Ableton Forum

I went to a music based lecture yesterday, and one of the points mentioned was that the average amount of time you needed to spend practicing to be considered a 'master' of a certain craft was around 10,000 hours. The definition of master could be argued ad nauseum, so let's just assume for the moment it means pretty farking good.

Have you put in your 10,000?

Get out a calculator and really try and approximate, it's quite interesting when you get a final number.

timothyallan wrote:I went to a music based lecture yesterday, and one of the points mentioned was that the average amount of time you needed to spend practicing to be considered a 'master' of a certain craft was around 10,000 hours. The definition of master could be argued ad nauseum, so let's just assume for the moment it means pretty farking good.

Have you put in your 10,000?

Get out a calculator and really try and approximate, it's quite interesting when you get a final number.

Way more than 10,000 hours here. Try more like 40,000 hours. I've been playing piano since the 1980's.

this idea has been pretty hotly debated around edumacation circles. Its from a book called Outliers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

theres a guy on the telecaster forum attempting to do this, and log the whole thing.

adventurepants_ wrote:this idea has been pretty hotly debated around edumacation circles. Its from a book called Outliers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

theres a guy on the telecaster forum attempting to do this, and log the whole thing.

Ahh Cheers. That telecaster experiment is a very cool idea.

i'm probably at 1200hours when it comes to beatmaking.....i still have a long way to go.

Three words:

Quality versus quantity.

I would argue that quantity gets you quality.

timothyallan wrote:I would argue that quantity gets you quality.

I disagree.

I'd argue, for example, that a 1000 hours spent in a studio learning the trade from an experienced, respected producer would make you 'better' than I'll be after 10,000 hours teaching myself production techniques from magazines and online articles.

Ive been writing electronic music for 21,900 hrs of my life, and i'm still shit, what gives

Leon Tricker wrote:

timothyallan wrote:I would argue that quantity gets you quality.

I disagree.

I'd argue, for example, that a 1000 hours spent in a studio learning the trade from an experienced, respected producer would make you 'better' than I'll be after 10,000 hours teaching myself production techniques from magazines and online articles.

I agree with that. I was referring more to something like people who won't finish their first track unless it sounds like something you'd hear on the top 10 at Beatport.

Tim this is the first time I completely disagree with you. I would've given the speaker the finger and walked out.

some people gots it, some of us work for it (err one tenth of it.) I 100% agree with perspiration for success but holy fuck, some of the talented people I've met make me sick.

there is no formula for being a virtuoso, just ask one, they're pissed about it.

It's true. I find my genius weighing me down all the time. I therefore choose to hide it.

Tone Deft wrote:Tim this is the first time I completely disagree with you. I would've given the speaker the finger and walked out.

some people gots it, some of us work for it (err one tenth of it.) I 100% agree with perspiration for success but holy fuck, some of the talented people I've met make me sick.

there is no formula for being a virtuoso, just ask one, they're pissed about it.

Oh, don't get me wrong TD, I never said I bought the whole theory It was just a point in the lecture, not the whole thing (It was a music marketing lecture). I do believe that you have to practice, and I do believe that 'how' people practice is just as important as the time spent.

I'm just curious as to how many people have put in, and if they'd consider themselves 'masters' for lack of a better word.

I heard a quote recently from some concert guitar player whose name I didn't recognize.

if I don't practice for a day I notice.
if I don't practice for a week my friends and family notice.
if I don't practice for a month the fans know it.

if I had fans they'd know it.

I think this 10,000 hour rule has a grain of truth to it, but its not even vaguely the whole story - especially when applied to creative pursuits. 10,000 hours working on music will make you a more accomplished producer or composer, but it's not necessarily going to give you new ideas or inspiration.

It's almost a cliche for an artist (of the musical type, at least) to produce their best work near the start of their career. How does the 10,000 hour rule explain that?