How is my future as pianist?

[danielespinosa]

Hello, Im 16 years old and I have decided to be a professional pianist. I had keyboard lessons for only one year when I was 7. Then piano lessons for 2 years when I was 12. In those 3 years I only practiced no more than 1 hour a day.

at 15 i could only play Fur Elise, Moonlight sonata (1st mov) and similar stuff.

Last year, I got a good teacher, in a big music school, and i have just entered in a youth orchestra. Now im starting to practice 5-7 hours per day.

Im learning rachmaninoffs flight of the bumblebee, i study hanon and czernys excercises.

Many pianists at 16 have won several competitions. I cant even participate because im not that good.  Can i be a good pianist? What does my future expect?

PD: Im fast learner, first place at my school in math, etc.
PD: I will start home school this year so i can have more time to practice
PD: Also, I live in mexico, border with SanDiego. I have a USA visa but Im not us citizen

[ranniks]

You can be an excellent pianist. It all depends on what you want to give for your dream. But ask yourself this: is practising 5-7 hours a day practical?

Wouldn't you be exhausted/tired/mentally tired etc?

Anyways, keep practising hard and don't give up on your dream.

[danielespinosa]

is practising 5-7 hours a day practical?

Wouldn't you be exhausted/tired/mentally tired etc?

Anyways, keep practising hard and don't give up on your dream.

Thank you for your comment, i really aprecciate it, by the way, i do get tired physically and mentally but i practice at different times in the day so i can handle it:)

[bronnestam]

I'm gonna be harsh here.



You have no reason at all to ask someone else, especially not strangers on the Internet, whether you can become a professional pianist or not. Follow your heart, follow your passion, trust your feelings. And you are still very young so don't be ashamed if you just happen to change your mind several times more about your future career. Do what you want to do RIGHT NOW, without asking for permission. What if I, a complete stranger, sitting on the other side of the planet, instead would say: "no, sorry kid. You cannot become a pianist. You will never be good enough." Rather stupid, huh? I have not heard you play. And even if I had, I would not be able to tell how you will develop in the upcoming 10 years.

So, the answer is a little travesty from "Harry Potter" (!): If you have to ask, you will never make it. And if you don't have to ask, you will make it.

[danielespinosa]

Oh, I just wanted to know the opinion of pianists, to have a realistic point of view 

[Bob]

Possibly good.  A professional accompanist.  Professional teacher.  Something like that.

World-class concert pianist? Very doubtful.  Although, it's very doubtful for everyone.  Probably too late for you already though.  Where are the world-class pianists?  They're already performing concerti by age 16.  They know already.

You can still work, enjoy things, possibly have a career in music, as a pianist or as something else.  Conductors and composers don't have to start early.  You probably have a better chance of being a conductor or composer actually than a world-class concert pianist. 

You could be jazz pianist too.  That's a different world.  I was thinking classical above.

[bronnestam]

Oh, I just wanted to know the opinion of pianists, to have a realistic point of view 

No. Really, no. We are all totally ignorant, YOU are the one who's got the most realistic perspective here, because you know yourself.
If everyone during history should have listened to others' "realistic" opinions, we would still be living in the stone-age. Everyone who has achieved something in this world has sometime, somehow, defied the experts who said "no, you cannot do that. No, it is not possible."

We have all learned that you cannot become a good ballet dancer if you don't start as a toddler and train from dawn to midnight 365 days a year. One of the most acclaimed dancers in my country did not start ballet/dance training until he was 21! Which of course is a very rare exception from the rule, but still, he did it. So it was not impossible. Exceptional, yes, but not impossible.
 

So, I repeat: don't ask, don't compare, just believe in yourself. It is dangerous to be "realistic", you will set up limitations for yourself that might not be necessary. Like 99.9999% of the population in this world already do ...

[evitaevita]

Can i be a good pianist? What does my future expect?

As it has already been said, it depends on you.

I am the last person who can know and talk about it, but I can tell you the following things:

I don't know what being a good pianist means for you. A good pianist is not necessarily a famous pianist and a famous pianist is not necessarily one of the best. The fact that you started taking piano seriously at an older age than the ordinary maybe means that you won't probably become famous and world-known at 18 or 20. And also, big careers (these of big names in the world of piano, and music and arts generally) sometimes depend not only on their talent and ability, but also on circumstances.

As for your practice, it's not the amount that makes it efficient, but the quality. For example, someone may practice for 6 hours a day, but he may do almost nothing. When you practice, you must be aware of what you want to achieve and how you can do it. You have to explore the piano and the music in general. After your practice, you must be tired mentally (of your concentration and hard work)  and not physically. Of course, being exhausted by practicing 12 hours a day (ok, I exaggerate, but some have done it) can bring out the opposite results!
For the time being, I can't say more about practice because its a big (maybe endless) subject on its own!

My advice:

Do what you like! If you are passionate for the piano, do your best!

If you want to become a professional concert pianist, then you should try hard to achieve it. Nowadays, competitions, masterclasses and interconnections play an important role on a pianist's career. I don't say that this is right. Many of the old great pianists hated competitions and were opposed to them (Horowitz for example). But world changes. Commercialisation of art makes it necessary...

Also, talk with your teacher. Let him know what you feel and what your intentions are, and possibly, he will help you by showing you the path. However, you are the person who will cross it!

Hope I've been of some help!
Evitaevita

P.S. Personally, I believe in this:
If you want something, if you really do, then you can achieve it!

[magic_sonata]

First off, in order to be a pianist, you have to THINK that your going to be a pianist.

If you believe, than you can achieve. Simple as that.

And, if you practicing many hours a day, then bravo! That shows that you are dedicated. But, are you enjoying it? Or do you feel like your forcing yourself? That's the trick. In order to BE something, you have to have fun doing it. But then again, not too much fun. You have to have a strong work ethic, because being a pianist is technically a job (well, a very fun job).

Based on what you have said, you are a very committed and dedicated budding pianist. Even though you practice a lot, don't over practice. There was a study shown that if you practice to excessively to the point of exhaustion (in any sport, activity, or hobby), it can actually make your memory recede. Because, when you are practicing a piece, you are memorizing each note unknowingly. Memorizing and embracing each dynamic marking. It is how we learn.

But most of all, absorb your surroundings. Talk to other pianists. Ask them how they achieved their goals. Listen to piano performances, attend them, live them.

Good luck, my friend.

magic_sonata

[danielespinosa]

As it has already been said, it depends on you.
Do what you like! If you are passionate for the piano, do your best!
P.S. Personally, I believe in this:
If you want something, if you really do, then you can achieve it!

I will stick with this, thanks for your comments

[evitaevita]

I will stick with this, thanks for your comments

Your welcome!
I'm really glad to know that I helped! 
Good luck!