My parents want me to play the piano in cafes and restaurants as a summer job.??

[sv3nno]

(maybe i should've posted this in the "off-topic" section, but i'm not quite sure, so i posted it here.)
I'm only 16 years old, and my mom and dad really want me to make some money in the summer by playing the piano at some cafe's and stuff... that's the craziest idea i've ever heard... i mean i play very good but i'm still a student, i've only been playing for 11 years and i'm WAY too young for any cafe/restaurant owner to accept me!!! they always want experienced pianists with a degree in musics to play for them.... not a 16 year old boy who hasn't even finished his studies yet!!!! am i right? they're telling me to go ahead and "ask the managers by myself"....  and they won't leave me alone!
i..really don't know what to do about this.

[ranniks]

(maybe i should've posted this in the "off-topic" section, but i'm not quite sure, so i posted it here.)
I'm only 16 years old, and my mom and dad really want me to make some money in the summer by playing the piano at some cafe's and stuff... that's the craziest idea i've ever heard... i mean i play very good but i'm still a student, i've only been playing for 11 years and i'm WAY too young for any cafe/restaurant owner to accept me!!! they always want experienced pianists with a degree in musics to play for them.... not a 16 year old boy who hasn't even finished his studies yet!!!! am i right? they're telling me to go ahead and "ask the managers by myself"....  and they won't leave me alone!
i..really don't know what to do about this.

You've played the piano for 11 years, surely you can play simple pieces for a cafe? It's not like you're going to perform in Carnegy Hall.  Maybe even rock their ears by playing some Beethoven, Bach or Mozart.

Good luck!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

You're fine.

[bronnestam]

I knew a girl who studied seriously to become a pianist when we both were teens. She took some jobs as a restaurant pianist. Then she got a "serious" teacher who strictly advised her to stop with that, as it affected her playing in a negative way.

I can, of course, not tell whether it IS a good or a bad thing to work as a restaurant pianist while you are still very young, but my instincts say that it is not advisable. You will often get an extremely uninterested audience, and this may make you sloppy in long terms. I think it is better to take such jobs when you are an adult and a "stable" pianist.

You choose. Not me, not we, not your parents.

[pianoplunker]

(maybe i should've posted this in the "off-topic" section, but i'm not quite sure, so i posted it here.)
I'm only 16 years old, and my mom and dad really want me to make some money in the summer by playing the piano at some cafe's and stuff... that's the craziest idea i've ever heard... i mean i play very good but i'm still a student, i've only been playing for 11 years and i'm WAY too young for any cafe/restaurant owner to accept me!!! they always want experienced pianists with a degree in musics to play for them.... not a 16 year old boy who hasn't even finished his studies yet!!!! am i right? they're telling me to go ahead and "ask the managers by myself"....  and they won't leave me alone!
i..really don't know what to do about this.

As a parent of a 16 yo , I can tell you your parents would probably be happy if you simply had a job making money for yourself , not necessarily at piano, maybe you could work at the cafe in some other capacity like washing dishes or serving it up ( dont be discouraged, we all start somewhere ).  Then ask if you can play the piano during your break.   when your parents say "ask the managers", that can apply to any job the cafe is hiring for.   Whatever the case, starting on a new job is just part of getting on being a young man rather than a boy. That is what your parents really want. We like to grow our kids into independent adults. 

[sv3nno]

As a parent of a 16 yo , I can tell you your parents would probably be happy if you simply had a job making money for yourself , not necessarily at piano, maybe you could work at the cafe in some other capacity like washing dishes or serving it up ( dont be discouraged, we all start somewhere ).  Then ask if you can play the piano during your break.   when your parents say "ask the managers", that can apply to any job the cafe is hiring for.   Whatever the case, starting on a new job is just part of getting on being a young man rather than a boy. That is what your parents really want. We like to grow our kids into independent adults. 

sorry, but i come from a family of artists and musicians, and Music, in my case the piano, is really all they want me to make money with. not washing the dishes, not serving food, but playing the piano.
trust me, we've talked about it alot.

[bronnestam]

If piano playing is going to be your profession, then you NEED testing other jobs as well. Believe me. Life is about so much more than playing music. (Don't get me wrong - I love music too and it is really important to me!)

So go out and get yourself some job that has absolutely nothing to do with music. Meet people who have not the slightest interest of piano music, who don't judge you AT ALL as "a pianist". See life from their perspective as well. You will get twice as good as a pianist afterwards.

Ask your parents if they really believe that isolating yourself in the sphere of a special interest - in this case music - will make you better, happier and wiser?

[timothy42b]

I see the other side of it.

Playing a real gig for pay is worlds different from the kind of lesson preparation you do. 

The earlier you start getting experience at this the better for your long term career in music, if that's your interest.

11 years of preparation?  You are LONG overdue for this.  You should be doing cafe piano work; it will require you to build a different repertoire, one that is somewhat easier but must be performed to a higher standard.  It will require you to have some sense of what audiences appreciate, and it will also teach you that if you pay attention.

You should also be doing weddings, funerals, substitute church work, etc. 

The cafe work will get you more gigs, provided you keep the selections to what you can execute well.  Remember, every performance is also an audition, and you don't know who's listening.

My opinion may differ a bit because I'm more performance oriented;  perfection of skills without the audience interaction seems a bit sterile to me.  (I started playing church services my first year of lessons, rewriting everything simplified enough I could stumble through it.)

You learn mental endurance making it through a 4 hour performance.   It's not a practice session and don't treat it as such;  please your audience and the tips will roll in.  Keep a list of requests and add them to your repertoire.

I do not believe your classical skills suffer from this, unless you work so many nights it cuts into your practice time, or - and this can be a problem - or you develop some substance abuse habits.     

[pianoplunker]

sorry, but i come from a family of artists and musicians, and Music, in my case the piano, is really all they want me to make money with. not washing the dishes, not serving food, but playing the piano.
trust me, we've talked about it alot.

Sorry, in your original post you stated it was the craziest idea you ever heard. Realize that references to washing dishes is not meant as a permanent status. Many people start with jobs like that while studying and then move on to other jobs until they make it to the job they want and like. Your results may vary, and there are some musicians who never made money at anything other than music. Maybe that is you.