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Yeah, but what if even the musical job in the end isn't something you love doing? There's no guarantee.

Then why would you be there? If it's not your passion...and I don't mean "ohhhh piano is my passion...I love it soooo much"...I mean you live, eat, breathe, dream, think music and the piano. Your entire life revolves around music and the piano. The appointments you make for the week are scheduled AROUND practice time...not the other way round. It's not a hobby. It's not something where you're sitting around one day and find yourself thinking..."hey, I could maybe make money doing this." It's all-consuming. There is no such thing as boredom (God I hate when I hear "I'm bored with this or that piece)...it's a CONSTANT learning process and the fire TO continue learning isn't one that wavers...ever.

Okay, I feel we're going around in a circle.

I'm trying to say what's practical for most people. You're saying passion trumps practical concerns. Which is fine, because in America, it's not like a musician is going to starve to death.

I just don't think it's the proper advice to give to young people, especially when the target is, in my opinion, a minority.

Another thing that would deter me personally from Juilliard is the cut-throat competition there. When I talked to one Juilliard graduate pianist, he said that one of his classmates (who had gotten the one full-ride scholarship that the school gives out per year, and as such was...not liked well) went into a practice room and began to play, only to see his fingers gushing blood because of the razor blades that had been stuck in between the keys...

... is that an urban legend?

If that story is indeed true, that's just awful.

That story's been around for at least 15 years. I've heard it told so many times in so many different ways by so many different people (none of them with firsthand experience) that I seriously doubt it's true.

And it's great advice to say something like, "Just get a job that makes money, spend half of your life in an office and hating it". Please. It's not the proper advice to give to young people when you say, "you should do what you love"? How not?

I am scared
Can he/she still play the piano now?

I have nothing of value to add about Juilliard, as I know next to nothing about the school aside from what I read on this forum, but I thought I'd come out from lurking because the topic of people pursuing a career they love vs. what's practical is always of great interest to me just because of my own recent experiences.

I think that advising young people to major in/pursue "something you love" is not bad advice at all, with the caveat that I think some to many young people go into music figuring they love music, but with no real idea of what being a working music professional is like, and what is involved and required of them. I majored in music because I love music, and ended up hating life because I just didn't have it in me to work that hard and handle the different difficulties of being self-employed and having my job be so time and self consuming. So if an aspiring music major goes in seeing the big picture of the professional music world and recognizes what it will be like, and they're still all about it and wouldn't dream of doing anything else, then yes, those people should pursue what they love. I just don't think it's the right choice for everyone, even some who would say they love music. (And I don't think pursuing something you hate or have little interest in just because it will pay the bills is a good option for anyone, but those certainly aren't the only two options.) Just my 2 cents.

You hit the nail on the head.

I didn't say pick something you hate. For instance, in college, I wanted to do string theory, but realizing the dwindling funding for theoretical physicists, ended up doing computational biochemistry instead in grad school. (The fields are more closely related than you'd think)

So that part worked out. But what I wasn't prepared, was how grad school and academia was totally different from what I had in mind. It would have been nice if I had received better advice. But at least all's well that end's well--I grinded out my degree and that part is over with, even if it took me longer than I had in mind, and did quantitative finance afterwards (and again, not as farfetched as you'd think).

I would also recommend people do things that they're interested in--but at the same time, you need to make them aware of the consequences. For me, I'm fortunate my studies were heavily math and computer science related. But in a different field, you might not be so fortunate, and that's what young people should be made aware of.

If you have a gift and music is your overriding passion, then go ahead, by all means--that's I mean by "the targeted minority". Your "competitive advantage" is that much higher. For the rest of us, likely most of us, it's important to explore your interests (as long as it's the US system we're talking about).

Those who are currently in music should realize that you are all quite blessed. I have great admiration for you all. Just keep in mind that many are not necessarily as gifted.

I know this thread started over the use of the practice rooms and library at Juilliard, but in the OP's post was the little blib on 'getting into' and studying music that a few of us focused on.

That would be my only hesitation to give someone advice to pursue music. Why does it have to be Juilliard? Why does it have to be a conservatory?

How many people recently become passionate about music and choose a school like Juilliard as their main and dream choice? And why, only because it has a name?

I don't think making statements like the above are really any indication that you have the passion and the talent.

When I was a physics major I wanted to do string theory, but they hadn't invented it yet.

Because those aren't the only two choices.

I agree. Juilliard is by no means the be-all end-all of anything! There are so many good conservatories and college music programs, why not one of them?

Why these threads pop up every few months to where people say you can only choose "to be in an office hating your job" vs "being a musician and struggling" for the rest of your life?

Guess what, you can have an office job that's very rewarding and you can be a musician that plays concerts and be appreciated by tons of people. Takes a lot of hard work but I think it is a good balance.

+1 I've heard this in many variations as well. There's nothing to it...nothing.

Absolutely. I didn't mean to suggest that office jobs are all boring -- which is why I called it a "cliché". There are many wonderful jobs outside music.

My point was just that not everyone does find a career that they're passionate about, and as long as one has found such a strong passion for music, it is worthwhile trying to make it one's career. As Kreisler said so well, there are so many jobs in music, not just being a Evgeny Kissin, and often times passionate musicians will find ways to create more or less traditional job opportunities for themselves.

I think the ugly truth is that, in the US at least, the majority of people do not like their job, and many people really hate their work. But you gotta live...

And don't I remember reading that most non-piano Juilliard students end up in a career not related to music? And the reason it's limited to non-piano is because they don't have the records on the piano students, so it may be true of them, also, but they just don't know.