Student at 30 years old

Welcome

Welcome, some ideas

https://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/769-lauree-o-diplomi

https://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/1092-linee-guida-esame-ammissione-pre-accademico-conservatorio

https://www.pianoconcerto.it/forum/index.php?/topic/3907-help-equipollenze-afam

From my point of view, you probably take a little time away from your main instrument, but you emerge as a more cultured musician. They have probably considered that one in 100 becomes a concert performer... so if one has to settle for teaching, it's better to be a cultured teacher.

I do not agree with what the user Chopin wrote to you. In 3 years, you cannot study what you used to study in 10; there is little to say, it's basic logic. Furthermore, 3 years of conservatory are absolutely not sufficient to become a teacher. You must integrate another two years of studies in music pedagogy (that is, teaching certification) and join kilometer-long ranking lists for placement in musical institutes (Middle Schools or Musical High Schools).

For teaching in conservatories, the practice is much more complex.

With the new regulations, they have removed a lot of "substance" from instrument literature. It was unthinkable to do in 3 years what was done in 10 years of study. There are well-prepared teachers both inside and outside of conservatories, just as the opposite is true: there are mediocre teachers both inside and outside of conservatories. If you want to finalize your studies with a degree, then you must enter the conservatory and regularly take exams. If you want to learn the instrument with the time you have available without the pretension of becoming a recognized musician, then you can also opt for private study.

At the base of everything, there is always the issue of study time and dedication. You only become a good pianist if you have natural talent, a spirit of sacrifice, and plenty of time to dedicate to the instrument. The best Maestro in the world is useless if even one of these requirements is missing at the foundation.

If you do not have a sense of rhythm, you cannot become a musician. If you are gifted but do not have the time and/or desire to study, you cannot become a musician.

@TheSimon

If you want to learn the instrument with the time you have available without the pretension of becoming a recognized musician, then you can also opt for private lessons.

I don't believe that to become a "recognized musician," as you write, it is mandatory to attend a conservatory; I consider this rule essential today: regardless of where you study, if you are supported by excellent teachers and have the will to do so, I believe a person can succeed in achieving what they want for themselves or giving their best.

I don't think those who study have the pretension of becoming a recognized musician, but rather of becoming a musician; recognition is, I believe, an abstract variable.

If you don't have a sense of rhythm, you cannot become a musician. If you are gifted but don't have the time and/or desire to study, you cannot become a musician.

I agree on time and desire, but I believe that anyone can become a musician; judgment simply belongs to others, anyone can learn music from the basics and, brick by brick, succeed in building something solid; anyone, but, as stated, with time and dedication.

Aside from the fact that I agree with much of TheSimon's post, in my opinion, the number 3 (referring to years) doesn't add up.

I would say it is at least 3+2 (three-year period + two-year period) and furthermore access to three-year programs occurs after selection ... and you must be at least in an old 6/7 year conservatory program. Let's say 6+5 makes 11 (years), obviously 3 would not be enough.

campanella700 wrote:

I believe that anyone can become a musician.

I am not 100% convinced that everyone can do everything in life, because the following phrase

> anyone can learn music from the basics and, brick by brick, succeed in building something solid

seems to move into a universal realm.

Let me explain myself better and quote Albert Einstein first:

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

In my opinion, Einstein is right; it is as if we said anyone can learn medicine from the basics and, brick by brick, succeed in building something solid (and, implicitly speaking, become a doctor... which is where we started).

You are either a doctor or you are something else; I am also interested in medicine, but I would not operate on anyone and I would never call myself a Doctor. In my opinion (and I want to make this clear), your reasoning works if there are some abilities/predispositions/talents at the base, which you then combine—as you say—with the fact that one proceeds through study with dedication. Furthermore, I was reflecting on something: to be a doctor, you must necessarily be a graduate, meaning you have studied at a university (not counting internships, etc., etc.) and possess at least a degree.

All of this is not very far from what TheSimon wrote.

I am writing this to you despite being convinced also of the fact that musical culture (which does not mean everyone being musicians) is indispensable for the musical system (360°) to function.

I hope I have explained myself well

campanella700 wrote:

@TheSimon

I don't think that to become a "recognized musician," as you write, it is mandatory to attend a conservatory;

Perhaps it is not clear what I mean by recognized musician. A recognized musician is one who has a degree in their pocket, regardless of their actual value. Because it is worth clarifying that when I took my diploma/degree exam, as you want to call it, there were people who weren't even capable of passing a fifth year, and Paolo can testify to the truth of my statements since he was also there. The same thing happens at university. There are people who have passed exams out of inertia and eventually graduate, but they don't have even the slightest knowledge of the background that their studies should have provided them. I wonder, what kind of professional is someone in civil engineering faculty who had to retake the construction science exam 6 times before passing it? Would you hand them the project for a skyscraper or a shopping mall to be built? One would have to be truly hypocritical to say yes. And yet, even if it seems strange, you cannot imagine how many graduates are around who managed to reach graduation by repeatedly retaking the same exams. Are these professionals? In my opinion, no.

A university colleague of a friend of mine—he was telling me about it a few years ago—never attended a course because he worked, but he studied with passion and dedication at home. He came to the university only twice a year to take exams, and every attempt was a 28, a 30, a 29, a 30 cum laude. In the end, he graduated with 110 and honors.

It is therefore not true that the institution provides education; education is done through books, provided there are capable individuals dedicated to the subject who sacrifice their time and efforts to pursue a goal. The institution certainly helps a lot; professors are nothing more than wells from which to draw to fill gaps: if you haven't understood something, if a step escapes you, you can go to the professor to have it explained. They speed up your studies because if you pay attention during lessons, you have already done half the work. In the piano, as in any other musical instrument, the thing does not change. At the base of everything is talent, passion, and dedication. If you remove even just one of these things, you will never be a professional, regardless of whether your Teacher is Benedetti Michelangeli, holder of a chair at the best conservatory, or Joe Schmo, an unlucky teacher in some tiny village lost in the middle of nowhere.

Crude truths...

I thank you for your answers and for your clarifications, I apologize for the blunt question, but so what do you recommend to me?

The advice is simple. If you feel like studying with dedication and have a talent for the instrument, then if you must undertake a course of studies, why not finalize it to also obtain a piece of paper, which in this country will probably serve you little to no purpose, but you can always say you are a graduate. If your idea is not to be forced to attend courses with a certain frequency and study when you have time, then I believe there is nothing else to do but study as a private student.

TheSimon wrote:

The advice is simple. If you feel like studying with dedication and have a talent for the instrument, then if you have to undertake a course of studies, why not finalize it to also obtain a piece of paper, which will probably serve you little to no purpose in this country, but you can always say you are a graduate. If your idea is not to be forced to attend courses with a certain frequency and study when you have time, then I believe there is nothing left to do but study as a private student.

Graduating even though I am almost 30 years old and am not yet able (but not by far) to pass an entrance exam?

You yourself said that in this country that piece of paper will serve me little to no purpose

It is always a degree that can give you access to competitions where a degree is required. It is still an important qualification. Whether it is of little use in this country is another matter entirely. Nowadays, jobs are obtained through connections. I will give you a very real example. In a fairly large company, 90% of the positions are destined for those with recommendations. There remains 10% where deserving people enter. This 10% is justified by the fact that if you don't include at least a small percentage of capable people, the company goes to ruin. Certainly, if you don't have connections, the only thing left for you to do is get a degree and aim to enter this 10%, otherwise it's tough. If graduates already struggle to find work, imagine those who don't even have a shred of a piece of paper.

I fully agree with what has already been said!

If it were up to me, they would get into the conservatory.

30 - 40 years old, what importance does that have?

Beyond the usefulness of the degree, in my opinion, at the conservatory you would have the chance to benefit from a more complete and above all stimulating educational offer by being in a more varied and professionalizing context...

Of course Nancy! I quote what has been said by others and I would like to add something... perhaps already said... but in a different way.

I believe that the Conservatory, the School, the degree is right and puts us to the test. It's true, it's not your case, bell, but I can assure you that at Simone's Diploma exam I listened to candidates who weren't even good enough for the 5th year! Without respect for the Commission, the most absurd situations occurred: someone was reading a Chopin nocturne poorly and one candidate even had her pages turned by her old teacher, who was turning the exam into a comical lesson, carried out every time the student "stuck". Total absence of awareness and respect. In this scenario, which is unfortunately very frequent during exams for the "piece of paper", it must be said however that good "musician" teachers exist, some inside Conservatories and some outside. There are also mediocre or harmful teachers... some inside Conservatories and... some outside. One must be lucky or... find the right teacher. So, the degree + the know-how = a musician. And a musician, by further enriching their broad-spectrum musical culture, will know how to be a good teacher, they will become one, if they know how to dedicate themselves to this difficult task with sacrifice and abnegation, knowing how to renounce even rigid positions and/or useless and harmful protagonism. You are very young and the desire to explore and "invade" the musical world is to your credit! Do not hesitate! Do not ask yourself! Just start the journey, but look around you and always demand the best Masters, of life, of Music, of Instrument. The best will transmit to you the great and fundamental notions that you, through experience, will transform into true Knowledge. Congratulations, good luck and...... happy studying. Paolo

being able to afford it, enter, consider that music is not necessarily competition. However, observe the early ones

e remember who at thirty years old was already dedicating themselves to composition, or to teaching privately at the time.

But of course, I believe the discussion has already been sufficiently exhausted in previous posts. In the end, what matters is passion... If you have a passion for the instrument and must undertake a course of study, it's worth doing it even just to get a nice piece of paper that still makes you a graduate regardless. For the rest, the arguments already expressed remain valid.