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As an adult beginner, do videos like this get under your skin?
I am ashamed to admit they kind of get under my skin. When I was a little kid I asked my parents for music lessons and they said "no way." I think I am jealous, not because she can play that well and I can't; rather, it is because I was never given the opportunity to learn to play that well. Of course there is no rational reason for me to be jealous, since its not my fault (so far as I can tell) that my parents never let me take music lessons.
Part of what makes these videos so much more irritating is that I know these kids aren't actually prodigies in the true sense of the word. They are just young kids who have been made to work incredibly hard for a few years. And it is quite possible that they have perfect pitch to aid them. For instance, the little boy in the second video seems to me to be nothing more than just a little stimulus-response engine his parents have shaped like a scientist shapes a rat to press a lever. Even without all the glaring mistakes he made, there is no way I would buy and intentionally listen to this kid's performance, whether I knew his age or not. If he played the piece like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7YJHgZaelY&feature=related then I would consider him a prodigy.
A prodigy in the true sense of the word should inspire me to listen to their music. For instance, I would consider buying a CD of the girl in the top video, but given her age she has probably been playing for a good seven years at least and thus can't be considered a prodigy. Which is what makes it all the more irritating! Because this suggests to me that if I had been given the same opportunity it could have been me playing the Moszkowski Etude. This is definitely jealousy of the highest order, but I don't care.
If were simply the case that these kids were actually prodigies then everything would be so much simpler. Their talent could be explained away by just pure luck in the gene pool. But as anyone who has read "This is your brain on music" knows, this is simply not the case. And if you think it is, and you think you have an example to prove it, there are a lot of cognitive psychologists who would like to have a word with you.
Anyway, I am of course venting. I wish both these kids the best of luck, but seriously, I do hate these videos.
As an adult beginner, do videos like this get under your skin? ......
For instance, I would consider buying a CD of the girl in the top video, but given her age she has probably been playing for a good seven years at least and thus can't be considered a prodigy. Which is what makes it all the more irritating!
So what's the problem? In seven years of hard work you too can be playing like this...or better! So go to your piano and practice, practice, practice!
"Playing the piano is my greatest joy...period."......JP
You haven't been at it long enough. The piano repertoire is incredibly vast and the dropout rate is very high (it is not unheard of for a talented player to graduate from a top conservatory and then never play a note again). With the piano, it typically takes about ten yrs. just to get your feet wet. Early twenties is still very young for a beginner at the piano.
It's OK to get just a bit envious of young people who can really play. Check this six year old out, this is really good unlike the 7 year old's Flight of the Bumblebee.
WAU! I am tremendously impressed by Gavin Georg! His playing is brilliant!! He is 6 years old and he has a deeper understanding of music than I will probably ever have! And he only plays a couple of hours per day. That is pure talent if you ask me For instance the child that polyphasicpianist posted above played 8 hours a day and he doesn't sound quite like Gavin.
I am usually not very impressed by youngsters playing since their music is usually not very musical. Sure their physical skill is out of this world and very much beyond me, but I listen to music for music, not the skill Gavin on the other hand has all the music one could desire for!
But don't kid yourself. Think back to when you were young - would you REALLY have practiced?
That's what I ask my adult students who say they wish they started when they were younger.
No.
What they wish is that they were at the same level without any of the work.
Regardless of the age you start, you can learn. Don't be bummed out about it. Look to it for inspiration.
+1
A teacher told me that fewer than 1% of kids who start out young make it to an advanced level, and probably even less reach an advanced level below the age of 12. Statistically, you probably wouldn't have been a prodigy. It requires a very specific set of circumstances. For example, most teachers don't believe that pushing a kid that hard, that fast is a good idea. I've studied with a teacher that did, and it was no piece of cake. That kind of teacher also requires cooperation from the parents to be partners in enforcing a strict practice regime, which mine didn't. Even if your parents had signed you up for lessons, would they have had the gumption to force your butt on the stool for 3+ hours a day?
A teacher told me that fewer than 1% of kids who start out young make it to an advanced level, and probably even less reach an advanced level below the age of 12.
This sounds about right - but even most of those few prodigies who make it to the advanced level probably don't continue to any great length or extent with their piano studies or make a career of it (except for teaching) - after all, how many concert pianists can the arts world support at any time and how many recording contracts are actually available?
But it's still so common here at PW to see posts of YT videos of these prodigies - we've had them over and over and over and this is becoming tedious and irritatingly boring simply because there is nothing new or unusual or exciting about them anymore.
If you want pianistic accomplihments that are new and unusual and exciting all you have to do is listen to the ABF's monthly Piano Bars and quarterly Recitals - this is where the true incredibly remarklable achievements - by adults - are happening.
JF
Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on. Frederic Chopin
Current favorite bumper sticker: Wag more, bark less.
I have to admit to a huge amount of green-eyed envy when watching these incredibly skillful children, but I have also to admit that I don't (and never did) have the sheer determination and drive to sit at the keyboard for 3+ hours a day studying theory, technic, and repertoire. My hat's off to these kids for their brilliance and work ethic. It's because of them and their predecessors that we can to to concerts and hear the most complicated works of Chopin, Beethoven, and Liszt rattled off with flawless ease and musicianship. Were the piano world left up to people like me (and to the fellow I was at age 8, forced to take lessons), we'd be flocking to concerts to hear "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Lavender's Blue."
But don't kid yourself. Think back to when you were young - would you REALLY have practiced?
That's what I ask my adult students who say they wish they started when they were younger.
No.
What they wish is that they were at the same level without any of the work.
Regardless of the age you start, you can learn. Don't be bummed out about it. Look to it for inspiration.
Indeed. But the characteristics that defined us when we were children -- difficulty in focussing for long practice sessions, and an inability or an unwillingness to sweat the technical details until quasi-perfection is achieved -- often still define us as adults.
This is not simply pessimism. I think it's a realistic way of looking at ourselves. If we want to progress as adults differently than we progressed and learned as children, we must in some sense change ourselves. This makeover is not easy, and many of us never fully achieve it.
Adults do have certain advantages, but we also face many other constraints. The balance between them is very individual.
...the characteristics that defined us when we were children -- difficulty in focussing for long practice sessions, and an inability or an unwillingness to sweat the technical details until quasi-perfection is achieved -- often still define us as adults.
I respectfully disagree - while these two characteristics may occassionally define some adult learners, I think that more often than not exactly the opposite is precisely what defines the majority of us - an ability to focus and a willingness to "sweat the details", along with a solid long term dedication to achieving realistic goals.
Originally Posted by Piano*Dad
This is not simply pessimism. I think it's a realistic way of looking at ourselves. If we want to progress as adults differently than we progressed and learned as children, we must in some sense change ourselves. This makeover is not easy, and many of us never fully achieve it.
But, many of us have done this - slowly, haltingly, clumsily, painfully and sometimes incompletely - it's called "wising-up", aka maturation.
JF
Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on. Frederic Chopin
Current favorite bumper sticker: Wag more, bark less.
But don't kid yourself. Think back to when you were young - would you REALLY have practiced?
Yes.
Me too. Not on the prodigy level of course but I think had my parents been able to give me a piano when I asked for one at 14 I would have at least gone into adulthood somewhat proficient at playing and reading. Instead of watchng MTV when I was supposed to be doing my homework I probably would have been playing piano instead of doing my homework.
Last edited by Little_Blue_Engine; 02/25/1103:45 PM. Reason: spelling
I'll figure it out eventually. Until then you may want to keep a safe distance.
I was talking about the people who particularly remark on how they could have been at an extremely high level. The truth of the matter is, you probably wouldn't have practiced that much.
And really, you can easily say yes now, but you never know what you would have actually done as a child.
II. As in, second best. Only lowercase. So not even that. I teach piano and violin. BM, Violin & Percussion Performance 2009, Piano Pedagogy 2011.
Google 'Emily Bear' for some YouTube videos. She picked out scales at age 3 and went on from there. She's now 9 or 10, I think, and has composed music (jazz and classical) which sounds pretty good. I think she is a true prodigy, not the product of being forced to practice hours a day. For some, they hear the music in their head and music comes out their fingers. More power to them.
Me too. Not on the prodigy level of course but I think had my parents been able to give me a piano when I asked for one at 14 I would have at least gone into adulthood somewhat proficient at playing and reading. Instead of watchng MTV when I was supposed to be doing my homework I probably would have been playing piano instead of doing my homework.
I don't know why it is people feel a need to parade young children out as "prodigies". Having the technique and physicality to play advance pieces is impressive, but does not a 'prodigy' make. At some point playing pieces becomes less about any actual talent and more about simply putting in the required practice hours. The numerous videos out there of so called "young mozarts" speak less of talent and more of a helicopter parent culture pushing children in some horrific competition with other like-minded parents.
As a child, I rapidly became uninvolved and detached in music because of the sick competitiveness of it. Over time, I've come to believe that a truly great musician shares part of their soul with the audience - a representation of their full life time of experience and emotion. Look at the 'classic' songs with staying power through the past 100 years, and you'll see a large number of stories and character.
When the dust settles from one of these children on stage, only a few leave anything beyond "wow, she/he was so young". Those few may eventually live on to deliver great things to us, provided that they have an opportunity to grow and realize that music and life is about so much more than simply being 'better' than someone else.
Has music really become so shallow as to only measure greatness by the age someone first hits a competition or plays some arbitrary piece? Developing at piano requires practice and passion, not constant comparisons to other players. Great art is expression - otherwise, we might as well just put in a CD.
I don't know why it is people feel a need to parade young children out as "prodigies". Having the technique and physicality to play advance pieces is impressive, but does not a 'prodigy' make. At some point playing pieces becomes less about any actual talent and more about simply putting in the required practice hours. The numerous videos out there of so called "young mozarts" speak less of talent and more of a helicopter parent culture pushing children in some horrific competition with other like-minded parents.
As a child, I rapidly became uninvolved and detached in music because of the sick competitiveness of it. Over time, I've come to believe that a truly great musician shares part of their soul with the audience - a representation of their full life time of experience and emotion. Look at the 'classic' songs with staying power through the past 100 years, and you'll see a large number of stories and character.
When the dust settles from one of these children on stage, only a few leave anything beyond "wow, she/he was so young". Those few may eventually live on to deliver great things to us, provided that they have an opportunity to grow and realize that music and life is about so much more than simply being 'better' than someone else.
Has music really become so shallow as to only measure greatness by the age someone first hits a competition or plays some arbitrary piece? Developing at piano requires practice and passion, not constant comparisons to other players. Great art is expression - otherwise, we might as well just put in a CD.
../rant...
+1
(Finally someone understands why I created this thread.)
to admit they kind of get under my skin. When I was a little kid I asked my parents for music lessons and they said "no way." I think I am jealous, not because she can play that well and I can't; rather, it is because I was never given the opportunity to learn to play that well. Of course there is no rational reason for me to be jealous, since its not my fault (so far as I can tell) that my parents never let me take music lessons.
And he only plays a couple of hours per day. That is pure talent if you ask me 
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