Practice time is moreso based on quality than quantity. You can learn something and play that same thing over and over everday but you won't get any better unless you set out to learn something new each practice. A lot of us get in a rut where we are so comfortable playing one thing and it stymies your growth. I got a buddy of mine that only knows about 3 chord progressions and 1 rythym pattern on his guitar and he's been playing the same thing for 10+ YEARS. And it's to the point now where he CAN'T get that rythym pattern out of his head when he plays no matter what I try to show him. He is still in beginner level and will never improve further, of course he isn't as serious as I am about music anyway, he just picks it up when he gets a wild hair.
I practiced about 1 year before God let me know I was ready to play with our choir. I didn't even have in my mind to play for anyone, I was just content on learning for my own personal growth, and to become more "well rounded". Now a few years later, I'm playing with a gospel group that opened for Byron Cage, and Darlene McCoy this year (my first public performance other than a small church setting, talkin about knees a knockin'), and I'm not great by any means but I practice all the time it seems, and sometimes it seems like not enough . But it really depends on the individual. In a years time you have the potential to be twice as good as I was with the proper direction. I began teaching myself, then eventually I moved on to taking correspondence lessons online. You can pick up alot of practical knowledge from Uriah too. He's got a good approach to teaching bass. Not too much info all at once so you don't get overwhelmed, but enough to keep you on your toes and trying to reach for the next level. The riffs Uriah plays are good and I usually have most of them down in under 10-30mins tops and I think I'm one of the slowest ppl to catch on to the language of music.
