Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Need some advice - how far can I go?

Hi everyone, I'm new here so sorry if this is the wrong forum.

I need advice on what the next step should be for me. I have played the piano since I was young and I've got to a high standard without ever being taught anything (I learnt most my pieces by ear). I didn't choose to take music to university because of my lack of musical education and chose a different career path. I'm now 21 but I feel like I'm wasting my talent. People always comment on how gifted I am and how I am unique etc, so I do think that I can get somewhere in the industry. Just so you know the standard, I can play pieces like La Campanella, Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement, Revolutionary Etude, Ballade in G minor. I make mistakes but I could probably eliminate them if I had enough practice every day. At the moment I probably get in around an hour every other day where I used to practice two hours a day.

I want to get the most out of it because it's something that I really enjoy doing and if I could still get to concert level at this stage I would be really happy. So I'm asking:
a) whether you think it's possible (I know it might be difficult to say without any more information than you have here).
b) if so, what should my next step be?

We would have to hear you play to comment so perhaps you could go to a piano teacher, play for him or her and ask their opinion

Concert pianists do not make mistakes so perhaps is it a bit too early to go down this road?

I've got to a high standard without ever being taught anything (I learnt most my pieces by ear).... pieces like La Campanella, Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement, Revolutionary Etude, Ballade in G minor. I make mistakes but I could probably eliminate them if I had enough practice every day. At the moment I probably get in around an hour every other day where I used to practice two hours a day.

Most of the members here are hobbyists and cannot play these piece "to a high standard". I would suggest you post this question in the teacher's forum and get some feedback there as well.

I would say that you need to have a reality check. Seek out a few good classically trained teachers with university degrees in piano perforamnce, and play for them and see what they say your potentials are. You can find them on the National Music Teachers Association (MTNA) http://www.mtna.org/parent-and-student-resources/choosing-a-music-teacher/.

Obviously, piano is very much a performance oriented skill, and it is impossible to know what anyone could do without an actual recording or live performance. It is best to show a professional your abilities. This is easier than you think because many teachers will provide a free first lesson where you talk about goals and will listen a little bit to your playing like an interview/audition.

I can play La Campanella to a fast tempo without mistakes probably 1/10 times. The most difficult thing from that video is not the actual playing but the duration, one of my weaknesses, probably due to lack of practice is that my fingers tire very easily.

There are a lot of red flags in this statement, but I don't want to make guesses. First of all a fast tempo is not the be all in playing a musical instrument. The fact is, many with no training like to impress by playing something very technical and fast but it is the musicianship that matter far more. How you sound is far more important than how few mistakes you made or how fast you could play. Unless you make massive numbers of mistake that results in the break down of performance, no professional will ever judge you by counting your mistakes. Many first prize winners at piano competitions make more mistakes than the other competitors. Again, it is the musicianship that counts the most.

There are a lot of red flags in this statement, but I don't want to make guesses. First of all a fast tempo is not the be all in playing a musical instrument. The fact is, many with no training like to impress by playing something very technical and fast but it is the musicianship that matter far more. How you sound is far more important than how few mistakes you made or how fast you could play. Unless you make massive numbers of mistake that results in the break down of performance, no professional will ever judge you by counting your mistakes. Many first prize winners at piano competitions make more mistakes than the other competitors. Again, it is the musicianship that counts the most.

I would argue the most important red flag is the assumption that "fingers tire easily." OP, why do you think that small children can play advanced works for 30 minutes and beyond oftentimes without their fingers "getting tired"? Obviously they're not stronger or better equipped than you. The difference is they're using they're whole body - wrists, forearms, shoulders, torso, hips, etc. - as well as the force of gravity to be able to play as long as they could possibly want with no tiring whatsoever. This is probably your biggest limitation, currently, OP. You should invest in a good teacher to help fix your inefficient technique as well as give you experienced, one-on-one advice as to possible career options if you really are interested in the industry. None of us know you or can give you even close to as useful advice.

The advice you are giving is more useful than you think, despite the lack of information you have. I have a question on your comment however; do you think it is possible to play advanced pieces without tiring? I cannot imagine a pianist playing a piece like Revolutionary Etude without tiring, I thought it was the norm.

... if I could still get to concert level at this stage I would be really happy. So I'm asking:
a) whether you think it's possible (I know it might be difficult to say without any more information than you have here).
b) if so, what should my next step be?

A couple of additional thoughts. First, without this becoming a long and complicated response, there are many different kinds of concert pianists. There are the David Nevue and Brian Crane who has little to no training (self-taught), and in Nevue's case, he cannot read or write music. They both compose and give concerts. Since a lot of these pianists started much later than you, it is without a doubt possible.

However, if you want to become a classical concert pianist, then formal training including a conservatory degree is without exception part of the path. At 21 you are late compared to other typical conservatory candidates, but you still won't stick out like a sore thumb like a 35-year-old would. There is a piano teacher in these forums who entered the conservatory at 46, I believe.

In any case, if you want to pursue classical music performance and teaching professionally, you need to make that clear and find a teacher with the explicit goal of preparing you for conservatory entry. You will need great commitment for this path. It may not lead to a concert career but a teaching career is very respectable. Also, since you have an excellent ear, being a professional accompanist could be another possibility to exploit that talent. There are many possibilities here but first steps would be to find the teacher, and second would be to figure out how to prepare for conservatory. Before all that, have you ever considered practicing 30 to 40 hours a week before? Would you object to studying music theory, harmony, and history. Make sure you are clear on the reality of the life of a concert pianist versus the idea of one.

Btw, getting tired after a short period on the piano is definitely not normal, but no need to worry about it. Your teacher would fix that.

do you think it is possible to play advanced pieces without tiring? I cannot imagine a pianist playing a piece like Revolutionary Etude without tiring, I thought it was the norm.

The advice you are giving is more useful than you think, despite the lack of information you have. I have a question on your comment however; do you think it is possible to play advanced pieces without tiring? I cannot imagine a pianist playing a piece like Revolutionary Etude without tiring, I thought it was the norm.