Hi i was just wondering what you have to do to become a concert pianist and if it's really hard.

1) I don't know
2) My guess - yes, very hard!

Play the piano better than almost anyone else in the world.

Yes it's incredibly hard.

I don't know what you have to do to become a concert pianist, but yes it will be extremely hard!

Work, work, practice, practice, practice, more work, more practice, even more practice, yet more practice, work, work work + luck, charisma and the ability to get sponsors to cough up lots of money.

John

I would not have been able to say it better myself!

Oh I don't know, I am a concert pianist in my spare time, I find it quite easy really...

It would be for a Countess of the Keyboard!

Being able to learn new repertoire quickly would be a must.

thanks for the info, but how do you get discovered (go to university, win competitions etc.)

I guess going to a music conservatoire would be one way to find out, and gain the requisite skills.

I guess being one of the best in the world helps...if not, do like some rock stars who can't play guitar, have a really wild and crazy gimmick going for yourself. Perhaps wearing a cowboy hat, and pretend to be the best cowboy who plays classical music, or do it in your underwear and call yourself the naked piano players...

good luck

maciste

does anyone have Max Bruch: Swedish Dances Op.63 No 8

Hey Vivo, have you seen this You Tube series. "Imagine being a concert Pianist"

10-15 hours a day.

Fascinating, thankyou for posting this.

Especially the bit where the teacher in New York says 4-5 hours a day practice is optimum, beyond that you get diminishing returns! Similar to any other athlete really - overtraining is a problem.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I started being taught when I was 5 or 6 by my Grandma... Oh I wish I was like that!

He's 2 years older than me - when I'm his age I won't ever be able to play as well as him unless I take a lot of practice - and I like my other activities too...

That video is fantastic!

Imagine being able to play like that at 11! Absolutely amazing to have that talent.

Start young
Love music
Avoid developing bad habits and poor technique
Practice (focussed and purposeful) four hours a day or more

It is about as difficult as becoming a chess grand master, or an international footballer, or an olympic athlete.

The odds of becoming a pop or rock star are much better.

Nerve and consistency have to be important, as well as having the ability, the commitment, the charisma and the sponsors - not to mention being an age where you're unusual in your achievements. Lots of people can play exceptionally well some of the time, but having that nerve and consistency to play well ALL of the time is extremely rare.

I notice that no-one has mentioned a prerequisite: have the sort of physique that allows you to practise from 4 to 6 hours per day without developing painful joints, muscle strains, tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. I believe that there are tests used within athletics that can assess the potential of a young competitor and also forecast whether the training schedule necessary to reach the heights of a discipline is likely to lead to breakdown. It may be that similar tests are available for pianists and other instrumentalists, but I have never come across them. Anyone with any ideas?

Another prerequisite which no-one has mentioned is musical understanding: a concert pianist needs to have a thorough understanding of many aspects of any work he performs, including its historical context and, for ensemble works, the relationship between his own music and that of the other players.

Very good point - although never aspiring to concert status and even allowing for age, it is the aches and pains that makes me stop, which is really annoying if I am enjoying all other aspects of practising.

If you are really worried about this you need:

Nicola Culf.
MUSICIANS' INJURIES: A Guide to their Understanding and Prevention.
ISBN 1-898594-62-7 1998 Parapress Ltd, Guilford

But piano playing is not like soccer or marathon running or swimming or weight lifting or boxing! I have been practising 4 hours a day for several months now, with a break of one full weekend each month. My hands and forearms are tired all the time - but no injuries.

You can usually feel a possible problem in its early stages, know very well what is causing it, and lay off practising the problem pieces or passages for a few days - then investigate a bit further - have I started to make additional unnecessary movements, am I too tense, is the fingering awkward, am I overstretching where an arm movement is needed etc. Or is it maybe that the composition is plain unsympathetic to the anatomy of the hand?

I find that most works by Brahms do my hands in - so although many of his compositions sound magnificent I have not made any serious attempt to play any but the simplest. Compositions by Chopin and Liszt, though equally athletic, usually manage to fall under the hands quite naturally.

I only play three pieces by Brahms, a waltz(the famous one), and two of the pieces from Op 116, which are deceptively difficult..ie they're harder than they look. However when it comes to aching forearms this happens to me especially with Chopins ''Revolutionary'' etude, the Left arm just weakens...but sometimes i can get through it, but just about.

He is 40 years younger than me, but that isn't going to stop me from studying and practising!

Eat, sleep and breathe piano. I imagine it takes (at the very least) 8 hours of practise a day...