10,000 hours?

[U CAN CALL ME AL]

I was reading the news this morning on BBC website, and came across this:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26384712

At the ripe old age of 63 I begin to wonder if I have enough time left to become an expert sax player. In the meantime I'll carry on regardless.

 

[kernewegor]

Thanks for the article.

I collect that sort of thing - conflicting theories and arguments are useful indications of where the truth might reside...

We had discussed this sort of thing on a thread somewhere (I expect someone will come up with the link) and certainly virtuosi (e.g. Charlie Parker - up to 15 hours a day for about four years) seem to clock up that sort of figure.

On the other had this is disputed by another academic further down the article.

Although other have expressed similar views Edison is first reported as saying "Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration" sometime around 1902, in the September 1932 edition of Harper's Monthly Magazine. (the quotation is familiar, but thanks to google search for the background)

Whatever the rough figure of time required, the key element (which is also mentioned in the article) is enjoyment - the more enjoyable you find it (or devise strategies for making it enjoyable) the faster and better you learn... and the more time you tend to put in...

So - have fun!

And if you intend to retire in a couple of years you can start packing in lots of hours of practice into the day - so expertise is achievable! That's what I keep telling myself, anyway... look on it as an accumulative process... every improvement is an increase in expertise...

 

[U CAN CALL ME AL]

I retired early last year. Am still wondering how I managed to find time to work. I manage to get in about 10 hrs/week practice. By my reckoning I will be an expert at age 81. Always enjoy practice/playing would do more but life gets in the way.

 

[gladsaxisme]

Who wants to be an expert anyway, just being a competent and enjoyable to listen to player would do for me,I could quite happily "practice" 15 hrs a day and enjoy every moment, but I think I lack focused practice and that is probably the difference and maybe where staying with a tutor might help, I have the taming the saxophone book but lack the discipline to study it and practice it in a beneficial way, so enjoying it in my case anyway is not the answer .......John

 

[altissimo]

what if you lose count and only practice for 9999 hours..?

 

[llamedos]

Who wants to be an expert anyway, just being a competent and enjoyable to listen to player would do for me,I could quite happily "practice" 15 hrs a day and enjoy every moment, but I think I lack focused practice and that is probably the difference and maybe where staying with a tutor might help, I have the taming the saxophone book but lack the discipline to study it and practice it in a beneficial way, so enjoying it in my case anyway is not the answer .......John

I reckon you've about got it right, John. If you don't hanker after making a living out of playing, tackle it on your own terms and practice what you can, when you can, and don't make it a chore. Above all make sure that you are enjoying what you are doing otherwise you might as well take up embroidery! Any practice is good practice - that's what I tell myself anyway.

I have said it before in this hallowed place but make no apology for repeating myself - my favourite definition of "expert" is that X is the unknown quantity and "spurt" is a drip under pressure.

Dave

 

[Targa]

I never think of it as practice, I call it playtime.
I suppose I must be into my second childhood; I'll make sure I enjoy it more than the first one.

 

[U CAN CALL ME AL]

what if you lose count and only practice for 9999 hours..?

I'm no expert​

 

[altissimo]

"An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and how to avoid them"
Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Beyond

 

[Colin the Bear]

I've been alive over half a million hours so by this reckoning, I should be expert at 50 things. Apart from sleeping breathing and eating, I can only think of one.and two. Oh and perhaps putting my foot in it.

 

[old git]

Definition of an "expert" by pronunciation.

Ex-past it.

Spurt-A drip under pressure


Mods, problem.
When I entered a colon and a hyphen after"Ex", it turned into a Pink Smiley. had to edit this and remove colon. If that is normal, why didn't it happen the second time that collection of punctuation was used?

 

[Jamesmac]

Just one observation I have made although not founded on any precise scientific fact, but just something that seemed to be constant from a viewers perspective. I used to enjoy the snooker, and watching the major tournaments with the world top players. I noticed that there was something in the shape of these top players eyes that seemed constant. I know the Russians used to select sports children for there natural physical make up to a given sport, in the hope they would develop into Olympic winners. The great pianist Artur Rubenstein was once asked is there any explanation for his technique. He put his hands flat on the table and showed that his pinky was the same thickness as his other fingers.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Some one who shook hands with Fats Waller said his hand was like a bunch of bananas. There's a joke there about saxophone players and thickness but I can't get into words.

 

[Alc.]

My fingers are thick, but I fear it's from arthritis. I'm 77, and have fun belching the old Ellingtons with my cheapo Hong Kong horn. When I feel ready to submit a recording to the folks on this site, and hear back that no one has received a concussion as a result of my bellowing, I will be elated. Expert? Who the hell is that? My wife told me not to take my practicing to the rear of the house anymore, but to stay in the office (one room away from den). It is possible she is tone-deaf, but is a good sport. She is my expert. Seriously, just play and enjoy.

 

[Jeanette]

When I feel ready to submit a recording to the folks on this site, and hear back that no one has received a concussion as a result of my bellowing, I will be elated.

Al we do have a beginners thread here where you can post something if you want feedback.

Jx

 

[kevgermany]

I have said it before in this hallowed place but make no apology for repeating myself - my favourite definition of "expert" is that X is the unknown quantity and "spurt" is a drip under pressure.

Dave

Can't agree - it's someone who knows eveything about nothing.

 

[ProfJames]

what if you lose count and only practice for 9999 hours..?

You'll have to become a drummer!