Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Am I being realistic?

Sure you can do it. I had a couple of classmates who were double majoring in music and pre-med and they were both Ab Fab...

Thanks guys......Ill really try to evaluate my situation...but i really think im dead set on piano...guitar doesnt really do it for me anymore and it really never did I just was always good at it and gave alot of time to it always forcing myself to practice with no direction,with piano I have a clear vision of what I like and would want to acheive ...as for my Chopin comment , I am willing to learn any thing but chopin is just what I really want to focus on.....Would the requirements still be as high if I were to go to school to receive a double major??like studying Psychology or something else and Piano......because from what I have seen,even incredible virtuoso guitarists and pianists with degrees from the top schools have trouble paying the bills

Thanks guys......Ill really try to evaluate my situation...but i really think im dead set on piano...guitar doesnt really do it for me anymore and it really never did I just was always good at it and gave alot of time to it always forcing myself to practice with no direction,with piano I have a clear vision of what I like and would want to acheive ...as for my Chopin comment , I am willing to learn any thing but chopin is just what I really want to focus on.....Would the requirements still be as high if I were to go to school to receive a double major??like studying Psychology or something else and Piano......because from what I have seen,even incredible virtuoso guitarists and pianists with degrees from the top schools have trouble paying the bills and having another degree besides music seems more realistic

p.s. for your info I too switched from guitar to piano though a bit after highschool and am now in my 4th year or so of playing piano and I don't even have the skills to get into most piano major programs yet so imagine where you'll be after only 1 year, then again my first 2 years or so I didn't train nearly as hard as you claim to be ready to though I did have the headstart of having played sax all my life in school bands (so I knew theory and how to read music) and guitar throughout highschool. I DO think it's possible to learn some of the easiest pieces from each category in one year, after all isn't there some guy on here now that's been playing for only a year and practicing insane amounts of hours per day and is already attempting the revolutionary etude and liszt pieces and whatnot. Then again I was playing moonlight 3 after only half a year of playing piano too and yet "playing" isn't exactly the right word to call it, more like ATTEMPTING, here I am almost 4 years later I still can't play the damn thing the way I want so go figure,
BUT like I said, I think it's possible to learn the easiest pieces from each category in a year.
For example, many beginners including myself have learned such things as fur elise before the first year of study was over, and Bach inventions etc, and many music programs will let you in if you are able to play such pieces decently.
So for example say you learn a Bach invention for the Baroque, a easier movement of Mozart sonata for the classical ( k. 545 1st mov or rondo alla turka etc..) then a easy Chopin nocturne for the romantic (opus 9 no 2 in Eb for example), all of these pieces are possible to be learned within the first year of study, and thus if you are able to play them decently perhaps you would stand a chance at SOME schools. Then, once you're actually in, being in the whole environment of seeing other players and teachers and learning from them perhaps/hopefully your technique and skills will improve much faster than they would someone else.
However I would possibly recommend you get a teacher ASAP but one with which you setup an IMMEDIATE understanding of what your goals are, because if you don't most likely the teacher will groom you strictly on fundamentals to the point where you may not learn many pieces at all in your first year or two, but if you find one that agrees to help you pass an audition perhaps he/she can focus his teaching in such a fashion as to expedite the process and help you learn those audition requirements ASAP.

However, as a disclaimer all of this is really hopeful and optimistic and the chances of learning even those easy beginner pieces all in a year's time to a adequate performance level are not that great but 1. you can try anyway or 2. you can start learning now and jus go to school for guitar for at least your first year or first semester and then easily switch over when you're ready by simply requesting a new audition (this is possible.)

Mkay. Well, to tell the truth, you sound a lot like me. I have something called Asperger's Syndrome, which involves, in short, little to no social ability and obsessive interests. Sounds to me like you were quite obsessed with guitar, and suddenly you feel the same degree of obsession for piano practically overnight. You need to calm down, breathe, and get your priorities straight. Which are you going to choose--something you've been doing your whole life or something you've been doing for 4 years--child's play compared to most of us considering a major in music. I've been there. I have played piano since I was five years old, but one day, at age fifteen, I decided screw piano, I wanted to dance ballet. So for a year I was fascinated with ballet. It was my life. (Thanks to Asperger's, probably.) I lived, breathed, spoke, dreamt about ballet. A year or so ago, I finally realised that I had forgotten what had been important to me for over a decade--playing the piano. So now I'm back at the piano, winning competition after competition, playing pieces that beforehand I had not even dared to dream about playing. My thirst for piano is rekindled, and I'm happy.

Please don't make the same mistake I did...I wasted a year of my life on a phase, and I regret it deeply.

I wouldnt see the ballet as a waste of your life...you learned something new and probably enjoyed it and you will probably take it up again at some point in your life.....anyways could someone get me started on how to really effectively practice???I bought Hanon and have fininshed up to the third exercise....should most of my time be dedicated to technique or repertoire or sight reading or something else?Basically in my situation what would you be doing

[...] In your situation I would be seeking out a good teacher. You will waste a lot of time and possibly learn poor skills - you might very likely even learn some bad habits you might have to eventuallly break - if you don't have a good teacher.

If it's worth going for, it's worth going about it the right way. Get a good teacher; don't listen to those of us who may try to give you good advice, in spite of our best intentions. We can't see how you're learning; we can't see how you are playing; we can't see how you are progressing; we can't evaluate your needs and how to meet them. Only a good teacher can do that.
From what you have said, you don't have a lot of time to waste; invest whatever funds and focus you may have on getting a good teacher and learning properly from him/her.

Regards,

Hi deadmen,

I'm assuming you've been accepted as a Guitar major at Berklee, focusing on jazz and commercial music. Now it sounds like you want to start studying classical piano.

In all honesty, it will be an incredible amount of work to pull together enough repetoire to pass a college-level audition even in a couple of years. It would be impossible to gain acceptance to a conservatory, but possible a BA program at a state school. But even then, you will be at an incredible disadvantage compared to your peers.

I had a couple of college classmates (very talented and musical people) who switched to piano from other instruments and they both struggled mightily. One eventually dropped out, and the other finally graduated with a BA in piano perf after about 6 or 7 years. I think the piano faculty felt sorry for him.

I do know this: there are at least a few successful jazz pianists who I can think of who switched to piano from other instruments late in life. Marc Copland had a successful career as a sax player and then decided to switch to piano. George Colligan was a trumpet major at Peabody and then took up jazz piano after he got his degree. Both these guys are (near) top-flight jazz pianists, maybe not in the class of a Brad Mehldau, but no worse than a couple of rungs lower. I must add that both these guys are incredibly gifted and they beat some fairly serious odds to get where they are today.

However; as a far as classical pianists go, I cannot think of anyone of any sort of noterity who started piano after the age of 18-19.

Kind regards and best wishes,

Lee

Cal sucks, go Stanford! lol, just fooling with ya, congratulations...I think the guitar kept me sane throughout college and law school, I don't think you're being realistic if you're hoping for a piano scholarship (just think of all the other kids who have trained from 3 years up on classical repetoire and you get the idea)...but don't give up on the piano, get a keyboard for your dorm room and noodle around in your spare time, it'll keep you sane and probably improve your guitar to boot, if nothing else you can always use it to tune your strings

Hello deadmen,

I should carry on with Jazz and if Chopin is your only composer and you can read and play his music at all, I suggest you take a few lessons to get outside proof to yourself of your talent.

I would never dismiss enthusiasm as it is 90% of the importance of any art form.

Alan

It's not impossible, that's for sure. But before you start you want to make sure that's what you REALLY want. For real. You have to want it to make it happen and to make it happen, it's work. (Of course, I'm not quite at that level yet. I'm still quite young, actually)

Don't strain yourself so hard that your hands start to ache and such. Be careful. I started practicing a lot and it becomes quite painful at times, so please be careful!

Good luck and do keep us posted!

Um Sid, I hate to break it to you, but Berklee is in Boston.

And your congratulations are premature, since it is not clear that deadmen will be attending Berklee anyway...

By the way, thanks for the nice comment. :rolleyes:

whippen boy (in Berkeley).

lol, sorry...ingrained reflex, thought it was a mispelling of berkeley

...but now that You're here, Cal sucks, go Stanford!

As someone else said in another thread, so many people add to a thread without reading what has already been stated, and, in this case, what has already been clarified.

I think this is the best advice so far in this thread. You are unlikely to have your piano skills up to snuff to gain admission to either a conservatory or university program for next year. Why not go to Berklee, keep playing piano on the side, and switch when you are ready?

A second piece of advice that may or may not go over well with your parents would be to take a year off after high school and focus on getting your piano repertoire up to audition levels. If you do that, I'd advise getting a half-time job, too, to help minimize the parental griping factor and prevent burnout/injury on piano.

p.s. As a psychology professor, I feel compelled to dispel you of the illusion that a joint psychology/ music degree is the road to wealth. A B.A. in psychology prepares one only for such promising and lucrative careers as a Starbucks barista.

BruceD, please go easy on Sid - Stanford fans sometimes need a bit more time to 'get with the program'.

Deadman,

As a fellow Chopin fanatic, I would like to encourage you to pursue your passion. HOWEVER, one must also be realistic. There is no way that one year is sufficient for becoming a competitive pianist, even if you are already proficient in playing another instrument.

Well, you've got to start somewhere. If you are deadset on going ahead with piano, then I second BruceD's advice: you ABSOLUTELY need a teacher, a very good one. There's no way to teach yourself how to play, and there's are no shortcuts, except for doing everything RIGHT from the beginning.
This will cost you, too. I hope you have some means to be able to afford 1) a decent acoustic piano, and 2) weekly lessons with a good teacher. This is just the start.

--c5

Edit: I guess my post goes hand-in-hand with one alternative that Monica mentioned: stopping out one year after graduating from highschool, and devoting your time to learning how to play piano. Maybe you could even defer entry to Berkelee by a year, in case you decide piano is not for you.

I'll try to do that!

That's a terrific idea, cerulean5, and I would definitely recommend that Deadman pursue a deferral if he goes with the "take a year off" plan. There would be some comfort in knowing that all the bridges hadn't been completely burned.

Thanks for all the suggestions ...I think ive decided to stay home for 2 years and attend the community college to receive my liberal arts credit then transfer(This is going to save me quite a bit of money and seems like a better choice either way ).....of course during these 2 years i will have be practicing with any minute I Can (which should be quite lot).....I just bought an acoustic piano by Grinnell Bros. For $500 and its pretty nice,I had my first lesson and the taecher got me started on a chopin nocturne(a simplified one of course but still sound s very nice)...on a bad note i felt some pains in my wrist today when i was playing and feel minor pain while im typing this message..it feels different from the carpal tunnel syndrome I once had so im hoping its just strain and I just need to take a break