How long to prepare for university entrance?

[marao]

IS that possible an adult 45 years old who have never played the piano, though it comes from the study of guitar, learn to play for university entrance music? How long this takes preparation?

thanks

[ajspiano]

IS that possible an adult 45 years old who have never played the piano, though it comes from the study of guitar, learn to play for university entrance music? How long this takes preparation?

thanks

Absolutely possible - time frame is totally dependent on how much effort you put in and how much relatable carry over knowledge you bring from guitar..   But I think that 2-3 years might make a conservative estimate...   if your guitar study was classical and you pull your weight with solid dedicated practice.

[rjarsenault1101]

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here you have to be level 10 in the royal conservatory, in order to enter as a piano player. it took me about 8 years to get up to level 9. if that gives any help at all.

[outin]

Absolutely possible - time frame is totally dependent on how much effort you put in and how much relatable carry over knowledge you bring from guitar..   But I think that 2-3 years might make a conservative estimate...   if your guitar study was classical and you pull your weight with solid dedicated practice.

From a beginner to study piano in a university level? Around here you would need to play a Chopin etude (the easiest excluded), Bach P&F, Classical sonata, another fast etyde, an assigned piece plus 5-10 minutes of free choice repertoire.

[ajspiano]

From a beginner to study piano in a university level? Around here you would need to play a Chopin etude (the easiest excluded), Bach P&F, Classical sonata, another fast etyde, an assigned piece plus 5-10 minutes of free choice repertoire.

Obviously it depends where you go, and the level of competition..  here's WAAPA's info, (west australian academy of performing arts) - a uni that produces extremely competent performers, especially in the jazz area where world class performers have been produced repeatedly.

Applicants will be required to perform three pieces in contrasting styles and demonstrate technical skills to
the level required by each course. (Certificate: Grade 6 AMEB; Advanced Diploma: Grade 7 AMEB).

Thus is would perhaps flow that grade 8 would be appropriate for Bmus degrees.

In addition, while this is a really rough comparison that I don't entirely agree with, 1st year Bmus is sometimes equated to Amus level.. completed degree is compared to Lmus..   

The chopin etudes opus 10, are pretty much all Lmus pieces under the AMEB syllubus.

..........

That aside, my answer was heavily dependent on the OP's guitar background.. and assumed, as I said, a dedicated practice regime.. (and a good teacher, though I didn't mention that)

I'm also assuming that since the OP supposedly has the option to go to university at 45, that there isnt a need to work 40+ hours a week to survive..  so there should be time available to make piano the main life focus.

If OP wants to go to Julliard then sure, no way in hell 2-3 years is going to cut it.

[chopin2015]

Jazz guitar! You could go to Berklee...do u play 8 string?   

[outin]

Obviously it depends where you go, and the level of competition..  here's WAAPA's info, (west australian academy of performing arts) - a uni that produces extremely competent performers, especially in the jazz area where world class performers have been produced repeatedly.

I guess I was thinking only about classical piano... But of course the education systems differ greatly around the world anyway. There's just one university in this country where you can study piano performance, so obviously the competition is fierce.

[chopin2015]

I guess I was thinking only about classical piano... But of course the education systems differ greatly around the world anyway. There's just one university in this country where you can study piano performance, so obviously the competition is fierce.

Wow, wheres that?

[ajspiano]

There's just one university in this country where you can study piano performance, so obviously the competition is fierce.

mmm.. different world.

When I was living in brisbane (i was 19) I was looking for a jazz teacher and ended up checking out a "school" of music that was offering nationally accredited advanced diplomas in jazz performance..  When I got there for a kind of casual audition thing, the guy talked to me for a bit and said I may like to consider delaying a couple of months and entering their Bmus, which he thought they would be able to offer by that stage..

So I played a bit for him, and talked about jazz/improv in general..  and instead of offering me a place in the course he offered me a teaching position. I was horrified.

..probably contributes to my general lack of respect for peoples accreditations.

*WAAPA is not one of those institutions.

[outin]

Wow, wheres that?

Finland

[chopin2015]

Sweet! Are you planning on preparing for a music degree or are you doing something else? Today my college dean himself denied giving me physics credit for acoustics after explaining to me how easy required physics is. I wanted to cry. I wish i could sue the board if education for how deep their pockets run.

[outin]

Sweet! Are you planning on preparing for a music degree or are you doing something else? Today my college dean himself denied giving me physics credit for acoustics after explaining to me how easy required physics is. I wanted to cry. I wish i could sue the board if education for how deep their pockets run.

You are not asking me are you? I am buried into an administration job... just an middle aged amateur with big goals and little achieved yet

But I have done quite a bit of career councelling so am pretty much up to date with educational systems. I forgot to mention that while there's only one university, there is also higher musical education in a few polytechnics, which give a degree similar to bachelor level, but they are not considered actual universities here. The requirements are slightly less demanding.

[marao]

Thanks for the answers, and encouragement of all.

rjarsenault,

I'm from Brazil.
Here we do not need to follow this type of graduate, however you need to test proficiency in the instrument to a very rigid examination board.

ajspiano,

I always imagined that anything is possible and depends on the effort are committed, that if I devote a number of hours directly to study the response would come in direct proportion, however after almost 1 year of study I notice that there is limitations in speed and flexibility of the fingers and movements.

I read some topics here in this relationship x number of hours studied x return, so I decided to decrease the amount of hours, but also not resolved.

I have a good teacher who always encourages me and tells me it's possible, but I think he may be just trying to cheer me up so I continuity going forward.

The most important thing for me is not to study to pass the test, but pass be in full condition to endure the technical difficulties that shall come in the course.

I do not know if I did understand.

[brogers70]

Oi Marao,

Tudo bem? I have no idea about university, but I did switch from classical guitar to piano at age 38. I loved the guitar, but here's why I love the piano more:

1. Much bigger repertoire - the guitar has a good Baroque repertoire of transcriptions, and some good late Romantic and modern Spanish and Latin American music, but there really isn't much in the heart of the Classical period. Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani are pretty much lightweights compared to Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. There's so much more great music for the piano.

2. The guitar has a nice, intimate sound, but it's really fun to make a lot of noise on the piano. You have such a wider dynamic range available.

3. Native born pianists may differ, but I think piano is much easier to play than guitar. Only one finger to play each note, and the notes are all right in front of you in a logical pattern. It's a heck of a lot easier to play even a moderately difficult fugue from Well Tempered Clavier than to play even the easiest fugue from the Bach violin sonatas (e.g. the G minor).  Eliot Fisk astounds people by playing fast Scarlatti sonatas on the guitar, and they sound really tough and virtuosic, but the same sonatas are pretty straightforward on the keyboard.

I don't doubt that if you work intelligently and with a good teacher you can get to a pretty satisfactory technical level, even starting in your forties. After 15+ years I'm playing things like the C minor, D minor, Ab major, and Gmajor P&F from WTC 1, Beethoven Sonata Op. 10 no.1, most of the Schubert Impromptus, 4-5 of the Brahms pieces in Op 177 & 118, and my teacher just pushed me to start the Revolutionary Etude and the Black Keys Etude. I've been averaging 2-3 hours/day over most of the past 5 years, less when I was starting. I wasted a bunch of time at the beginning for lack of a good teacher. It's all a hobby, though, and just for fun; I've no delusions of making a career.

P.S. I'm married to a Brazilian and would have written in Portuguese, except that the last time I did that the moderator slapped me for not writing in English.

Best regards,

Bill

[marao]

Hi Bill,

I am very pleased to speak with you, even knowing that you are married to a compatriot of mine. I'm sure you have many merits to this because it's not for everyone (kkk).

I really liked to know that I'm in the correct trajectory, as the road is long, invariably, there is always the question of the viability of the project and am developing in proportion to the time and investment. Study for about 1 ½ years and only now beginning to enter a more enjoyable repertoire ('ve played Chopin prelude in E minor and D sharp major). Only now started to Haydn Sonata in D Major 37.

I spent a lot of time in the early part of adaptation technique, scales and arpeggios, etc.. trying to get a little more comfortable with the keyboard, now things flow a little better, but my repertoire is still ridiculously poor which gives a certain discouragement of repeating 1 or 2 songs, but this part, I hope to improve.

Let's move now to the path itself is pleasurable.

So in conclusion, my desire to go to university is because I think 1h week very little class time to learn so much (story of music, harmony, arrangements, etc ....)

thank you