How would you rate yourself?

[tompilk]

Just give an idea about what stage you are at...

[pianistimo]

i don't think that what you play defines your level.  it's how you play it, what you comprehend about what you play and teach, and if you have a vision for yourself and students (where they are supposed to be going).  to me, piano is quite versatile in it's ability to convey ideas and feelings.  if you play 'fur elise' meaningfully and well, it might be a more enjoyable listen than a sorabji piece played poorly.  educating your audience seems important, too, for performers.  i tend to like andre rieu because of the wide variety of music that he chooses and his ability to 'reach' an audience instead of just playing music that he personally likes.

all this said, i would say my level is at easier concertos.  i would like to play leroy anderson's piano concerto and maybe a few mozart concertos.  was takinga class on the piano concerto this semester, and have been listening to the standards.  somehow, because so many really really good pianists have played these - i want to play some concertos that people haven't heard that much or that are newly composed and moderately difficult. 

[thalbergmad]

I am somewhere between bloody awful and bad.

[pianistimo]

i bet you are better than you let on.  besides, music is about having fun.  noone should really care or compare because that's not what music's about.  i kinda like the jamaican ideals.  the shore, the rhythms, the relaxation, the singing.  formal classical piano concerts are cool, too, but the most meaningful recitals to me, are where the performer reaches the audience.  sometimes it might be by also relating information about the music and making it accessible to the average person to enjoy.

[ted]

I can quite easily rate myself for any given definable ability. Some things I am quite good at, with others I'm not so hot. The poll would seem to suggest that playing the piano can be assessed according to a linear scale of nothing but finger dexterity in particular pieces within one particular idiom - that of the classical concert. I feel this is far too narrow.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

A musician is always growing. Even if you can play the technically hard pieces doesn't mean that you shouldn't play the technically easy, but meaningfull ones. Thus for my response: I am growing and want to grow.

[rc]

hmmm... It is tricky to rate something like pianism, so many different aspects. Everyone knows their own strengths and weaknesses, but how to measure it overall, or even put that into words?

That must be why they created standardized grades.

I would say I'm a novice, carefully laying the foundation. I can pull off some more advanced pieces when I work at it, but there are weak links in my abilities. A musician should be as well rounded as possible, we're as strong as our weakest links. So I go back to what I'm no good at, and lay the foundation.

Specifially, I can handle grade 8 pieces, good with theory and I don't neglect the history... Weak sightreading, improvisation, a few standard technical aspect (scales/arps/chords,etc), and rhythm could use some work too.

A thought on technical practice... I've read the arguements for/against technical exercises, and my approach is that if I can't pull off the exercises (while being careful of nature and not injuring myself) then that's a skill I lack. Although parallel scales or arpeggios will rarely pop up in music (Dohnanyi never I hope), if I can't play it right away, there's something lacking.

[mschopinliszt]

Performing Prokofiev's Toccata in December.  Does that tell you a fair techinical stance? 

[sonatainfsharp]

Above average, but not good enough.

[totallyclassics]

I have to agree with pianistimo.  It's not always the song that depicts what level you actually play at.  Some pianists such as myself are overly ambitious and attempt chopin nocturnes after only 18 months of playing as a returning adult!  I play chopin nocturnes like someone who has been playing for 18 months as opposed to 1o years!  I play early intermediate very well, and intermediate pieces, after much practice average.  So I would have to rate myself as early intermediate because that is what I can just pick up and after playing through a couple of times feel that I have it in my hands with articulations, proper dynamics,voicing etc.  I stink at Chopin!   I love Chopin, but try as I might, I can't get my playing to sound like what I hear in my head.  Oh well, I will continue to practice.  Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is that it's not always about the notes!  It's technique that requires years to accomplish some of the cherished pieces.   I didn't know that until I found my new teacher.  She has made all the difference in the way I look at music.  It was fun before because I was totally playing from the heart, but now I get to enjoy the results more because I am learning technical practices as well. 

happy practicing,

tc