 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GuitarGirl
Date: 2009-07-08 15:14
On the guitar board that I'm active in, we recently did a calculation of approximately how many hours we have spent on the guitar; some of this was astonishing.
Guess, as accurately as you can, how many hours you have practiced the clarinet. It will be interesting to see how far you have come in what amount of time.
I'll start (I'll be one of the lowest! :/ )
30 minutes a day x 6 days per week x 365 days = 1095 hours.
This was a few years ago, and currently I'm waiting for my new [to me] clarinet to come in the mail so I can add to that number!
Also, at what point did you become comfortable in your ability? I know no one can ever get as good as they want, but the point where you realized you could play most of the songs and perform techniques you one day only dreamed of?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious.
EDIT: My calculations are incorrect. They have been corrected in a later post.
Post Edited (2009-07-08 16:19)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2009-07-08 15:34
Read Daniel Levitan's best selling book "This is Your Brain on Music"
http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0525949690
He wrote that to be an expert on ANYTHING (music, chess, sports, computer science, writing, etc.), it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice. He noted that if you apply that to your job, it meant you need to work for five years (40 hour weeks) to become an expert at what you do.
However, there are other factors besides practice that go into becoming an "expert". For instance, in music, genetics plays a part, but not in the way you think. Music he says, does not "run in a family." Rather, parents that are more involved musically are going to provide their children an environment that allows for the development of musical skills.
...GBK
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Author: Franklin Liao
Date: 2009-07-08 15:37
How on earth does one quantify the amount of time one sinks in to a hobby and a way of life? The sheer monetary value of such things aren't meant to be assessed and even if the time is astonishing, it isn't a chore despite it being an occupation.
Let's see. Guitargirl has gotten the math wrong...
30min == 1/2hr
1/2hr per day * 6/7 (days) * 365.25 days = 156.5357 hours
//you do not practice 1/2hr out of every hour, but 1/2 hour per day, so we take the average amount of hours per day, factoring in the 1 day that you do not practice before deriving the total number of potential hours devoted in.
Assume that base pay of USD $12/hr, taxable at 30%,
*12*.7
= $1314.9
then assume gross average sales tax at 10%, real purchasing power
= $1183.41
The only way to reach Guitargirl's numbers is to assume that one practices 3.5 hours/day. From this, one can calculate that...
10,000 hours / 1095.25 hours per year of practice == 9.126 years required to reach minimum number of hours needed to become an expert in a given area.
PS: 10,000 hr of work at $12/hr would rack up to be $84,000 after 30% deductible and $75600 actual purchasing power at 10% gross sales tax.
There exists a linear ratio between base salary and pre-taxed gross capital. Unfortunately, this calculation does not take in account of amortization and inflation over the duration of payment cycles.
PS2: You can actually approximate the amount of money made payable to an instructor if you have 1 hour every week devoted to lessons.
$20 per week * 365.25/7 = $1043.57 per annum.
What we then find out based on Guitargirl's hours, 30min/day is that...
$1043.57 to instructor per year /$1183.41 potential salary for gross practice time == 88.2% of potential financial investment in hours of practice is invested in having paid instructor giving one lessons.
PS3: Based on all of this, we can go further and say that
financial 'losses' in practice : instructor gross pay is very likely to reach 1:1, and often much worse a ratio. Of course, the more you are paid by the hour, the less time you would have to practice...
Post Edited (2009-07-08 16:12)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-07-08 15:58
> 30 minutes a day x 6 days per week x 365 days = 1095 hours.
Wouldn't you rather calculate "6 days per week x 52 weeks"?
--
Ben
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2009-07-08 15:59
Since reading "Outliers," I've tried to figure out where I stand on the path toward my virtuosity. If I don't consider that half of my development occurred before a 30+ year break, I'm at about 8600 hours. But, I play with folks who do have those 10-years of full time practice in, and I truly doubt that I'm going to be a "virtuoso" in another 1400 hours of work.
Bob Phillips
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Author: aero145
Date: 2009-07-08 15:59
Why is the week counted in? When you practice 30 minutes a day, then you practice 182.5 hours a year. Not 1095 hours.
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Author: GuitarGirl
Date: 2009-07-08 16:18
aero145 wrote:
> Why is the week counted in? When you practice 30 minutes a day,
> then you practice 182.5 hours a year. Not 1095 hours.
yes, I'm sorry. This is the correct calculation. Mine would be for six YEARS of doing 30 min a day! Thanks for the corrections people.
And in no way did I mean to put a monetary value on my instrument time! I just thought it was interesting to see how much time I've actually devoted.
Also, I've heard a lot of references to that book...I just may now have to read it!
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2009-07-09 04:14
Reading List (Somewhat off topic):
Outliers
Freakonomics
Reading Lolita in Theran
Bob Phillips
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Author: TonkaToy
Date: 2009-07-09 13:07
Bob,
Excellent reading list. Two others that give a wonderful picture into both post and pre-revolutionary Iran are Lipstick Jihad and Rooftops of Teheran.
Now back to our regularly scheduled clarinet programing.
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