music or piano first?

[Tash]

i was just thinking about it, and i came to the decision that i am more in love with music as a giant whole, how it works, its developments, how different instruments work, and just learning about absolutely everthing there is to know about music- piano just happens to be the instrument i play because that's where i started from, however i think i would be quite happy playing any other instrument, so i can learn more about how it works and stuff. but does that apply to you? or are you more into the piano, and everything else to do with music just supports that love?

[arensky]

Well the thing I love the most about music is the piano, where I play music...so, I said "both". I teach piano and music history and have been very active in the past as a diector in musical theatre, and I have composed a bit, and not primarily piano music. But my musical existence revolves around the piano. Playing the piano isn't all there is, yet it is at the center of my musical universe.

[rc]

Music first. I chose piano as the best solo means to the music. Not having to rely on anyone else to make thick, complete sounding music. The independance and versatility.

I've sort of imposed a piano-obsession on myself, in order to get good, but music is still the reason. Piano is just a tool.

I dream of transcribing non-piano music to piano, arranging popular tunes into fugues, composing neat little tunes for fun (little siblings are taking up other instruments, maybe some duets), or playing in a jazz combo. I like to hear other cultures music, klezmer is amazing. Lately it's been Haydn symphonies I crave.

I want to be able to call myself a musician, rather than pianist.

[stevie]

both, of course, but i find this a very interestion question because aside from musical factor, i have an interest in the technical side of piano playing, even by itself, the wealth of possible pianistic figurations and sounds, and just the feel of playing the insturment, and thats why i chose piano as my passion, it didnt choose me, because i actually tried different instruments, i chose it...because it offered me everything i needed - particularly solo spontanious expression, thats what i feel the pianos biggest strength of all is.

[pianistimo]

i said both, too.  it's very easy to watch and listen to symphonies, but if someone is performing piano concertos, i want to be the one on stage.  i always listen much more critically to pianists - but try to give them the benefit of the doubt.  for the last ten years i've been watching conductors a lot and find them intruieging - how they conduct, what they bring out ina piece, the levels of depth to their interpretation.  it's much like piano - because you're conducting yourself.  there are times that i play something and then go for a lesson (in the past) and realize something important that i never heard or listened to before.  it's like educating an audience when you play well.  i cannot sleep if music is playing in the background.  i am always critically listening to music - wondering what the piece is, or if i recognize it, who the composer is, and going through what i know about the piece or performer.

[g_s_223]

The piano, and keyboard instruments in general, are pretty different to most other instruments in that the pitch of the sound and its quality are pretty much uniformly determined by the instrument itself.

I suggest you try one or two lessons on violin just to see how *totally different* the production of sound is on a stringed instrument. Although all the other instrumentalists typically only play one note at a time, they have to work damn hard to get that note at the right pitch, volume, and sound quality.

[Tash]

actually maybe a better way to ask this would be do you see yourself as a pianist or musician first?

[pianowelsh]

Without music the piano is redundant, it is merely a cabinet housing hundreds of levers which takes upa lot of space.  The flip side is the piano is very fortunate to have such a huge portion of great music written for it in solo concerto and chamber forms.