Is This Feasible? Question for Bernhard or other teachers

[teresa_b]

Hi,

My 20-year-old son has decided he wants to change his major to Piano/ Music Ed. (not performance) in college.  Problem is, he took lessons for about 6 years and quit at age 14.  He was perhaps at "grade" 4 or 5 level (with very little practice) at the time. 

He would start his music classes next fall term, so he has about 7-8 months to get his skill level as high as he can.  I "tested" him and after 2 hours of practice he was able to play an easy piece, perhaps grade 3. 

He has a lot of native talent, and professes a real desire to do this, but I am concerned about whether his goal is realistic.  If he practices 1-2 hrs a day, where might he expect to be in 8 months? 

Any specific ideas as to strategy?  I am seeking a private teacher for him as soon as possible.

Thanks!--Teresa

[Bob]

What's he going for after the degree?  Teaching general music?  You don't have to be a virtuoso to teach, so yes I would think something is possible.  If he makes it through the degree process... Even those who have a played a long time do not always make it.

[lostinidlewonder]

If he is chosing Piano/Music education then his skills at the piano do not have to be as high as if he wanted to study peformance of course. It all depends on the school though. I advise any of my students who want to studying music at univeristy or a music school to commit themselves to their study at least 3-4 hours a day, memorising new stuff (musically and theoretically).

I don't think the goals are realistic that he will be able to improve his ability by a huge amount in 8 months even with intense study and a 6 year gap between his previous piano studies. A good teacher may reduce the time needed but I would say 2 years sounds more realistic to see changes. It also depends on the individual and how much effort is put in. If he is developing while being examined by the university he might be dissapointed with his results.

I am the type of person who if I do anything I want to do it the best I can and do it right even if it takes extra time. But some people like to "just" pass, and just get through, do things faster so you can do more, learn from errors. I wonder if it would hurt him to deffer his studies for a year, concerntrate on his piano and theory and then go back to the uni and take up music. He would be very prepared then, there is no rush with music.

If one graduate from music at 26 or 32 it makes no difference in my mind. Its not like being an..... accountant, you want to get out there and climb to the top of the business pyramid as early and as fast as you can. I guess if you want to become the head of a music university then you want to go and graduate as fast as you can and get working, but the majority of musical graduates will be self employed or work for a school with little movement in career postion. If you want to become a peformer you have to present a peformance that the audience didn't know they needed and make your career from that.

Music is not like any other subject, 1+1 doesn't equal 2 in music, but anything so long you make it right in your mind. It is the same as being a writer, so many different ways to write a book, there is great difference between the writers in this world but they all are great in different ways for the individual.  Music is the same, how you do one thing this person will appreciate, but at the same time the next person will be totally the opposite. In the end you have to be satisfied with what you are doing musically, no one will show you what to do, they can suggest but in the end you must make decisions yourself. This might be also another reason why he should deffer his studies before taking up music, so that he knows where he really stands musically. Studying music full time is VERY VERY different to studying 1 hour a day. He may even hate it as a lot of my students who have a fantasy of becoming a musician found out and quickly ran back to "real" life.



The subjectiveness of music can get a lot of people into strife, especially in the peformance side of piano and learning concepts for the first time. So usually it is a good idea to first teach yourself a lot of the stuff you will learn at the school, then when it is discussed/lectured in your tutorials/lectures, you will not be new to the concepts and will be able to observe other ways to understand the same thing.

[teresa_b]

Thanks for the input!  He is not going for a performance degree, but most likely Music Ed.  At the moment he is in a junior college, planning to transfer to a state university Fall '07.  I see your point, lostinidlewonder, about doing only the music for a year or so.  I think that might be unwise for him, as he is on a fairly good roll now as far as his other courses.  I have a feeling he may lean toward secondary ed., and if music doesn't work out, he can get the degree in another liberal arts field. 

It won't hurt him to take the piano lessons and work as hard as he can.  The junior college may not have as stringent an audition (don't know) this fall.  Then he will have another year before the university audition. I will speak with him about the very real possibility of not making the cut, even after a lot of hard work. 

Thanks again--
Teresa

[Bob]

At the very least, taking those music classes would show an interest in the arts.  That's a plus for many fields.

[teresa_b]

Thanks Bob,

Your point about the advantage of having some music credits under your belt  even for other fields is a good one. 

It's been so long ago I had forgotten, but I was interviewing for medical school.  The Johns Hopkins interviewer was on my campus in Florida, and I went straight from Piano class to the interview.  He noticed my armful of piano music immediately, and asked me nearly nothing about science, or any reasons I wanted to do medicine--Instead, he and I chatted through the whole interview about classical music!

I was accepted at Johns Hopkins (didn't end up there for other reasons).

All the best, Teresa