For those of you who go to college for music.

[xhunterjx]

When did you start playing piano?

I just started last year at 14, and I practice really really hard.  I am wondering if there is any hope for me to get into a music college.

[pianiststrongbad]

Most start very young.  I started at the age of 16 and got in.  I practice between four and six hours a day.

[xhunterjx]

so i still have a chance?

awesome

i practice 4 hours a day on schooldays, and 8 hours on weekends.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

i started at 14, practiced at 2-3 hours on weekdays and 3-5 hours on weekends during high school. started to really practice hard like 6-8 hours a day when i got into college.

advice: get a really good teacher. find ways to find this good teacher that will fit your personality as well. be sure to ask others' opinions about this matter, don't rely on your judgement alone for now. and do your listening a lot, not only piano music but other stuffs as well. devote ample time to this.

and you work hard so it's not a problem. if there's a will, there's a way.

[fencingfellow]

I started playing when I was 6...

[Tash]

i started playing when i was 8, but man , if you're practicing 4 hrs now and put a lot of effort then anything's possible. i do music at a uni rather than a conservatorium so the standard isn't as high but it's still the bomb- depends on where you're aiming to go

[mike_lang]

Of course there is hope of getting into music school.  I was playing a bad Fantasie-Impromptu at 16 and I got the right teacher, who got me into IU School of Music playing Chopin Scherzo no. 1, Chopin Black Key Etude, Gargoyles, Bach Bb Prelude and Fugue, and Pathetique.  If one has the right guidance and works hard enough, I think that great things can happen in a short amount of time.  I don't want to dwell on myself, but I think I've found this a lot in the last couple of years - my first year of school I was playing a Chopin Nocturne and Beethoven Tempest sonata; I just played a recital (a year later) of Appassionata, Mephisto Waltz, Brahms b minor rhapsody, and Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue.

I suggest that you do plenty of etudes, scales every day, and find a very good teacher.  What area are you in, geographically?

[xhunterjx]

Indiana!

I really want to apply to IU when i graduate highschool.

[gruffalo]

i cant help you with advice on whether it is too late or not, but i can advise you on this (as i am currently undergoing my last year at UK highschool with big exams). make the most of your time in your next two years. these next two months are hell for me, i can barely get in an hour a day. im fed up of physics and maths, i dont know why the hell i chose these to go forward with these. i have 6 offers to study engineering at top Universities in UK, but i am dropping this for music. make the most of your practice time now, you will not have it for long. whether you can make it to music college or not, if you love piano you can prove you are worthy by practicing like hell even if you think you may not be able to get in. by the way, didnt Ingolf Wunder start at 14? he entered Liszt competition at 16.

[queenrock]

Hi, this is my first post, so hello! I too would love to have a career in music when i'm older (i'm currently 15 living in England) and i began learning the piano about two years ago but i have picked it up very quickly and i was wondering what the requirements are for studying music at an english university, if anyone knows i would be greatful to know, thanks. 

[gruffalo]

First of all, welcome to pianostreet.com, i hope you enjoy it here,

Secondly, would you rather a career in music performance? as in, would you want to attempt to be a concert proffesional pianist? or do you just want to do a degree in music and say be a teacher or one of many things you can do with music?

if you want to be a concert pianist, it would be better to go study at a Music Conservatoire like the Royal Academy of Music (just an example, there are many places to study). this places are better to study to become a proffesional in an instrument , whereas universities are better just to get a degree in general music. the teaching on instruments isn't as good as conservatoires and the degree is more academic, like more analyzing of music and more stuff thats less related to the particular study of an instrument.

that is just a general guidline to the difference. im sure there are those who disagree, or  who have more to add to what i have said.

Gruff

[queenrock]

Hi Gruff, thanks for responding so quickly i think i would quite like to be a concert pianist, that or a composer of some kind definately not a teacher though, and as for where to study i agree that a place like the Royal School of Music would be probably better but as far as i know it is extremely hard to get in to such places and as i said i only started 2 years ago and am currently only on grade 3 and will most probably definately be on grade 4 by the end of the year but i don't think i will be good enough by the time i leave school, but are there any age restrictions to such places?

[franzliszt2]

The age restrictions are usually 18 at the yr of entry, but you can be older, but not sure how much older. Most people are 17 or 18 attime of audition

[queenrock]

Ok, thanks for the help.

[gruffalo]

for singing, you have to be a minimum age of 23 or something like that. Im hoping to get in on Piano, but also show them something about my voice they wont forget.

queen rock, im not wise enough on the discussion of 'what's too late', but only so much advice can help you from someone who does actually know. What i do know, is that you would have to work through those grades pretty quick and get distinctions (you should have grade 8 before you enter or audition for conservatoire). But the rest of the advice can only come from someone who has heard you play, seen you progress over a period of time. then can he fully judge you.

basically you need to be assessed by a good, expensive teacher who will give you the wise words. But you also need to hear things from a few different people. maybe some performers, some people going through conservatoire, or already completed their degree. then you have digest, analyse what they have said and think about it in terms of how much you know yourself, your capabitlites, your potential and your will to work.

hope it helps

Gruff

[queenrock]

Hi, thanks once again for the help, i've got all distinctions so far, but i guess now i'll just have to work very very hard!

[gruffalo]

distinctions at grades 1-3 dont really define whether you will continue getting distinctions, nor do they show if you are really good. keep at it, and if you can prove yourself to work hard even if you dont think you will be a concert pianist, you will show yourself and others whether or not you will have the required dedication.

Gruff

[dark_chocolate]

I have the same problem.....now I'm grade 4 and my aim is to get royal exam level 8 in 2007.Because it's one of the requirement to join that college.Do you think I can get royal 8 in 2007?thank you....

[queenrock]

Well, you're probably right Gruff, i'll try my best and see where i get to.

[gruffalo]

I have the same problem.....now I'm grade 4 and my aim is to get royal exam level 8 in 2007.Because it's one of the requirement to join that college.Do you think I can get royal 8 in 2007?thank you....

if you have the talent (which is what you need to become a pro, obviously) this is possible. just needs a lot of hard work. how much do you practice each day? roughly? does your teacher know of your aims? if so, let he/she know.

[dark_chocolate]

I just practice one hour.I'm too busy with my school activities...And I haven't tell my aim to my teacher.If I start to practice more seriously now,can I?Is it not too late?by the way thank you..

[queenrock]

Sorry to dig up a 5 year old thread.

I haven't been on this forum for years and was just looking back at my ancient posts!
In the end I did get to grade 8 distinction by 18 but I decided to go to University and study music there instead, and am enjoying it thoroughly! It's interesting to look back and see the aspirations of my old self though, I've long since given up on the idea of being a concert pianist, I came to the conclusion that I would have to sacrifice too much to take that path, and would probably not make it anyway. Current plan is to do a PhD in musicology!

Just wondering if anyone else who posted on this thread could give an update of what happened in the end? Might be quite interesting for those who are in the same position now as I was all those years ago!

[faulty_damper]

Hi Queenrock,

I started playing the piano when I was 19 or 20, can't remember since it was 10 years ago.  But in less than 3 years of playing, I auditioned and was accepted to the university music school.  It was the best experience of my life not because of what was taught in school but because of what I learned about myself as a result of those experiences. 

I eventually got my degree and realized that my degree doesn't qualify me for any job except piano teaching, which I gave up.  I'm in the process of trying to become a public school teacher because I didn't want to serve affluent parents anymore.  The disparity between haves and have-nots didn't seem fair; it isn't right that those with more means can get more than those who don't.  This is something that I realized from my experiences.

However, having said this, I regret only majoring in music.  I wish I had double majored in something more practical that would have led me to an easier career path.  As of now, I have no career and am nearing 30 years of age.  Life doesn't have the protections that school provided and I am on my own to figure out how best to walk the path in front of me and I can only see the first three feet; the rest is covered in fog.

You should really consider how feasible your desired degree will lead to a career for you.  A PhD would lead you to a teaching position in a highly compacted field where there are 300 applicants for one opening.  Add the amount of debt you will be in for a PhD and you may really want to reconsider.  Do you really want to have a PhD and work as a sushi chef barely making enough to pay off your loans and surviving?*

I was young when I was accepted into the music school and full of hope and ambitions.  I thought I would just teach privately and didn't think that a degree was necessary.  It isn't.  But my plans have changed drastically and my past choices don't allow me the flexibility that I need now.  My advice to you is to continue on your desired path but you must diversity your skills and talents so that when you are out of school, you will have the background and experiences that allow you to make a living.

I'll quote what my ear training teacher told me which seems so much more relevant now:
"Have goals but be flexible."


faulty


*My friend is a doctoral candidate in piano performance.  She knows people who have PhDs and work in menial jobs like sushi chef.  It made her reconsider the point of getting a PhD and whether it will be worth it.  She already knows the answer to that question but has put it in the back of her mind at the present.

[queenrock]

Hi faulty_damper,

I started playing the piano when I was 19 or 20, can't remember since it was 10 years ago.  But in less than 3 years of playing, I auditioned and was accepted to the university music school.  It was the best experience of my life not because of what was taught in school but because of what I learned about myself as a result of those experiences. 

Yes, I expect that I will come to have the same view, that university has definitely taught me more about by myself and life in general more than anything else.

I eventually got my degree and realized that my degree doesn't qualify me for any job except piano teaching, which I gave up.  I'm in the process of trying to become a public school teacher because I didn't want to serve affluent parents anymore.  The disparity between haves and have-nots didn't seem fair; it isn't right that those with more means can get more than those who don't.  This is something that I realized from my experiences.

I think I have to disagree with you, that my degree qualifies me only for piano teaching! Maybe things are different in America (I'm assuming your American but please correct me if I'm wrong!), but here in the U.K. I think that music degrees can prepare people for all sorts of other careers. For example, arts admin jobs, any kind of teaching jobs, music publishing etc etc. I completely agree with you though, when it comes to the injustice of people getting better educations just because they're richer!

However, having said this, I regret only majoring in music.  I wish I had double majored in something more practical that would have led me to an easier career path.  As of now, I have no career and am nearing 30 years of age.  Life doesn't have the protections that school provided and I am on my own to figure out how best to walk the path in front of me and I can only see the first three feet; the rest is covered in fog.

Again I'm not too sure what this means, as it works differently in the U.K., but I don't think that there are many easy career paths at all at the moment anyway. I'd rather do something I enjoy and have some obstacles to overcome than be stuck doing something I don't like.

You should really consider how feasible your desired degree will lead to a career for you.  A PhD would lead you to a teaching position in a highly compacted field where there are 300 applicants for one opening.  Add the amount of debt you will be in for a PhD and you may really want to reconsider.  Do you really want to have a PhD and work as a sushi chef barely making enough to pay off your loans and surviving?*

Yes I know that if I do a PhD it's not going to make it any easier, but I think if I work really hard and keep one step ahead all the time, then eventually I will get somewhere, even if it takes many years! I don't think the debt would be as bad as you think either. If I do well in my undergraduate degree and have a good idea for my research then I can get funding from the AHRC. I know someone who was given £12,000 a year for 3 years to fund their PhD and they don't have to pay back a penny!

My advice to you is to continue on your desired path but you must diversity your skills and talents so that when you are out of school, you will have the background and experiences that allow you to make a living.

I'll quote what my ear training teacher told me which seems so much more relevant now:
"Have goals but be flexible."

Yes I agree with you that it would be unwise to put all my eggs in one basket. Good quote!