How many hours per week do you usually practice / play ?

[William Smith]

Not nearly enough!!!!!!! But if you've been sick for as long as I have been you lose all inspiration/energy, ya get just plain tired of the fun things ya once enjoyed! I'm on the mend now so maybe if ya'll can send some good luck my way I can get back on track! That's all I used to do was play my mandolin/guitar morning,noon and night. "hours each day" Its no big fun when health issues get in the way. So I do feel for any of ya out there with problems, it sure is no bundle of joy. Just keep your head up and keep on a truckin!

[lorrainehornig]

I manage about 2 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, I recently had a very ambitious Saturday where put in 5 hours in one day. Not good. My fingers are numb and I've had to take a couple of days off.

[AlanN]

At this stage of my life, if I get 1/2 hour a day, I'm jiggy wif it. not counting jams

[Randi Gormley]

I'm limited by a bit of arthritis and carpal tunnel, so I play the usual Monday session, which runs three hours, minus chatting time; daily practice/playing varies depending on how my hand/wrist feels but if I have the instrument out, not less than an hour. Some weeks it's three or four days of that, some weeks only one; the occasional once-monthly session which runs another two to four hours and, now that March is approaching, Monday's session and three weeks of gigs that run from one to four hours, depending. Orchestra practice is two hours once a month October through April, but the orchestra performance piece is four days of 8 hours of music, minus lunch ... I didn't realize how much I spend on music, now I come to total it all up. Odd. Nice, though.

[Eric C.]

15-20 hours a week not counting shows. I've been at it since January 2012.

[9lbShellhamer]

Funny how time available to practice/train at the top levels of any interest are common across the board.

I'm a competitive runner who's taken up mandolin seriously this year and its funny how most of us are at that 10-20 hour range in mandolin yet also in athletic pursuits.

The best athletes in the world get in about 12 hours per week mostly, maybe 15 if you include PT and cross training. I'd compare the majority of pickers here in that same lot, (at about the top 1% of mandolin players, or the 99th percentile.)

I guess with "life" that is about the most amount of time the most driven individuals can devote to one interest.

I've got this goal to be able to play at the same level I'm currently running at...I think I've got my work cut out for me over the next few years.

[ambihl]

At a minimum 1/2 an hour a day - right before I go to bed. Turning off the tv and the computer for a half an hour really helps me go to sleep. Then on top of that 1/2 an hour to an hour 5 - 6 days a week.

[DGW1945]

I retired from full-time last september 9th.!!!!GLORIUS!! I can now spend 2 hr+ on guitar, 2 hr+ on mandolin,and am still able to work 6 hrs once a week (pays for my music toys) and volunteer at the Church several hours. I am fortunate enough to retire to music instead of retiring from work. Now I am

[Beanzy]

I've just realised I've no idea how many hours I do. It's like a continuous default activity for me.
When a window of opportunity allows me to I just take up a mandolin and set to practising the next technique or piece I want to cover.
I think that's because I have a massive to-do list of areas to cover and pieces I want to play.
Most days I'll manage to fit in a few hours maybe an hour then extra 1/2 hr or 15 minutes as and when things allow. Yesterday would have been about 4hrs in total, but it didn't seem like a long time as it was in chunks.