To become a master...

[CDS814]

Hi,
I've recently decided that piano is what I want to do with my life. I am 14 years old and have been playing for 5 or 6 years. I believe (hope) that I might have the talent required to enter a major conservatory. I can play pieces by the classical master (chopin, mozart and the such, you know what I'm talking about) and advanced "new age" pieces by Yanni (very fun). What I am posting for is to receive any advice on how to acheive my goal. No one in my family is into music so I've really been on my own, though my parents are very supportive. I have one of those community piano teachers, should I look into a more advanced, more proffesional teacher? Any practice tips would be appreciated. Also, while studying the bari sax, I have been told that one of the best things that you can do is to listen to proffesionals. I assume that that goes along with piano too and would appreciate recommendations of good CDs to listen to. I live near the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins so if anyone knows of them having a good precollege private instruction or like summer workshops I would love to hear about it. Thank you very much.

[bernhard]

Yes, get a good teacher.

But what is a good teacher? It depends on the student.  

If you are a beginner struggling with technique and learning efficient ways to practise, you need a teacher that will fulfill these needs.

If you are and advanced student who already can play everything, you may need advice on interpretation and on things like how to project the piano sound in different concert halls with different acoustics.  

So, maybe your community teacher is good - for you, at this moment in time.

Also, being a famous concert pianist is no guarantee of good teaching (only of high fees!). In fact I would stay away from teachers who are performers (controversial issue!) since most of the time they will be putting all their energies on their performing career and will have little time to devote to teaching. The only time I would consider a teacher who is a famous performer is if I want to learn about performance. If I want to learn the piano, it would be a waste of both our times.  

So how do you know if your present teacher is good? Have you learned everything s/he has to teach you? If so it is time to move on, and most teachers will actually move you on when this is the case.

Also have initiative. Do not rely totally in your teacher for your piano studies. Read, listen to music, go to concerts, do research on your own (You are doing just that by joining this forum). Discuss new ideas you discover with your teacher. Does s/he already knows about them? Can she add to the knowledge you acquired through your research? If so, s/he is a good teacher and might just be waiting for you to come up with something s/he could use.

Finally, look around in this forum. There is a huge amount of information on all areas (from the best CDs to listen to and  the worst to avoid to discussions on specific pieces).

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[jeff]

yeah, listening is one of the best things you can do. If you want some suggestions about the best pianists to listen to, a good place to get some ideas would be the "best pianist" thread in the Performance section of this forum.

[cziffra]

the road to being a master starts with forgetting that you want to be a master-

you can't be one if you're too busy wanting to be one.

[Hmoll]

the road to being a master starts with forgetting that you want to be a master-

you can't be one if you're too busy wanting to be one.

Thank you Grasshopper

Sorry, I couldn't resist that.


Get a good teacher, practice a lot, listen to music a lot. Get to know other musicians.