Starting speculative classical pianist career at age 48

[starvinglion]

Have 6 hrs to practice every night.   Has to be a digital keyboard because practicing must be kept quiet.  The Kawai ES7 seems the best choice.

I figure the only way to make it work is to compose something with the same broad appeal as Moonlight Sonata.   Far fetched and naive perhaps.

Question:  Am i truly myopic or has Moonlight sonata been the only solo piece to bridge the divide between commoners and serious artists in the piano repertoire?

[m1469]

Furry lease.
Claire de lune.

[j_menz]

has Moonlight sonata been the only solo piece to bridge the divide between commoners and serious artists in the piano repertoire?

Beethoven's 5th.
Beethoven's 9th

As good as the Liszt transcriptions are, I suspect their orchestral versions have a greater public appeal.

To the others in m1469's list, you could probably also add a Chopin nocturne or his Minute Waltz, Liszt's HR2 (as played by either Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry), and the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1.

[m1469]

It's so sad ... 

[h_chopin148]

Bach minuet in G major from the Anna Magdelena Notebook

[virtuoso80]

Have 6 hrs to practice every night.   Has to be a digital keyboard because practicing must be kept quiet.  The Kawai ES7 seems the best choice.

I figure the only way to make it work is to compose something with the same broad appeal as Moonlight Sonata.   Far fetched and naive perhaps.

Question:  Am i truly myopic or has Moonlight sonata been the only solo piece to bridge the divide between commoners and serious artists in the piano repertoire?

If you're looking to compose successfully as part of a new career, then I'm not sure why you'd limit yourself to composing something in a style that existed over 200 years ago. Write in the medium of your time. Write songs. There's more than one way to get an idea across.

Similarly, if you're looking to play piano as part of a successful career, not sure why you'd limit that to classical piano. You're basically choosing the 'ballet' of the music world; the absurdly competitive thing that takes forever and has far less money to be made than other styles. Any success in music will require finding something that is unique to you. Why should people listen to you rather than someone else? If you're just trying to be a better classical piano player in the same trained manner as those who started when they were 3, that's one heck of a stunt you're trying to pull, and for no good reason. Unless you feel unbearably compelled to go exactly that way, consider that there might be other paths to success.

[werq34ac]

If you want to be a classical pianist, at the very least you need an acoustic piano to practice on. Practicing 6 hours on an electric will just screw you up when you play on acoustics.

[virtuoso80]

If you want to be a classical pianist, at the very least you need an acoustic piano to practice on. Practicing 6 hours on an electric will just screw you up when you play on acoustics.

Yeah, I didn't want to throw too much at the op, but this is true as well. Not to say you can't learn some stuff on an electric, especially beginner stuff, but it's like a gymnast practicing on a line drawn on the ground instead of an actual balance beam - you're just not going to get some of the important elements.

[starvinglion]

Practicing 6 hours on an electric will just screw you up when you play on acoustics.

I was wondering about that.  I thought the ES7 was 'close enough' without too big of an initial $ investment....  Well, that is good to know.  thx.  Not sure what can be done about that problem

[j_menz]

Practicing 6 hours on an electric will just screw you up when you play on acoustics.

I was wondering about that.  I thought the ES7 was 'close enough' without too big of an initial $ investment....  Well, that is good to know.  thx.  Not sure what can be done about that problem

It won't "screw you up". If you have occasional access to an acoustic, do play it occasionally but the digital will be fine for quite a while. It certainly won't do you any harm. Sooner or later you will find that you want to upgrade, but that's something to think about when that time comes.

There are some people who once played a digital about a century ago, didn't like it and have never felt the need to update their experience. A reasonably good digital is, from a playing perspective (if not a sound one) as good as or better than many uprights at the more affordable end of the scale.

[starvinglion]

Well now I wonder if the "screwed up" has merit after reading this:

https://campus.murraystate.edu/staff/scott.thile/digital_vs_real.html

"In addition to the limitation of sound there is the problem of feel and sensitivity. Lack of infinite sensitivity makes the digital piano useless for classical piano performance; these pianists simply can not sacrifice any amount of artistic expression. This lack of infinite sensitivity also limits the digital piano's value as a practice instrument for serious classical piano students. The student pianist must learn to control every aspect of the piano's potential as an expressive instrument. This is impossible if the bulk of the student's practice time is spent on a digital piano. For this reason many piano teachers refuse to accept students unless they have access to an acoustic piano to study on."

[j_menz]

Well now I wonder if the "screwed up" has merit after reading this:

It is written by a piano technician, who might be a little biased. He also works with some great grands, and a mid-range digital is never going to be competitive with them. The level of control he is talking about is something an advanced player would want/need/notice, and your proposed Kawai won't have it. Plenty of acoustic pianos don't have it either.

If you go with the Kawai, it will last you for some years before it starts to be inadequate for your needs. You will start to notice its inadequacies. And then you will need to replace it. An upper end digital/a good upright/a decent grand. You'll then be in a better position to assess these yourself.

In the meantime, it will do all you need it to do, and it won't "screw you up" at all.

[starvinglion]

j_menz,  your astute comments are reinforced according to this thread i found:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=51417.msg559538#new

the ES7 should qualify as just good enough. 

virtuoso80, good comments all around.   I agree whole heartily of the foolishness of limiting to the classical realm.

[justinrp97]

I would suggest looking at Yamaha's NU1 before you buy any other reasonably priced digital.

[awesom_o]

You'll need to learn music theory from scratch.

You cannot have a career of any sort in classical piano (let alone composition) without having thoroughly studied musical theory.

[starvinglion]

The NU1 is interesting but I'm looking for a less expensive starting point which I don't think exists for the basis of classical music training.  After rummaging about in various forums, the ES7 seems to have quality control problems and isn't worth the extra $ compared to a yamaha p155.     

However, i'm kind of leery of digital piano's now.  Does it even make sense to practice scales for lots of hours on a digital piano?   

RE: Theory

Yeah, i'm very interested in studying harmony and counterpoint.  But, again, not sure if its worth bothering on a digital.

[ranniks]

Okay, not saying it's impossible, but that is one hell of a dream if you are a beginner now

I think you could pull it off with that much practise, but realise that saying things and actually doing them are completely different.

I wish you luck!

[awesom_o]

Good luck!

I personally feel this is one of, if not THE best books on the subject:

https://imslp.org/wiki/Letters_to_a_Young_Lady_on_the_Art_of_Playing_the_Pianoforte_(Czerny,_Carl)