What do Famous Musicians Recommend about Practicing?

[Mark Gunter]

For JB: You should practice at least as often as you scratch your noggin musing over statistics

Can’t remember who said that one, either

[journeybear]

Did I miss something here? Are you a famous musician with a recommendation about practicing?

FYI, I spend way more time practicing than the few minutes spent producing the observations on this thread. I hope you do the same.

[Mark Gunter]

If you missed anything it would be humor, maybe?

I suppose my brand of humour is easily misunderstood, sorry about that. I’m no more famous or relevant than most contributors to this thread. (Scratching my own noggin now)

[journeybear]

Hmmm ... OK. I thought so, maybe, but 'twas pretty dry. Emojis help.

And OMG, do we need an eye-roll emoji! Use it all the time elsewhere. Closest we have is this, which isn't quite the same, though close ...

[Steve Mead]

Listen to the Mandolins and Beer podcast #167. Very interesting!

[journeybear]

Link to it here. Star of the show is Wayne Fugate, who has a decently impressive resume in performing, recording, and teaching.

[Simon DS]

I think famous musicians often emphasize the importance of regular and focused practice in order to improve their craft.

Some examples:
1 "Practice, practice, practice" - Yo-Yo Ma, world-renowned cellist
2 "It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice, it's what you put into the practice." - Kobe Bryant, former NBA player and musician
3 "Practice like you've never won. Perform like you've never lost." - Alicia Keys, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter
4 "The most important thing about practicing is to make it a habit." - Lang Lang, classical pianist
5 "Practice hard, play harder." - Eddie Van Halen, rock guitarist and songwriter
6 "The more you practice, the more you can let go of the mental part and the more it becomes natural." - Lindsey Stirling, violinist and dancer
7 "If you want to be great at anything, you have to be willing to practice every single day." - John Legend, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter
8 "I tell young musicians, 'Be brave and be disciplined.' Discipline is really important when it comes to practicing." - Wynton Marsalis, jazz trumpeter and composer.

Overall, these musicians stress the importance of discipline, hard work, and consistency in practicing to improve their skills and achieve success in their musical careers.


@Mark, you’re famous enough for me!
And from that other famous musician SimonDS: Metronome it, play with it, record it

[Joed]

While taking up mandolin as a Covid project I spent allot of time playing along with the TV with some foreign shows with opera and classic soundtracks.