How much longer do you have? :(

[Bob]

A depressing question...

How much longer will you be involved in music? 



Just curious.  Most people take lessons for awhile and drop it.  Some are able to return later. 

So who here is planning on going with music for a long time?  Who is planning on stopping in a few years?   I know there are a lot of teens here.  What's coming up for your music during college?


Another way to put it -- who is planning on being involved with music their whole life?  Who here has decided that?

This is actually important for deciding what you will pratice.  I mean if you're going to stop in a few years, why bother much with building technique?

(Bob gets more depressed)  Of course, there's a point that everyone will stop playing eventually I guess...

[chev_bigblock]

How long will I be involved in music?  My whole life of course.  I will never be a great well known musician, but I will always be playing the piano for my own pleasure (that's why I originally started).  I am currently going to college, and my major is math, but I'm thinking about minoring in music.  What's the point?  Well I'd bet just about everyone here will always be involved in music, even if it isn't their one absolutely-dedicated-to hobby in life.

[ted]

For my whole life, of course. The problem for me, if it is actually a problem, is balance between life and music. So far I think I have done very well, but with more free time likely, and having completely ascertained my musical direction, I might just tip the scales a bit more toward music in the years before I peg out.

[wintervind]

I have absolutely no doubt that I will be involved with music my whole life

[greyrune]

i think most people here are planning on continuing for the rest of their lives.  The fact that we spend our free time when not practicing instead talking about practicing shows it's a pretty dedicated hooby.  Besides who could give up music it just doesn't make sense.  I'm doinga degree in music (percussion as first instrument, still got a while to go on piano) so i'll definately be doing it forever.

[bearzinthehood]

I've given up music before...it didn't stick.  I'd like to say that now it's forever, but who knows.  Life is full of unforseen circumstances.

[Appenato]

Music is my life.  it is so much a part of me that it's infused in my soul. There've been several times when I both love and hate it with a passion, and when i've hated it have nearly given up on it. I'm a performance major and my first semester was so awful that my interest and passion was entirely killed. It was a long journey trying to make myself even play. The piano was a chore and i resented it.  that all changed with my 2nd semester when i found the interest once more.... but it's not all that easy being a performance major.  i've considered giving up entirely more than once, but i always think that if my life were completely devoid of music, man.... that's a scary thought because it's so much a part of who i am and what i'll always be. it's like removing my soul. i'd be dead.

so like everyone else has said... music is pretty much always going to be a part of your life... even if it comes and goes. and if it's gone entirely, rip.

[Tash]

yep music will always be there. and if i end up becoming a music teacher then i'll be very much connected with it. and if not, then i'll be influencing my children with it, so they can learn to love it and i can listen to them becoming musical genius's!

[Glyptodont]

I have been around a while, and have been into piano lessons about four different times in my long life.  I have played off and on over the years, sometimes moving to living quarters where no piano was available.

I'm playing energetically now, finding that retirement gives me the luxury of practice when and how much I want.  I have a nice mid-sized grand right in front of me here.

One might imagine a person would slow down at my age [64], but I do think I am playing better than I ever have.  About the upper part of the "intermediate" range, I guess.  I am not sure I have to "get better," because a very great amount of piano literature is within my reach right now.  I will leave the "Transcendental Etudes" to younger, faster hands than mine.

One thing that has changed a lot.  When I was a child I was worried about what my piano teacher would think.  Now I only care what I think of what I am doing.   No disrespect intended toward my teacher, but her role is to assist me in playing what I want, as well as I can.  If she frowns or smiles, "too bad, too sad."  I do get a lot from her, so I don't mean to seem to blow her off.

I don't know how long I will keep playing.  As long as my eyes, hands, and mind are good, I suppose. 

[whynot]

glyptodont, I always really enjoy your posts.  I don't take your words to be blowing off your teacher at all.  I would love for my younger students to care less what I think and try to think more themselves.  One of the joys of teaching adults is that they know what matters to them.

Bob, this is a very interesting question you've raised, but I have to ask, have you recently had a significant birthday?   

[gorbee natcase]

for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever untill I drop dead!

[jhon]

You guys should not forget that as pianists, we are musical artists; and being an artist is primarily about our "relationship" (as an artist) with our art (our craft) which is the PIANO itself!  Artists are different from entertainers in that the latter is only after fame while the former is about self-fulfillment.  Thus, whether you're in a concert with an audience or simply in your music room alone, just don't stop practicing.  It's too depressing when you would just depend your playing from the applauses of others. 

 

[lostinidlewonder]

I do think that for even those that really LOVE piano music that it can lose its affect on you. I don't get that shiver down my spine when listening to beautiful moments in great piano compositions, not as much as I use to. The music doesn't affect you as much because you are controlling it, studying it, looking at it in detail all the time. The ear has become an intense observer rather than a tool that opens the enjoyment of sound to the brain.

In that case I can see that eventually you lose interest in the music, but then it attacts you back, then you are repelled, then it attacts you back. It is like that for me at least, yoyo relationship. Sometimes you ask yourself, what is the bloody point of memorising music. If you have strong reasons for personal gratification that is fine, but sometimes we want more meaning behind it. If we say because we want to present it to other people in this world then we can become overly obsessed about perfecting the music thus the magic of the sound vanishes with over practice. I think that is why you do see lots of technical players out there without any emotion because they have practiced the sound so much, made their ear into analysers not tools used for enjoyment.

But music forever I think. For anyone who says I will do it for a little while they will never know what is being able to play music. When the physical difficulties of the instrument vanishes and what you read becomes clearer instruction as to what sound needs to be produced, that is playing music. Before that it is all practice and playing music lower than your potential.

[Derek]

My whole life. I'm in college---I am not a music student, but I am taking lessons from the main piano professor here. Piano playing provides endless challenge and joy for me.

[Siberian Husky]

i'd say...


eehhmmm...


well uhh.............hm lets see...


carry the two....

eeehhh


i'd say yeah..maybe about 3 days or so

[tds]

you can never own music more than it does you. sounds semi-familiar?

or is it about dog?...darn! go away dog!

[tds]

even luke practices everyday. hmmm.....* starts to hate luke *

[jhon]

you can never own music more than it does you. sounds semi-familiar?

or is it about dog?...darn! go away dog!

In other words, music is your master more than you being the master of music.

[Derek]

I do think that for even those that really LOVE piano music that it can lose its affect on you. I don't get that shiver down my spine when listening to beautiful moments in great piano compositions, not as much as I use to. The music doesn't affect you as much because you are controlling it, studying it, looking at it in detail all the time. The ear has become an intense observer rather than a tool that opens the enjoyment of sound to the brain.

In that case I can see that eventually you lose interest in the music, but then it attacts you back, then you are repelled, then it attacts you back. It is like that for me at least, yoyo relationship. Sometimes you ask yourself, what is the bloody point of memorising music. If you have strong reasons for personal gratification that is fine, but sometimes we want more meaning behind it. If we say because we want to present it to other people in this world then we can become overly obsessed about perfecting the music thus the magic of the sound vanishes with over practice. I think that is why you do see lots of technical players out there without any emotion because they have practiced the sound so much, made their ear into analysers not tools used for enjoyment.

But music forever I think. For anyone who says I will do it for a little while they will never know what is being able to play music. When the physical difficulties of the instrument vanishes and what you read becomes clearer instruction as to what sound needs to be produced, that is playing music. Before that it is all practice and playing music lower than your potential.

I think what Lostinidlewonder is talking about is simply the undulation in passions that nearly everyone experiences. Everyone goes through some emotionally low-key times where it seems like even the Rach 2 concerto can't move you, but a week later you're soaring with ecstasy from it again.  Just learn to accept this undulation and it will no longer concern you. Its completely natural.  However I would advise everyone to try to keep music theory labels quite distinct from their reactions to sound. There is a quote by someone famous that goes: "When a child is concerned with what is a jay and what is a bluebird, he can no longer see the birds nor hear them sing."   So my advice is, go ahead and learn the names "jay" and "bluebird" but disconnect them from the EXPERIENCE of them. (as an analogy to music theory labels applied to chords and so forth)

::edit:: the name of the person I quoted is Eric Berne

::edit:: the ACTUAL quote goes

"The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a
sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing."

Eric Berne
(1910 - 1970)

[tds]

In other words, music is your master more than you being the master of music.

there is a strong hierarchical connotation in the word "master". whereas, to own is not explicitly so.

perhaps, this kind of subtlety plays a charming role in understanding variety of interpretations.

my 1 cent.

wait, i dont think its worth anything...

duh..

[kilini]

They'd have to pry my cold hands off the piano and stuff them into a coffin.

[lostinidlewonder]

I think what Lostinidlewonder is talking about is simply the undulation in passions that nearly everyone experiences. Everyone goes through some emotionally low-key times where it seems like even the Rach 2 concerto can't move you, but a week later you're soaring with ecstasy from it again.

Us humans are really ridiculous sometimes arent we! When its winter we complain we need more warmth, when its summer we complain its too hot. Music must be like this, in some weird way or another.

In other words, music is your master more than you being the master of music.

I would have to disagree here. When studying concertos with one of my teachers they did specificially mention that YOU have to play the music not the other way around. I wasn't quite sure what that meant but eventually realised that it is all about emotional control. Especially when playing with orchestras you must control your sound so that it fits right with the others you play with, you can't just ignore and let the music go on its own accord.

When music is your master we tend to overdo things, excessive this or that, harsh forte sounds instead of big sounds for example. Comments I've had to make as an adjudicator was that people where being played by the music. You can see that they are very passionate about the music but they lack the control. When they play they are too excited, the music is too powerful for them to balance. They might be able to play the notes but the emotional control? In that way you can tell when you listen to someone who plays the piano well but lets the music play them instead of the other way around.

[jhon]

Us humans are really ridiculous sometimes arent we! When its winter we complain we need more warmth, when its summer we complain its too hot. Music must be like this, in some weird way or another.


I would have to disagree here. When studying concertos with one of my teachers they did specificially mention that YOU have to play the music not the other way around. I wasn't quite sure what that meant but eventually realised that it is all about emotional control. Especially when playing with orchestras you must control your sound so that it fits right with the others you play with, you can't just ignore and let the music go on its own accord.

When music is your master we tend to overdo things, excessive this or that, harsh forte sounds instead of big sounds for example. Comments I've had to make as an adjudicator was that people where being played by the music. You can see that they are very passionate about the music but they lack the control. When they play they are too excited, the music is too powerful for them to balance. They might be able to play the notes but the emotional control? In that way you can tell when you listen to someone who plays the piano well but lets the music play them instead of the other way around.

To some extent, a musician is indeed the master of (his) music since he's literally the one playing.  But the IMPACT of such created music sometimes even goes BEYOND the "grasp" of the musician himself.  This is why most musicians are put in (a sort of) state of "sigh" and "wonder" for unknown reason whenever they play their instrument.

In short, (classical) music has indeed an innate "TRANSCENDENTAL" effect which is beyond human comprehension - even of the musician himself.

[minimozart007]

until i get layed

[Goldberg]

Hmmm, at first I was too depressed to answer the question with confidence, but then this changed everything:

until i get layed

So, in other words, I never have to worry about quitting! Now, if only I were actually good at playing...

[Nana_Ama]

I think I'll be involved in music for my entire life.  I've only been playing for two years and I am 15 now but I really enjoy it.  Though I do not think I would major in it, I will continue to play piano for the rest of my life.  Maybe I'll even enter an amateurs (sp?) competition!

[holysentiment]

I will play piano until my hands are chopped off or I die.

[Bouter Boogie]

A depressing question...

How much longer will you be involved in music? 



Just curious.  Most people take lessons for awhile and drop it.  Some are able to return later. 

So who here is planning on going with music for a long time?  Who is planning on stopping in a few years?   I know there are a lot of teens here.  What's coming up for your music during college?


Another way to put it -- who is planning on being involved with music their whole life?  Who here has decided that?

This is actually important for deciding what you will pratice.  I mean if you're going to stop in a few years, why bother much with building technique?

(Bob gets more depressed)  Of course, there's a point that everyone will stop playing eventually I guess...

As long as I live  At least I hope so 

[abe]

heh, i'm a a junior starting Sept....so that gives me 2 more years of lessons...then college kicks in and piano will be out unless I can squeeze in a piano class or something, but unlikely. Maybe in like 15 years i'll be able to afford a piano of my own again, but it will be for my kids prob, not me.

[Dazzer]

not ... long... - wheeze - - cough - - dies -

[jazz_man]

I plan to be involved in music for my whole life.  I'm only in high school now,  but I plan to go to university and major in music.   

[Eusebius_dk]

How much time will I live?

Guess my question is an answer to your question...

[thalberg]

Whole life.

[Waldszenen]

Until I'm dead

(if there are pianos in heaven, which I don't doubt, then most likely forever =))