later on, taking lessons in Latin styles on piano and flamenco on guitar. Just wish I had gotten further into bass and the drum set - I love the rhythmic and well as the harmonic structure!

[@Petrovich2049]

Love his opening "Hey guys, it's Rick here. I hope you are doing extre-e-emly well out there. I know, I am"

[@Sphereal]

It is not about how much you practice, but about how you practice. So it's basically 10.000 hours (possibly more) of focused, well-structured practice. I wish I had known that when I started to play.

[@jorgemartins1738]

Wich was the soundtrack playing on the back? It's great!

[@sudharsanpaskaran]

Awesome

[@thenintendudes2046]

I'm not sure I got to 10, given I kept getting pissed at my lack of progression. But I used to do 4-8 hours daily. Nowadays I get about 3 to 4, trying to get back into the 6 hours realm. No one needs to practice 10 hours to get ridiculously good. I know several pros that only did 4-6. Rick hit the nail on the head: quality over quantity.

[@Godsailsthequeen]

Hours of practice are a step, but the whole experience in matter of years of playing music is the next. I've known and seen youngster killers on the guitar or other instruments, making full use of their young not-so-busy lives, playing many hours and hours. But you instantly recognize someone who's just played for 2 or 3 years, maybe a whole lot. Fingers are well in place, licks per hundreds in memory, but they did not fully digest what their muscles, their ears and brains learnt. They'll get there eventually.

[@intervalkid]

In high school I used to practice guitar 8-12 hours a day. That's for 3 years. I haven't practiced that much since at least not on guitar. Multiple instruments and theoretical study maybe but not every single day.

[@Strabbs12345]

Well said, quality of practice is what sorts the men from the endless noodles (of which, I must confess, Iam one)

[@Bmxmusikian]

This is great

[@mrmuscle4815]

So ricks a triple expert in theory, but in reality he's a GOD!!!

[@rayerscarpensael2300]

that background track is sick

[@Ellio1862]

Wonder how many notes Rick has played in those years? Billions! 🎸🎶🎶🎶

[@kingmikethe1st]

This comment is probably way out of left field here. But I used to frequent the Yahoo Private Chat rooms, and there was one that a lot of guitarists used to go to and noodle around. I remember one guy in particular who was totally awesome and was around 23 or so at the time and he used to give tips and tricks to anyone who asked. This was way back in 2000-2002 or something, maybe earlier. I was just wondering if anyone remember or used to go to that chat room?

[@Tomurow]

Great video! In fairness to Gladwell, he refers to 10,000 hrs of ‘purposeful’, focused practice, just as you say in your conclusion.👍

[@mikeanaro]

I did 10 hours a day like 2 times in 23 years playing, but I agree you dont need to be so many hours a day to get good, you have to practice carefully or with a teacher to see if you are improving or ruining your technique.

[@gitrdanny1]

Love the jacket Adidas (A)ll (D)ay (I) (D)reamed (A)about (S)ex All jokes aside. I have been playing since 13 and Im 50. I used to practice 12 hours a day. I love watching your technique and how clean your playing is. your advice on hand placement and posture has helped me in playing in itself. Thanks

[@Wolfram94]

I love you Wick Hair

[@fjosip1]

I have a question. How the hell did you manage to practice 10 hours a day without getting injured? I had a bad experience with WAAY less than 10 hrs a day. 2-3hrs of ogranized practice is enough for me.

[@dqvhncity]

Filip Josipović he uploaded a video recently where he explained about finding the right amount of tension when playing and make your hands as relaxed as possible.

[@fjosip1]

I know, but even with minimal tension 10 hours a day is an insane amount of time to do anything. Ask any doctor or physical therapist. We are only human after all. Or maybe it's just me, maybe Rick is god lol.

[@fjosip1]

Yeah, good luck with your progress, dude. Just remember ease into it. If you had a long break, it's probably smart to start off with just 30 minutes and slowly increase your practice time throughout several weeks.

[@fjosip1]

Well your practice time is what counts, not how long you've been playing. For me, discipline is very important. Better to play 30 mins every day than to play all day everyday and then stop playing for months. If you feel like you wanna stop practicing, just remember consistency and discipline is what makes you a better player. Also, have fun and play what you like (obviously).

[@fjosip1]

Sky Thanks for this very detailed comment. Personally I found "negative" or "eccentric" exercises the best thing to do for any hand or forearm injury. I read this book called Target Tendonitis, it's good stuff. I agree with everything you said.

[@hollywoodactress]

means you are one of the few musicians at the top of their field. there is an interesting TED talk by josh Kaufman (check it out). there was a study in 1990s that said takes 10,000 hours to be creme dela creme. he goes on to say to be competent to learn a new skill takes 20 hours of focus practice. key is focus. I do think 10,000 hours of focus practice and a person who has some talent. then they can become a true expert. ( I am rambling too, lol) for me I haven't done enough focused practice :(

[@Vtertdfgwrth5ybdfasgagadfg]

lol 14 years playing, only done about 5096 hours total, crazy when put into perspective.

[@jgrossma]

To be clear, its 10,000 hours of *deliberate practice* (not just total playing time) to become a world class expert per Gladwell. I don't think Gladwell's idea is supported by actual data, but lets accept this for the sake of argument here. A good way to think about this is, that if you practiced 4 hours/day it would take you roughly 10 years to hit that number. And that's the number Gladwell cites. . .20 hrs/week x 10 years. That's probably the realistic maximum for anyone with a normal life, (job, relationship, etc). Persons who can make playing their "full time job" and can practice 40 hours/week could get to 10,000 hours in about 5 years. I'd note that even most full time music students can't afford to practice that much. I'd also note that many individuals who try end up injured with tendinitis.

[@simonjohnas2342]

i can only do 30 minutes a day due for having a lot of my time allotted for work. so there you go, they only way to improve with that limited amount of time is having a specific goal every practice so you won't be hitting against the wind.

[@zachhayes1662]

So damn badass

[@JariSatta]

I'm at 41,154 h and I'm serious. (Logging since 16 y)

[@vasilijetapuskovic4065]

Respect!

[@JonasRosenven]

Do you use a stop watch/metronome to keep accurate track of playing time?

[@JariSatta]

Rounding down the minutes (2h 8min = 2h ). There's some noodling away -space LoL and I don't count in the hours spent in studio or gigs.

[@DaveDexterMusic]

Well, it shows.

[@unchien2069]

How old are you now?

[@deldia]

Young people and youngish people, don’t be put off by this because every single middle and old age person will tell you the years of your life just vanish away so before you know it, if you keep at it, you’ll be an expert and wonder how you got there so quickly. Quality practice of course.

[@lordofnesss]

it's cool when you reach to the point where you're writing and recording stuff with it ,because it doesn't make any sense to kill oneself practising hours just for nothing. it's all about creating good sounding music.

[@InstruMentalCase]

I believe the 10,000 hour rule is about highly focused practice where one is truly pushing their limits, so for most of us, the hour of noodling in the evening is probably not doing much in terms of reaching mastery level playing.

[@pratyushdhadwal]

hey Rick.....can you tell me that while practicing what should I practice??

[@razor2010m]

Well, I'm not Rick, BUT in my opinion, have a routine that makes your technical skill better (Chromatic exercise, legato exercise, rhythm exercise) and then just play whatever makes you feel good right after.

[@pratyushdhadwal]

thanks man really appreciate your effort

[@motorcitysmitty]

set some actionable goals, work on a routine that gets you to those actionable goals. Practice what you suck at, not what you are good at. Celebrate the incremental improvements but move on from them quickly to the next thing you suck at.

[@motorcitysmitty]

Ear training and transcribing as well! That made a huge improvement in my playing!

[@johnjohnson1191]

pratyush dhadwal Start with songs, they teach you how a band plays and allow you to experiment and combine different styles to form yours.

[@rockstarjazzcat]

How much *access* one has to quality, helpful information...

[@jakelee8789]

Haha you didn't just say, "that's what she said" haha your awesome bro!! Five stars

[@slxguitar]

So you DID practise Rick?? thank God, that makes you more human for me! ;) ;)

[@kipponi]

I want to hear some's practice routines ? I want to be more intense in practicing and less hours but with good results ? I also sing with always good warmups before harder songs. What is good warmups for guitar and make us better player technically and same time ? I have used Vinnie Moore's warmups but I like more melodic those are chromatic exercises. Good but boring sounds ha ha.

[@GiovaniRicardo_]

3 hours a day

[@youngog510]

How has ur experience been with any tendon injuries if any?

[@Amplified435]

They say you shouldn’t need more than 4 hours of practice a day, and actually the amount your brain can learn and grow starts slowing down exponentially after 2 hours. You get a lot farther with a few hours of deliberate practice, the kind that is mentally and psychically tiring, than you do noodling around for hours. That goes for every instrument.

[@AriannaEuryaleMusic]

When I didnt have to work I used to practice 14+ hours a day ( no kidding) for like 4 years straight, after.I totaly quit practicing for like 3-4 years (cuz`school and jobs), last month I just bought a new Guitar and start all over practicing only 2-3 hrs, a day

[@myroseaccount]

An average of 3 hours of practice every day is a lot. If you factor in rest days, holidays and the day job, it is likely that to maintain that average would need consistently more than 3 hours every Saturday and Sunday. This assumes appropriate teaching instruction and coaching.So about 1000 hours per year and 10 years to reach "expert" level.

[@COTG666]

I've been playing guitar since I was 14 and I'm almost 60. Started playing in a band at 17. I have over 10,000 hours of practice but I can't do what this guy does.

[@DiegoRuiz-yd2yn]

What's the name of the song at the end? Please if you guys know, just tell me :) Greetings from Chile

[@chungaleta1234]

Wow... I started playing in March 1991 (A month later than you) What did I do wrong??? LOL!!! Cheers mate. I really enjoy your playing

[@rockisrealmusic5338]

Dude wtf? 10 hrs a day? ... You didnt go to college? Didnt do your studies? You had no job? How the hell did you manage to survive? Where did you get the money to buy such expensive guitars and equipments?

[@Truebleux]

godson SOANS he probably got paid selling his instructional videos, private guitar lessons, studio work, touring. It's very easy for a man of his caliber to find work in the music industry.

[@shredded-shredder]

When you are a little kid you don't have to worry about those things, I did it too

[@trendkill3333]

Marco Tronu He didn’t start playing until he was around 16-17, I know that because he showed a video of him when he was 19 and shredding after only 2 years of playing

[@SuperXtoon]

555666 Wow, I didn't know that.

[@aakashmondal789]

where Can I get the video?

[@Acekorv]

10000 hours is not enough to be a complete guitarist. Heck a lifeime isn’t even enough. Imagine if you want to be a guy that can shred country, fusion, metal, gypsy jazz funk and blues, jazz. Thats a hell alot if practicing.

[@Harbaksh1234]

Good lad. Hope you're keeping well :-)

[@johnjohnson1191]

So I'm 2 years in Rick, and I have one question, how do you master sweep picking. I know this Puerto Rican guy who went to college for guitar and he is like "it's this simple" and frankly it's one of the few techniques I cannot master. Any tips as to how to get around this?

[@migueltorres9141]

Practice time is a very personal thing, it depends mostly on the student´s skills, Im not doing that much practice nowadays, if anyone wonders how I sound like you can check my new album on my channel, as Graham said practice smart, if not you are wasting your time.

[@gerryjones5575]

It would be keen if you were on youtube more often- alot more