<p>okay hears the story
i want to be a concert pianist, but i have been only playign for three years, sicne seventh grade basically… in my three years of training i can play fanatasie impromptu by chopin, sonate pathetique by beethoven, claire de lune by debussy, arbaresque by debussy, some etudes and a ballade by chopin…i think thats well for three years but still isn’t it too late for my to become a concert pianist…???</p>
<p>It sounds like you are doing well and already have a great repertoire for three years of play. Do you practice many hours a day?</p>
<p>It might be good to have someone objective listen to your playing, and give you some feedback on your overall musicality. If you have innate ability, you can make much greater strides musically than someone without. </p>
<p>I have no idea whether it is too late for you to become a concert pianist or not, but it is a very competitive area with many, many talented musicians, all vying for a very few spots. But, on the community orchestra level, smaller city level? Who knows? Continue to follow your dream, and see where it takes you!</p>
<p>Anything is possible. After all there are 8 year old piano players concertizing. </p>
<p>Is it likely you have gotten good enough in 3 years to be on even terms with players with 8, 10, 12 years of lessons? Not likely but not impossible.</p>
<p>Be careful saying “I can play this piece or that” as a measure of your level. There is playing and playing and getting through the notes and playing it to audition level can be worlds apart.</p>
<p>But if becoming a pianist is your dream by all means get the best teacher, continue to work hard and go for it.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but real geniuses are playing the pieces you’re playing now only after a few months of study… (
just kidding) Oh yeah and by the way, according to Littlewood’s Theorem (or Principle? or something else), miracles do happen quite frequently, like once a month for everyone. </p>
<p>I’m in a joking mood this morning. But back to serious matter, don’t set your hope too high on being a concert pianist - there are plenty of great pianists getting masters and DMAs from Juilliard/Curtis/blah… and still are not concert pianist. Be realistic to yourself. Concert pianist is not a career like accountants; it’s rare and you need a hell lots of luck! </p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s not really too late for you to become a great pianist if you have the drive and <em>talent</em>. And in anyway, piano will be your lifetime companion and help you achieve great things even if you’re not on the professional pianist path. </p>
<p>Hope it helps.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m quite curious as to your progress. The pieces you have been playing are not the easiest pieces on earth, but just playing them and playing them well (or perfectly :)) are two completely different matter. I’m not sure which Chopin ballade you played, but I’ve heard plenty of boring, bad playings of the first ballade - sometimes the performers are just not up the par. To borrow a few words from Peabody’s website, if you play your Chopin ballade with “flair and artistry”, you must be quite an amazing learner and have quite some talent!</p>
<p>I would agree with both flutemom and thzxcyl. There is “playing” and then there is PLAYING. I have heard lots of people “get through” difficult pieces, so yes, they can play them, but not well. </p>
<p>True artistry and musicality are part of the musical gift, which you well might have, but that’s why it is great to have someone objective listen to you and give you feedback.</p>
<p>Drive goes a long way though, since some people squander their talent, or don’t put it to the best use, lacking the drive that you apparently have.</p>
<p>pieces i mentioned are the one i played for NYSSMA… a music festival/comeptition. i recieved one 100 and scores above 95</p>
<p>and i forget which ballade i played lmoa that was lats year…but itds not broing to me xPPPP i like fats songs… they make me go crazy</p>
<p>btw i pratice one hour in the morning and one hour at night each day… i’m guessing thats no where long enough, but yeah hw and school takes up most of my time… i wish i were homeschooled so i could cut out so wasted time to practcie full time (like those prodigy kids) not sure if you’ve heard of them</p>
<p>I’ve had teachers of mine tell me that unless I feel like there is nothing else I could picture myself doing (besides music), I should do it. I feel that this should be taken even more seriously for a pianist. There are very few opportunities for concert pianists to make a living- unless you’re in the top 20 or so in the country. Be realistic. But if you feel you can work hard enough and this is your only love, go for it.</p>
<p>I sympathize with you. When I was in the 8th grade, after taking piano lessons for about 4 years, I decided that I would become a concert pianist. So I got serious about music, switched to a more demanding and knowledgable teacher, and dramatically upped my practice time. Though I’ve come a long way since then, it was not enough; I was rejected from the top conservatories I applied to in the fall. Even if I had been accepted to Eastman or Peabody, the chances that I would have been able to make a living as a concert pianist would still be astronomically small.</p>
<p>I know nothing about your talent or playing level; it is quite likely that you have a better chance of success than I. However, it must be said that nearly all concert pianists have been playing since they were 4, and have a promising musical future by the time they are 8. If you do not start off early with the proper foundations, it is extremely difficult to make up the deficiency. Frankly, 2 hours of practice a day is probably not enough to get you where you want to go. 3 hours a day might not even be enough. I would imagine that there are many pianists at your age who are practicing 4 or more hours a day. The fact is that the competition for concert pianists is extremely fierce and very, very few pianists in the world can make a career primarily out of concertizing. Almost all have to teach.</p>
<p>That said, I would encourage you not to give up on your dream of becoming a pianist. You could get a teaching post somewhere and give concerts whenever you can. Or you can become a collaborative pianist - there is always a need for good accompanists. This is what am I now aiming at. It may not have the glamour of a solo Carnegie Hall recital, but it is still performing music. Work on your sight-reading skills, and try to get some experience playing with other musicians. As long as you don’t get into the concert-pianist-or-bust mentality, you have a good chance of making a career in music.</p>
<p>Bravo, bachlover! - I’m sure you will have a great career of an accompanist. Shifting from the remote dream of being a concert pianist to your current attitudes must be a painful decision, but you have done it!</p>
<p>I’m convinced that nowaday any pianists who make even part of their living out of concertizing are child prodigies, and they are concertizing ever since they are 5 or 6 years old…</p>
<p>The first time I read Maugham’s Of Human Bondage was my personal turning point. It was quite a few years ago, but reading the death of Fanny, a painting student who STRONGLY believes that she has talents of a great painter but actually has no talents whatsoever. She is so convinced that she spent all her money on painting classes and eventually died of starving…</p>
<p>One of the most touching scenes in the novel (for me) is when the protaganist, then a painting student at Paris, asks his painting instructor about his talents in painting. At his disppointing look after a negative response, the instructor said (with a blank look): I wish I had been told the same thing when I was your age; my life would not be what it is now. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m rambling away. But I got the message (hope you will get it too): you might think yourself, say, capable of being a great pianist, but 99.999999% of the time - it’s sad but truth - you are not. You can definitely enjoy piano, or even make a living out of it in some ways, and you can certainly dream if that please you, but if you set your sole hope on being the next Horowitz or Rubinstein or Richter or whoever, you are setting yourself up for very high risk. </p>
<p>And the most important lesson I learn from Of Human Bondage: Edison once said (something like this) success is made up of 99.5% of hard work and 0.5% of talent. But remember this addenda: if you don’t have that 0.5% of talent, your 99.5% of hard work might come to nothing. And true talent is so rare that perhaps you can win a few billions dollars in lottery and still did not win God’s lottery of distributing talents…</p>
<p>In addition to your piano work, at some point, learn to play the organ. There is a demand for good church music directors/organists. There are colleges that offer this type of music as a major.</p>
<p>to be honest, no
there are many hardworking pianists already who deserve that fame</p>