what do you play

[pianoplayer51]

Do you have to be very good to play classical music?    I have heard it said that if you feel you are not that good then you cannot play classical music because you have to be very good and therefore you can play jazz or popular music because you dont have to be as good for that.   You can play simple classical music

How true is that.   

[mjames]

I suck and I play classical music.

[j_menz]

Do you have to be very good to play classical music? 

Some of it.  That is also true of any genre.

Not all of it, though the better you are, the better you'll play even simpler pieces.

Oh, and you don't just wake up one morning being "good" enough and have to wait for that to happen to play classical (or anything). You get to be good by doing.

So don't look for excuses, look for practice time.

[kevin69]

Do you have to be very good to play classical music? 

You don't need to be very good to *enjoy* playing classical music.

There are very technically demanding pieces in almost every genre of music
which aren't particularly suitable for novices. Most general exam systems for piano are
based heavily on classical music, with the lowest grades aimed at people who've been playing
for a year or so, and so exam boards clearly think you can play classical music to an enjoyable level after a year or less.

So don't worry about being good enough, just enjoy what you play.

[pianoplayer51]

I am not worrying about it for myself.  The thought has never crossed my mind.  We all like what we like but to say you can only play a certain kind of music if you are good enough is silly because whatever style of music you decide, you need to be good enough.   

To cite an example:     The person who told me they do not feel good enough to play classical, has switched to Jazz/pop.   I have heard them play bad Jazz, so what does that mean?  That means that they need to become a better pianist.   If you are a really good pianist you should be able to play any style to a good standard.   To say "I am no good for classical" is an excuse.  It would be far better to say "I do not really like classical so I play what I like which is Jazz/pop"