How many hours of practice does it take to become proficient at a musical instrument?

Question

To master one? Does it depend on the instrument? Which are hardest?

Answer 1

I am a musician of over 16 years and the daughter of a music teacher, I also studied music for 3 years in college and played with professional musicians for 3 of those years.

I would have to say that it most definitely would depend on the instrument, the person and the time they put into it. Some people cannot play certain instruments nor do they put in the time to practice.

I use to get so much crap from everyone at school (obviously Jr. high and high school), because I was the daughter of the music teacher. They always said that it wasn't fair because he always just gave me "A's". That was so not true. He was harder on me and made me learn music and the instrument by myself (after teaching me the clarinet, he made me learn Tenor sax on my own). He always knew when I practiced, I couldn't just have my parents sign the slip. Anyway, I'm getting off subject.

I'd say start with something you love and just try it. I've always wanted to play the trumpet, but it's hard for me as my cheeks hurt when I played it. (I'd not recommend starting with something like the oboe or the violin).

I'd have to saw that the piano is one of the hardest to master. If you have rhythm and a good sense of keeping the beat with hands and feet, I'd try a drums. Percussion was where my father always put the rejects that couldn't play anything else.
Good luck sweetie!

P.S. I loved playing the Tenor sax, it was the most fun out of all the instruments I could play!

Answer 2

It depends how good you wanna be. Good enough to play professionally or just good enough to play around? To play professionally it takes years all though there are exceptions, depending on natural talent and the instrument you play. Even then you're constantly learning no matter how good you get. Some say the piano or keyboards are the hardest, others say the guitar. But the violin is usually considered the hardest to master.

Answer 3

Everyone has a different level of skill at learning. On average it will take several years of practice if you mean be able to play from memory with NO mistakes. Some people can practice for hours a day without growing weary of it. Some nights I play at my Lowrey for three or four hours going through all my books. In three months I have become as good as some of the other students who have been taking lessons for a whole year. So it depends a great deal on your level of interest and how much time you can devote to it.

Hardest? I was told.............violin.

Answer 4

Hardest to master: violin, piano, guitar, and probably harp.

If the instrument is the triangle, it doesn't take long to master. If the instrument is one of the ones mentioned above, six years to get a Masters Degree in Performance.

Answer 5

Well i am learning guitar and all the instructors that i have had so far all have told me to practice only 30 minutes a day so i would not get tired and give up. They estimated about 2 years to become proficient in playing the guitar.