some guidance would be appreciated :)

[whitemint]

   Hi, I took piano lessons when i was a lot younger, but my piano teachers always seemed to move away.. lol.. and overtime i guess i just lost interest.  So I stopped taking lessons.  I got to level four or three or something in those bastian or alfred books.  Lately though, I've really regained interest in playing the piano and i really have the desire to get really good at the piano.  Im a senior in high school and will be going to college and wondered if it would be a good idea or even possible to take piano classes in college.  I know that it is very difficult to get into a colleges music department and i know im nowhere near good enough cause im not very good at all.  Could i possibly minor in piano or is that really hard to do too?

  Ive been practicing at my house because i have both a keyboard and a piano.  There are a couple of songs im trying to learn right now, so my piano practicing just is basically practicing those two songs. I just play the same measure, or couple of measures, over and over until i get it down pretty good. Should i be doing other stuff as well? What can i do to get the better the quickest. Just practice songs? or practice sight reading? or what?  Any help would be much appreciated.  Thx

[cjp_piano]

It depends which school you go to.  Most have class piano, but some are restricted to music majors.  If you can take it as an elective, I say go for it.  Usually there are different levels starting with beginner.  So you can probably play for the teacher and they will put you in the appropriate class.

At my college, only music majors could take class piano, but I know that some schools offer it to non-music majors, so check it out!

[lilypiano]

My school offers private lessons to people that aren't music majors.  You should definitely take lessons in college if you can. I think my school has a piano performance minor.  You just have to do a senior recital instead of junior and senior recitals.   

[lilypiano]

    I just play the same measure, or couple of measures, over and over until i get it down pretty good. Should i be doing other stuff as well? What can i do to get the better the quickest. Just practice songs? or practice sight reading? or what?  Any help would be much appreciated.  Thx

Last semester my teacher told me to practice this way.  He said to play 2-4 measures and the down beat of the next measure, pause and think about the way it sounded, and repeat it until you have it down solid.  He said that if you just play through the piece and try to learn too much of it at once, you might end up having some sketchy spots that you didn't notice.   It really is an efficient way to practice. 
 Sightreading is important too.  Practice some scales.  Listen to a lot of music. 
and good luck!  you should really get involved with  music at college.  I've enjoyed my music dept. so much.  Just see if you can take lessons when you get there and  learn as much as you can.  Maybe you could audition for a piano minor after you've been there for a little while if you can't right away. You'll learn alot whether you can minor or major in piano or not.   You should really try it.  I was sort of in the same situation you are, with my teacher moving away.  I just started taking lessons last year after a six year break in having a teacher.  Now I'm staying an extra year, getting a liberal arts degree in music, and thinking about trying to get into grad school eventually.  Just start learning and see where it takes you. 

[whitemint]

fist off i just want to thank all you guys... this forum is full of the nicest people...

I was sort of in the same situation you are, with my teacher moving away.  I just started taking lessons last year after a six year break in having a teacher.  Now I'm staying an extra year, getting a liberal arts degree in music, and thinking about trying to get into grad school eventually.  Just start learning and see where it takes you. 

lilypiano thanks for the advice.. i hope u dont mind if i ask u some questions -and if i seem way to nosy, u dont need to answer any of these questions-.. did u go to college with a different major in mind, and then you decided to take piano lessons and major in music?  Did you have to audition too?  About how good do you think you were when u stopped taking lessons seven years ago?  Also, how good were u when u started lessons again?  And did you start your lessons up at college?  Im sorry if i seem way too nosy, but im just trying to assess my own situation.  Also i just think it would be interesting to find out a little more about you    Also anyone else, feel free to post your background.

[lilypiano]

I don't mind . .. I started college as a biology major and decided to add music as a second major last year.  I started taking lessons when i was 12 and just got to the beginning of book 4 in Alfred when my teacher moved away when I was 14.   I didn't get another teacher, but i think i did develop musically.  I still played and improvised on my own. 

In college I  had to audition to take lessons instead of the piano class, but that wasn't a big deal.  I would have had to audition if I wanted to be a piano major or minor.  I think i might still try to audition to minor in piano  if i can. 
When I started taking lessons again last year the teacher started me off on Arabesque by Burgmuller.  After that  I think I played a Bach minuet, a sonatina, and then a Chopin prelude.  The next semester I played a Chopin Nocturne (C sharp minor, post.) and Schumann's From Foreign Lands and People.  Last summer I learned a couple Bach inventions.  Then last semester I learned another Bach invention and a Bartok piece.  This semester I learned a waltz by Schubert, a Scott Joplin rag, and I'm learning the second movement of the Pathetique Sonata  and the Venetian Boat Song.   I hope that gives you some idea of what i've done.  I really question whether I would have any chance of getting into grad school ever in music.  I really don't have a whole lot of experience.  Some of the people on this board thought I should go for it, but I really have a long way to go before it would be possible. 

It's actually really weird how I got inspired to take lessons again.  I heard that Adrian Brody learned to play that C# minor nocturne fairly quickly for The Pianist movie.  He totally immersed himself in piano and only listened to piano music for a while. I don't think he had a whole lot of experience before he did that.    I thought that was awesome, so I decided to try it.  I also got tired of just making stuff up and not reading and learning new music. 

 so you should  totally take piano in college.  I'm not majoring in piano performance, but I'm really enjoying having the opportunity to learn more about music.  Enjoying your playing and learning more are really the most important things.  to me anyway

[lostinidlewonder]

..... would be a good idea or even possible to take piano classes in college.  I know that it is very difficult to get into a colleges music department and i know im nowhere near good enough cause im not very good at all.  Could i possibly minor in piano or is that really hard to do too?

Here the thing, music colleges are not there to make you a better musician. If you treat it as a place to teach you fundamentals of piano playing then you are in the wrong place. You study music at univeristy once you know most of the ins and outs of playing your instrument. There is no point going there if you are only "so-so" in your piano playing. You will waste a lot of money in my opinion. It would be better to get a private tutor, do this for a period of time, and once you have at least say 2 hours or so of repetiore memorised then go to univeristy to sharpen your skills.

DO NOT waste time perfecting a few bars you memorise. This is an ultra slow approach to your piano playing. You must learn to move on and work on the next part even if you have not completely mastered the previous section. Burn this securty blanket as fast as possible and you will see your progress speeds up. Of course we have to know when to move on and that is when we know we will not forget the notes.

[lilypiano]

Here the thing, music colleges are not there to make you a better musician. If you treat it as a place to teach you fundamentals of piano playing then you are in the wrong place. You study music at univeristy once you know most of the ins and outs of playing your instrument. There is no point going there if you are only "so-so" in your piano playing. You will waste a lot of money in my opinion. It would be better to get a private tutor, do this for a period of time, and once you have at least say 2 hours or so of repetiore memorised then go to univeristy to sharpen your skills.

Music conservatories do not intend to teach people the basics of an instrument, but many colleges with music departments welcome pianists at all levels for private lessons.  Learning music at a college is not a waste of money at all, in my opinion.  You can study something else at the same time if you want to pursue another interest too.  College should be a time for exploring your interests.  I say go for it if you enjoy it.  "music colleges are not there to make you a better musician"  ??

[lilypiano]

you don't have to memorize every few bars until you memorize the piece.  my teacher just suggested to focus attention to phrases in the music individually so it all becomes solid.  He said it was the most efficient way for him to learn, and he was very, very good.  He was the highest ranking American in the Liszt competition, and i just got to take lessons from him last semester because i was a displaced hurricane Katrina student. 

[whitemint]

thanks everyone for your thoughts!  lilypiano thx for sharring a little bit about yourself. im sry to hear you were affected by hurrican katrina.  i hope everything is going well now.