Just a fast question about starting to play the piano.

[qinec13]

I always liked piano concerts. I get shivers everytime i watch them online. I started to play the piano about 2 months ago, asked an old lady to learn me (she is playing piano and cello). So... The thing is i am already 17. But i still dream of being there, on the stage, with the orchestra. Is that possible to achieve? I am ready to put all my free time in practice.

[bronnestam]

Of course it is possible. Just put enough of work and dedication into it, and you will be able to play those concerts yourself.

It is frequent topic, this, and it always ends with "naaah, you cannot become the next Kissin, unless you did not start as a progidy at the age of 3 and made your concert debut at 11" and yada yada, thus keeping the old myth alive that this profession is not for mortal people and that "old people" (do you REALLY consider yourself as such?) cannot learn because their brains have stiffened and blahahahbabla.

Truth is, that you really don't have to be "the next Kissin" in order to play a piano concert.
Truth is also, that if you want to belong to the top elite division of concert pianist stars in the world, you will have to compete with literally millions of aspiring concert pianists in order to belong to the top 50 league.
Truth is also, that you can find a lot of opportunities to play, solo and with orchestra, even if you are far below this elite division. There are some piano concerts that are infamous for being very difficult, but there are also many that are quite possible to play even before you have got grade 8+++ or whatever ...

Piano playing is, especially in my home country (Sweden) infected with a terrible elitist thinking:  either you must be a hyper super mega talented pro (and start practicing before you get out of your dipers) in order to "become a pianist", or you have to just forget the whole thing. Actually it is something most people can learn to do, just as most people can learn to sing decently. However, most people don't become a new Celine Dion.

So: do you want to learn to play those piano concerts? Yes, go ahead! Have fun!
Do you want to become world famous? Well - nothing is ever impossible, but then you need to invest a lot more than your "free time". You have to dedicate your life to this, and there are no guarantees that you will make it.   

 
 

[stevensk]

YES its possible. Motivation is the most powerful factor if you wants to be a professional pianist.

[cbreemer]

Actually it is something most people can learn to do, just as most people can learn to sing decently. However, most people don't become a new Celine Dion.

And that God for THAT  There's too much screeching in the world already.

[bernadette60614]

I think when someone listens to a professional playing a concerto it is easy to focus on the performance.  Similarly, whenever I watch the Olympic level ice skating, I focus on those few minutes of perfection.

However, when I learn about the dedication it takes to become an Olympic level ice skater, I decided that that isn't what I truly have.  I'm not going to get up at 5 a.m. and practice 3 hours before school (I'm not in school any more, but before work).  I'm not going to run, weight train, eat like an athlete.  I may enjoy those few minutes...but I'm not going to practice at 5 a.m. 7 days a weeks for 3 or more hours.

Even those with in born talent need the right training/teaching and hours after hours of focused practice.  I think you have to ask yourself if you are willing to practice 2 to 4 hours a day, seek a professional teacher, compete in piano competitions and make this the focus of your life outside of school (or perhaps, instead of school.) 

If the answer is yes, then I think that you have a shot.  Perhaps not at playing with the New York Philharmonic, but with a community orchestra.

Now, for someone who starts at 17, that's an accomplishment, but to achieve a concert level of performance requires incredible, solitary dedication.

[outin]

Try it out and see if you actually can enjoy the work involved. Because only then do you have any realistic change to get somewhere. Starting age really only matters in the top levels of professional classical pianism, otherwise 17 is still quite young.

[dcstudio]

it is very possible...   though 17 is a bit late traditionally.   Most 17yr old pianists have 12 years of lessons and are auditioning for music school--which probably won't be an option for you for at least a few years.  

There are however, many decent junior college music programs that will give you your basic core theory/sightsinging,  and music history credits.  There are also some highly educated and experienced piano teachers at these schools and tuition is very reasonable, usually.  In my experience these teachers take a much more personal interest in seeing their students succeed than the high profile big name University instructors.  They will gear your lessons towards preparing you to transfer to a university program, too.  

I do get up early and practice--sometimes 4 or more hours a day--depending on how motivated I am.   That's what it's going to take... the sacrifices you have to make are substantial.  

I dreamed of being a concert pianist, too.  Here is me at work Sunday playing for brunch...  not quite Carnegie hall, but I love my job.  Do wish the owner would tune the piano, though.    Pretty glamorous huh?

still want to play?

[faulty_damper]

I always liked piano concerts. I get shivers everytime i watch them online. I started to play the piano about 2 months ago, asked an old lady to learn me (she is playing piano and cello). So... The thing is i am already 17. But i still dream of being there, on the stage, with the orchestra. Is that possible to achieve? I am ready to put all my free time in practice.

Generally speaking, aiming to be a concert pianist is the wrong way to think.  This does very little to help acquire the necessary technical, musical, performance, and marketing skills.  What you should be doing is lay out excruciatingly specific learning goals in all of the above domains. As you discover and learn new details, they should be added to your goals.  Very little is apparent to the beginner but development allows you to become aware of these details.

Also, about my former teacher's students, most of them learned to play at a high level.  They performed regularly at recitals for many, many years since they were young children.  However, very few pursued academic or performance interests.  Only one actually went on to study music in college, two if I am counted.  The point is that for them, they weren't interested in performing or even studying music.  It was just an activity they did during their childhood and teen years.  When they graduated from high school, they essentially quit.  Ironically, most of them were far better pianists than most of the students at the music school I attended.  They didn't feel the need to go to school for something you already knew how to do.  So if you achieve musical performance at a high level, you may suddenly lose interest in playing.  However, if you don't learn well enough, and you struggle, then struggling will be a life-long endeavor; it comforts you, as do many members here, in the belief that the harder and longer you work, it will someday payoff.  It won't, as many members here can attest.  So learn well.

[dcstudio]

Generally speaking, aiming to be a concert pianist is the wrong way to think.  This does very little to help acquire the necessary technical, musical, performance, and marketing skills. 

additionally the path to that  "concert pianist"  title often destroys all people and coping skills they might have had..lol  they are usually either profoundly socially awkward or complete divas, sometimes both.

[bernadette60614]

Also, a brilliant film to watch is "They Came to Play" which is about the Van Cliburn competition for amateur pianists.  By amateur it is meant that people who do not earn a living playing piano.  It helps to see the diversity of wonderful pianist, from a pediatric surgeon to an information technology consultant to a retired Russian woman who brings zest and joy not only to her piano studies but to life.

For me, a big part of the lesson is that serious study of piano brings joy to life solely apart from performance.  In addition, just the solitary work of studying piano adds to the ability to study other things more expertly. When I open a new piece of music and mentally smack my head and ask myself how I"m going to learn this (and why I want to learn this), studying over time has given me the tools to do so.  It is a very empowering feeling to know that you've creating a toolkit for a certain level of mastery of other difficult areas of study from building a business to learning how to cook to learning a foreign language.

[qinec13]

I am good at learning, doing good in the school, but that's not what i want to do, i like physics, i like maths, but i love music, and yeah, i will practice, right now im going to practice, thanks for replys. Ah, one more thing. My biggest problem is my hands agility, i try to play rondo alla turca by Mozart, and my piano is not so easy to play, because it needs high touchweight to play it. Can you recommend me some exercises for hands agility improvement?

[bernadette60614]

I would suggest:

1)  Get a fully qualified teacher.  Your current teacher has helped you to a certain point, but nothing, IMHO, compares to a fully qualified teacher.

2)  Build your technique. It wasn't until I got a great teacher that I realized that while I could play pieces, what I lacked was the technique to play them well because my technique was lacking.

3)  Be patient.  Don't take any shortcuts.

4)  Bach Two Part Inventions are WONDERFUL!  For 18 months I was self-taught and I used the two part inventions which Bach wrote for his 10 year old son. He must have been some 10 year old, cause these are challenging. But, they helped tremendously with my finger agility.

GL!

[faulty_damper]

... and my piano is not so easy to play, because it needs high touchweight to play it. Can you recommend me some exercises for hands agility improvement?

No. Get a better piano.  You'll see improvements immediately.
Do not ever think that exercises will improve your playing if you are playing on a bad piano.  It won't.  You'll just develop bad technique.