what is realistically acheivable by an advanced pianist, career-wise?

[stevie]

aside from becoming a cocnert pianist, which is a rare thing, what other ways can we realistically make a complete living revolved around our love for and ability on the piano?

can you realistically earn a full living solely as a piano teacher?

can you become a random cocktail pianist?

and what about randomly switching to jazz?

alot of us are willing to do just about anything as long as it involves our love and passion for piano and allows us time to keep up our skills

[arensky]

aside from becoming a cocnert pianist, which is a rare thing, what other ways can we realistically make a complete living revolved around our love for and ability on the piano?

1. can you realistically earn a full living solely as a piano teacher?

2. can you become a random cocktail pianist?

3.and what about randomly switching to jazz?

alot of us are willing to do just about anything as long as it involves our love and passion for piano and allows us time to keep up our skills

1.Yes. But you have to love teaching, otherwise you will be miserable. Are you patient?
2. Yes. Be prepared to play quietly and play certain pieces of "music" you hate. They're expected.
3. Not sure; Jazz requires imagination and a quick mind and reflexes. It is not easier than
   "Classical" playing, just different. It uses a different mental process. Some classical players can't make the transition. Depends on if you can get into it and master swing feeling and randomness.

  Of course you will keep your skills, unless you let them rot. None of the above precludes playing classical concerts or recitals.

     Do what you want, it's your life, if it doesn't work try something else, or try it again.
 

[chopiabin]

I had a teacher when I was at Colgate University named Steven Heyman who went to Julliard on a scholarship when he was 16 and met and played for Horowitz while he was still alive. He's an amzing pianist, and I think he has some recordings, but he's still a university teacher (at Syracuse University and at Colgate). It just shows how insanely difficult it is to make in the concert pianist world. But I do think that a career as a university teacher or as an artist-in-residence would be a LOT more fulfilling than just your average neighborhood teacher, simply because people who take piano in college are more advanced and focused on piano than younger students are.

[zheer]

Well if you are as advanced as Paderewski you may have the chance of becoming the priminister or president of you country,dreams do come true.

[arensky]

But I do think that a career as a university teacher or as an artist-in-residence would be a LOT more fulfilling than just your average neighborhood teacher, simply because people who take piano in college are more advanced and focused on piano than younger students are.

Depends on who the younger students are. And after a few faculty meetings, you might wish you were the neighborhood teacher! 

[chromatickler]

There's more or less 2 paths that leads to a career on the international concert circuit:

1. win a major competition at a very young age, eg the warsaw chopin, cliburn, tchaikovsky

2. learn an astronomical amount of repertoire (40+ concertos). make sure you can perform all of them on a few hour's notice, preferably without practice. get a good agent, and look to fill in for last-minute cancellations. do this a few times successfully and you will have a reputation that will hopefully lead to a career.

[arensky]

There's more or less 2 paths that leads to a career on the international concert circuit:

1. win a major competition at a very young age, eg the warsaw chopin, cliburn, tchaikovsky

2. learn an astronomical amount of repertoire (40+ concertos). make sure you can perform all of them on a few hour's notice, preferably without practice. get a good agent, and look to fill in for last-minute cancellations. do this a few times successfully and you will have a reputation that will hopefully lead to a career.

I would say more than less, but...

true           

[leahcim]

Aside from the concert pianist stuff that's been covered

I think it depends on how literally you meant use your ability to play.

e.g teaching isn't doing that - unless you're going to spend 50% of the lesson showing off to the pupil - in which case, you might want to consider electric guitar instead - otherwise, chances are you'll be playing little bits to demonstrate and spending most of the time listening to others play.

Of course you can still play - but you could do any job and still play.

If you want a job that involves playing the piano, there's probably a wealth of session musician type stuff, TV stuff [someone played the piano for that Stella Advert for example, someone plays piano on all those Simon Cowell / BMG records] or a rock band / Elton John type thing - you could be the next Richard Clayderthingy, Billie Joel, or Rick Wakeman   - but you might run screaming or turn your nose up - I would think of it like this - If you earn $50M playing crap for 10 years, you can buy a Bosendorfer, an island in the sun and learn / play / publish whatever you like for the rest of your life with that money.

There's working in the background too, producers make big bucks for years while the pop / rock bands they work with disappear / get addicted to drugs / die - most of the 1/2-decent sounding pop/rock albums are down to their talent, not the band.

Your idea of speed == everything would appeal to Rick Wakeman's audience too, you don't even have to play difficult things fast, just fast. Can you grow a mullet, and do you need an agent?

You could get a job in a piano dealer / music shop demonstrating / selling them - depends how greasy and free of morals you are

If you can compose you could look at film or computer game composition - the latter is more a one man game, so what you compose, you play too. Similary TV shows have sound tracks - some TV series on DVD have the extra stuff that talks about the filming / special effects, a few have stuff talking about the music / composer - League of Gentleman for example - watch them and see if it appeals.

But if you're only interested in playing specific rep in the idiom of a concert pianist, then you've probably only got that choice.

[etcetra]

Stevie

Whether you are doing classical music or not, it is very demanding and challenging to make a living as a performing pianist.   Jazz is definitely not easier than classical, and  doing pop/studio stuff is not as easy as you think.   A lot of the piano player for pop bands are highly trained musicians with college degree, and you have to be really good to get those gigs.. unless you are in a band or its your band.  There are many options but they all require different kind of skill sets and its one is not easier than the other.. .

Even if you are Richard Claydaerman, you really have to have the ability to promote yourself to a certain market, and have the ability to write music to that market.  Plus you have to have enormous patience to play the same carp night after night.

I think the best advice i can give you is do what you love and see how far you can go with it.  I think a lot of people dream about being a musician until they find out what kind of lifestyle it takes to be one.  I met a lot of fine musicians that decided to do music on the side because they didn't want to deal with the crap you have to deal with when you have to play music for living.


this kind of reminds a story about REM before they became big.  I read that they were living day to day and they were really poor.. they were making their living playing birthday shows for kids.. For most people that's a crappy life, but they said they'd rather be doing that than getting a regular job... I know this is not an example of career in piano playing but I guess my point is that if you want to make a living in music you kind of need that kind of enthusiasm and love for it, otherwise its not worth it.

[richard black]

I do most of my piano-playing work in the worlds of opera and of conservatoire accompanying - violin, clarinet, singing, trumpet..... students who need accompanying for exams, seminars, auditions, etc. I thoroughly enjoy both, and it is possible to earn a living at either. You do need good sight-reading though.

[nyonyo]

I do most of my piano-playing work in the worlds of opera and of conservatoire accompanying - violin, clarinet, singing, trumpet..... students who need accompanying for exams, seminars, auditions, etc. I thoroughly enjoy both, and it is possible to earn a living at either. You do need good sight-reading though.

Does teaching bring more income than accompaniment jobs?

Don't you think teaching is less work than accompaniying somebody.

Teaching is definitely a good source of income. I know many financially secure piano teachers. They are not even a concert pianist. But these people know how to market themselves. Many concert pianists are so ignorant on how to market themselve. They know how to play piano, but they are not a salesman.

[richard black]

Does teaching bring more income than accompaniment jobs?

Yes, my wife is a piano teacher and her hourly rate is more than mine! But on the one hand I have no teaching skills, and on the other I like playing. It's not exactly hard work, especially the opera stuff - you're paid to be there but often end up playing for only an hour or less in a three-hour session.

[timothy42b]

Just a thought.

Is anybody richer than Kenny g?

Is he especially talented?

Well, yes.  Perhaps not as a pure jazz musician, but as an entertainer and businessman.

Is there anybody doing this on piano? Not that I know of.  Go for it.