Classical students learning jazz and viceversa

[Daniel_piano]

Maybe someone can try to answer, approximately, a question I've always thought about
I know piano students who want after getting their degree in piano learn organ and organ students that after getting their degree in organ want to get a degree in piano
Now, a part from all the"my instrument is harder" statements we hear it's clear that someone playing a keyboard and getting a degree for keyboard will quite easily learn another style or similar instrument
I've been told that organ has a thougher program as you until 8 grade you have both the same piano work of piano class plus organ
In fact organ students who want to learn virtuosic piano piece and get a degree in piano usually start at the 8 or 9 grade and get their diploma in 1 or 2 years
Piano students (with already a piano diploma) who want to learn organ usually start at the 6-7 degree and get their diploma in 3-4 years
I've heard from jazz students that if a classical student at grade 10 want to learn jazz should start from the beginning and spend 10 years learning piano jazz
I've heard classical piano students saying that jazz students should start from the scratch learing classical piano
Of course, neither of this is true
I a pianist can become an organist in few years and viceversa it's clear that a classical pianist can become quite quickly a jazz pianist
So, a student grade 10 (so owing all the piano tecnique ever) how many years would need to learn jazz piano and jazz repertoire ?
And viceversa ?

Be honest please ...
Noone's instrument or style is harder actually but it's a obvious fact that moving from different keyboard instruments and style is quite easy for a "keyboardist of any kind"

Daniel

[Motrax]

Switching styles simply requires a great deal of mental change. You can't listen to jazz the same as you listen to classical, and you can't listen to classical like you listen to jazz. Technically, there shouldn't be much of a hurdle at all switching styles (assuming you are a "perfect" classical pianist/jazz pianist). Rhythms vary quite a bit between the two, but that shouldn't take more than a month of serious thought and practice to get used to. It's understanding both genres of music which could take anywhere from a week to a lifetime. Just depends on the person.

[bernhard]

I totally agree with Motrax.

This is like comparing a scholar writing academic papers, who must back his argument with lots of references to previous research, and must make sure his reasoning is impeccable, with a stand-up comedian who loosely base his material on the news and improvises according to his/her audience.

The scholar would be completely lost if he was thrown in front of an audience and asked to tell a few jokes. Likewise the stand up comedian would not last a day in the academic environment (and probably irritate everyone by taking the mickey of everything).

Can they cross-over. Possible but unlikely mostly because of temperament. A scholar becomes a scholar because he likes the atmosphere, the precision, the organisation, the seriousness of his/her activity. Likewise the standup comedian cannot help himself but wisecrack at every opportunity (although some comedians are notoriously gloom in their private lifes – Rowan Atkinson being perhaps the most famous example).

Yet form time to time you do come across scholars who are known to be hilarious (and are always asked to do the end-of term speech) and seriously minded comedians. Hence Keith Jarret and Andre Previn; Wynton Marsallis and Georges Cziffra, and so on and so forth.

At the end of the day, both demand practice – it is just that one cannot find the time to do everything.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.