 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Vanessa
Date: 2001-11-28 18:35
I am 23 year old performance major and who is working as therapist in a Chriopractors office. I've been working here for a year now and have become really good friends with one of the Chiropractors I work with. She is 31 and also plays the clarinet. We play together on occasion and she LOVES to play!
She has never gone to college for music but she has taken lesseons throughout the years and practices regularly. She has told me that she wishes she could go back to school for music now that she has a stable career and makes a good living for herself. When I asked her why she doesn't audition she replies "I'm too old to BEGIN going to school for music". That's her only reason. She is single and has no kids and nothing to lose.
I know that most people start going to school when we graduate from HS but, IMO she should at least audition. What do you all think? Does anyone agree that after a certain age it is too late to BEGIN music school?
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Author: ron b
Date: 2001-11-28 20:36
It's only too late when you're too ill or too dead....
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Author: sarah
Date: 2001-11-28 21:10
There are plenty of older music majors at my college. Tell her to go for it!!
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-11-28 22:09
Is it possible that her hesitancy is, at least in part, due to the overwhelming idea of beginning a college degree program. If so, you might point out to her that, since she already has a college degree, most schools will accept many of her existing hours for transfer credit toward a second degree. It could very well be that she would only need about 60 hours rather than 120. Also, many universities will admit students in a special non-degree status (particularly if they already have a degree) so that they can take courses. Depending on school policy, she might not be permitted to take lessons at the University without being admitted to a formal degree program (that varies from school to school) but she could probably take music courses such as theory, composition, music history, and the like. If she enjoys the coursework and does OK, she can change her status later. If she's really serious, you might try to help ease her into the water -- perhaps even find out a little about her academic background then do some research at your university (e.g., ask an advisor about the general university requirements and ask the music department secretary -- who probably knows more than anyone else in the department -- about department rules and your friend's specific situation), to see what her options would be for music study.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: mike
Date: 2001-11-28 22:44
I don't think there is necessarily an age that's too late to start music: I know a woman who after working the technical end of theater for several years decided that music was what she wanted to be doing, and is due to be graduated from Berkelee this spring. I think she in in her early 30's. Since she does a lot of arranging and writing in addition to playing various woodwinds, maybe there's at least a snowball's chance that she will make a career of it...
Of course, the question is why go back to school for music since 'she has a stable career and makes a good living'? Does she want to change careers to music? If she goes back to school and devotes the necessary time to practice, classes, ensembles and so forth, then her current career will likely become less stable. Yearning for the total immersion into a subject that one has in school is fine, but there is a price to be paid for it.
If she is taking lessons, practicing and playing in various community or semi-pro groups, is she unhappy with the level or her playing or the quality of the groups? If she really wants to know how good she would be if she were playing 6 hours a day for 4 or 5 years, and was a student in the studio of a master musician, then there's not a lot of options except to do it.
But if her goal is to further her music education, there are plenty of options. In addition to the above mentioned lessons, practice and ensembles, there are classes at local colleges that can be audited, there are lectures that can be attended, there are plenty of books that can be read. Not to mention actually attending the occasional musical performance. You can have a lot of fun if you have the cash to throw at these various options.
I think many of us non-music majors sometimes wish we had tried the music performance route. But I also know enough professional and ex-professional musicians to know that this is a horribly difficult field in which to make a living, let alone a career. I assume that at 31, she is mature enough to understand just how difficult this is, even with degrees from first-rate music schools, etc.
And I suspect you may be projecting more of your youthful enthusiasm into her replies than you think. But at 42, I've turned into something of a cynical old fart.
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Author: C@p
Date: 2001-11-29 00:26
At what age, if any, does the mind and body give diminishing returns for serious practice?
I have heard that the best time to learn to play any instrument is in the mid teens to early 20's as that is the time that the muscles and brain cells best develop paths in the brain and after that results are marginal.
It was also said that as one reaches his or her 50's or later, especially after a long layoff of decades, the best one could hope for would be to be as good as one once was but there was no real expectation of significant improvement beyond that by reason of the biological reasons related above.
Yet, the posts on this BB seem to indicate that if one practices 4 hours a day, great advancments can be made. Would this be true for the late middle life or for early senior citizens?
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Author: Pam
Date: 2001-11-29 03:05
I would hope it's not too late. I have a couple of acquaintences who are in their 30's and working and going to school for a degree in music education. I will say that it can be more difficult as you get older, maybe not so much because of diminishing brain cells, but more responsibilities to juggle. Many older students have homes, families, bills to pay, probably some existing debt and probably not as many options for help in the way of scholarships. The two people I'm thinking of both work in addition to their schooling; one is a single parent. Then the price of college in my area just jumped. All this can make a decision to return to school something to consider carefully before taking the plunge. I still think it can be rewarding though as long as she is fully committed to doing it and realizes what is involved.
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-11-29 06:06
It will depend on what she hopes to become. Music educators? It may not be too late. If she hopes to be a pro, it would be a totally different matter. Most provably too late.
There are always exceptions. For example, a Grammy Award winner Dianna Krall was music major in piano(not in singing) and studied at Berkley. But she became a superb singer (playing piano herself) these several years. She is a psyco therapist too. Friz Kreisler was major in medicin but became a violist. Jean Pierre Rampal was major in (dental?) medicin too and became a flutist. Maurice Andre was a miner until 18 years of age but entered into Paris Concervatoir via military band.
However,In these cases anybody will not have doubted too late or not.
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Author: Susie
Date: 2001-11-29 14:09
31 is very young! and as has been noted, she is not even starting from scratch.
There are many people who are much older who go back to school. Also, she wants to do something formally which she's essentially done informally for a number of years. I suspect she will be as, if not more, excited and diligent than if she had done so when she was much younger. What about the person who decides in their 30's or 40's or 50's to get a doctoral degree... that often requires at least 4-6 years of study.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-11-29 17:20
There is a physical difference between getting a doctoral degree and becoming a performer!
Chances at becoming a professional performer, small as they are for young "fresh meat" in the conservatories & music schools, would (I'd wager) be even smaller for someone who's been away from the instrument for a long time. Doesn't mean it wouldn't be a fun or challenging thing to do!
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Author: Peter
Date: 2001-11-29 19:59
It's never too late to do something you have always really wanted to do, but, perhaps, couldn't previously afford yourself the opportunity to do so, for whatever reason.
I would tell my friend not to walk, but run to fulfill herself, if that's her desire, with something as beautiful and rewarding as the study of music.
.
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Author: Vanessa
Date: 2001-11-29 20:15
I know she would love to perform! I talked to her yesterday and told her that she should go back. I told her to come and read the replies on the BB. She has that spark in her eye and we both know that she will be competing against younger peopel but I know her personality and she would definately be up for the challenge. She definately has Desire, Drive, and Determination. She may not end up being the greatest clarinet player ever but at least she will have gone through with something that she's always wanted to do and in the future she won't look back and say "What if".
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Author: Laura
Date: 2001-11-29 20:33
When I was in college there were several older music majors. The reason why they went back was becuase they too love to play and love music. One was in her 40's, married with two children. Another was in his 50's and married. There were several others with similar circumstances and made it through and got their degrees with no problems.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2001-11-30 06:05
Performing professionally? What does that mean, anyway? Perhaps no one is going to begin a high-level practicing plan at age 32 and be ready to ace Larry Combs out of a chair in a few years, but not everyone has to be first chair of the Chicago Symphony, either. For that matter, not everyone has to be a symphony performer. There are lots of other performance venues and musical styles. *Plenty* of memorable musicians got a late start in the field of music. One of my favorites was Cab Calloway, who was a lawyer when he decided he was going for a career in music. He gave me -- and a few thousand others -- a great performance at the Hollywood Bowl when he was in his seventies, appearing to be having as much fun as anyone else in the place.
Want to play music? Play music. Think you just might be able to succeed? Well, so do I, unless you don't try. Because if you don't try, then I'm absolutely certain you won't make it. Some years ago I knew a fairly young man who wanted to be a composer and performer. He wanted to leave his job and strike out as a café artist, but he was afraid to make the jump. I helped him talk himself into doing it, and he was a regular performer for about two years before coming back to his old profession. But he said he was so glad he had tried, for a great many reasons. Maybe all you'll do is discover your own version of what they were, but you really need to do that if you possibly can. And you might find yourself exactly where you want to be.
Now I shut up so you can stop reading and start practicing.
Regards,
John
who has had at least four careers and is now trying to figure out what to do next
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-11-30 07:10
>There is a physical difference between getting a doctoral degree and becoming a performer!
There are two kinds of music academies. One puts emphasis on performance, the other on theory first then performance. The former example is the National Conservatoir de Paris. The latter example is Schola Cantorum.
http://www.schola-cantorum.com/
In fact the founders of Schola Coantorum blamed the Conservator saying they only educate artisans not musical artists, and founded Schola Cantorum.
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