A few days ago kghayesh posted a topic asking wether he should start a musical carrer or not. I find myself in a very similar situation, but with a few differences, so I'd like your opinions aside.
I'm 19 and I started playing the piano a year ago. I practice quite a lot, and my repertoire is: Haydn's Piano Sonata N 42 (3rd movement), Mozart's Piano Sonata in G (K311, 1st movement), Handel's Allegro form the Aylesford Pieces, CPE Bach's Solfegietto (with some effort) and Beethoven's Sonatina in F (anh 5/2, movements 1 & 2), among other easier pieces.
(PS: all these pieces can be found (along with their midi's) on either
www.mutopiaproject.org or
www.music-scores.com, except from Haydn's 42nd, which is played on both sites much slower than it should)
Now, here are the differences between the other fellow and me:
I just started my engeneering career this year, I have 5 more left (and I don't like it one bit already).
From my personal experience, I can tell you it's impossible for me to dedicate fully to both music and engeneering.
I'm not concerned about social prestige at all, as long as I can make a living.
And finally, my goal is not to be an internationally respected performer (since I know it's impossible), but rather to be able to make a living out of teaching, or anything else I can do.
So, I have two questions:
Should I start a musical career now in spite of my limited one year experience, or is it going to be impossible for me to keep up with the rest of the students? And, if I manage to graduate, will I be able to make a living out of teaching, accompanying, and so on, or will I starve?