[jodaboda]

I found this article about practicing in intervals, with breaks between:

http://www.ryanfraser.com/lessons/advanced/practice.html

It's a very interesting idea, but there are no references. Has anyone tried practicing in short "bursts" of 20 minutes or so, with brain breaks between?

I feel like I'm suffering from some interference in my learning, in that I try to do too many different scales or arpeggios in a practice session, and this is making it hard for my brain to develop distinct memory for each one. Maybe that's not true though?

Any ideas? Or links to research in this area?

 

[hgiles]

Practice for as long as you can hold your attention. That's different for each person. I believe you retain the most information from the beginning of sessions. I also believe if you do too much in a session you stand less of a chance that any of it will be usable.

Some days I will just play in one key and try out every lick I can think of in that key. That way when I walk away I have some added facility in that key and I will have something I can use on my gig that night.

I would suggest you focus on fewer things in your sessions. Just play Blue Bossa for an hour... Think about new ways to approach 'easy' stuff. That can be challenging but so much more rewarding.

 

[jlima]

Definitely, short intervals (20-30 minutes) with breaks (10-15 minutes). It helps you refresh and lets your body recover. Do stretches and relaxation doing the breaks. If you play for very long periods, you run the risk of gaining injuries and trauma that may take months or even years to cure (and may force you to stop playing altogether for a very long time).

 

[saxtek]

Practicing with breaks of a few minutes or even a full day is good for muscle development. Daily practice for long periods is good for endurance. A combination of both is probably ideal, so the best advice may be to practice when you can, as much as you can.