[bwkeys45]

I love music and have wanted to be a musician for a long time. I decided on being a music therapist during my first year of high school and just thinking about it makes me really excited for the future. However, I took my first piano lesson at age 14 and, despite being told I am talented and a fast learner, I am afraid it was too late. I also started playing percussion at 15, but with the same problem. Before, I knew it would be difficult to get where I needed to be and was willing to work for it- practising 8 or 9 hours a week and speeding through dozens of music theory lessons- but now things seem to be falling apart. I can barely get through half an hour of practice and often give up after 20 minutes. I get so nervous I perform with half the capacity I usually can, I get fed up and depressed because of my slow progress, and it has taken me over a month to get through not even a quarter of an exam piece. I also have nightmares about failing exams, being kicked out of my music studio, and being told I'm not good enough. I want nothing more than to be a music therapist, but I can't do that if I can't play. Are there any musicians out there who had the same problem and got through it? I'm starting to lose hope.

[cloudsatall]

Originally Posted by bwkeys45

I love music and have wanted to be a musician for a long time. I decided on being a music therapist during my first year of high school and just thinking about it makes me really excited for the future. However, I took my first piano lesson at age 14 and, despite being told I am talented and a fast learner, I am afraid it was too late. I also started playing percussion at 15, but with the same problem. Before, I knew it would be difficult to get where I needed to be and was willing to work for it- practising 8 or 9 hours a week and speeding through dozens of music theory lessons- but now things seem to be falling apart. I can barely get through half an hour of practice and often give up after 20 minutes. I get so nervous I perform with half the capacity I usually can, I get fed up and depressed because of my slow progress, and it has taken me over a month to get through not even a quarter of an exam piece. I also have nightmares about failing exams, being kicked out of my music studio, and being told I'm not good enough. I want nothing more than to be a music therapist, but I can't do that if I can't play. Are there any musicians out there who had the same problem and got through it? I'm starting to lose hope.

Hi,
I have a B.A. in music (clarinet performance). I no longer play the clarinet, but still play the piano (I started out majoring in Piano and switched to clarinet). It sounds like you may be working too hard at practicing (in that you may need to lower your expectations and goals for progress in your instrument). Have you talked with your instructor about your situation? The teacher, if competent, should be able to help you with practice suggestions, and HOW to practice, like which skills to work on (i.e. scales, arpeggios, sight reading) and exercises for these skills and music pieces which reinforce these skills. This pressure you are putting on yourself may be causing your nightmares and nerves. You may need to have an exam piece that is at a less advanced level. You sound like a dedicated and determined person, and you can succeed in playing an instrument and becoming a music therapist. Please let me know how you are doing.

[bwkeys45]

Thank you very much; I'm doing better now. Hopefully I can keep it that way!

My main instrument now is trumpet and I didn't start playing until I was around 14/15. I had played other instruments before, but the physical technique of a brass instrument is different than say woodwinds, piano, etc. So, it's possible.

I don't know much about the music therapy program by itself, but I do know that the theory classes pretty much start at the beginning, so you don't need to know much more than the basics. Just be comfortable with clefs, key signatures, major/minor scales (all three types of minor scales if possible), know how to build augmented, diminished, and dominant 7th chords (although they should go over those again anyway), try to learn the basics of modes and the use of roman numerals (I, V7, ii, IV etc.) and basic inversions…those sorts of things.

Also, if you have a chance, work on sight-singing (which is singing a melody a cappella after hearing the first note and establishment of a key center (generally I-IV6/4-I-V6/5-I or if you're not familiar with inversions yet, just use I-IV-V-I in the key the melody is from).

To work on sight-reading, find an old hymnal or some four part hymns online. You can find virtually any free domain music at imslp.org.

You can definitely work through sicknesses (both mental and physical) as I have. I've worked through chronic pain, pretty bad anxiety, long-term depression etc. I'm going to be blunt here…almost every person who chooses music as a profession and/or studies it in college is going to go through physical and mental problems. You have to be able to work through it…there should be people around to help support you, but YOU have to work through it. If this is really what you want to do, I have a feeling that you'll be able to work through all of it. I mean, I was supposedly going to "fail as a music major", yet I'm going back to get my doctorate in order to teach at a University. So, my point is, ignore the naysayers…it's really not so much how "good" you are (at least at any given moment as you are always getting better, sometimes only slightly and sometimes by leaps and bounds) it's how much you want it. And who you know, so make sure everyone you can get to like you likes you.