How much time should you practice your instrument?

It's more than you think.

After each lesson that I do with my guitar students, I remind them to practice. Usually, they will say, "Okay." Well, to me, that immediate reply is not a convincing response to my request. I will then ask them how much time do they plan to practice their guitar and work on the lessons I just gave to them. A glazed look will fall over their eyes, and they might hesitantly answer with some sort of arbitrary number. They will then look to me for a validation or agreement to their answer.

Let's say that you are learning how to play the piano. You are taking weekly lessons from a classically trained musician/teacher. You are learning to read music notation. How much time do you think that teacher is going to insist that you practice your lessons? Try to imagine being told that you must practice four to six hours every day, with no excuses. There are some instructors who will drop students in a heartbeat, if they do not show measurable progress in their lessons. They expect the student to p…