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<p>You can. But you will always be lagging the 16 year old who started when (s)he was 3. So you are not going to be the best you could have been.</p>
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<p>I have known some of those children, too. These are the kids who were practicing 5-6 hours a day from pretty early on through high school – sometimes willingly, sometimes not. Some have gone on to Juilliard, Peabody, etc. Several of them, however, dropped the piano entirely when they got to college (not conservatory, obviously). I have often wondered whether they had grown to hate the instrument and dumped it as soon as they got away from home, or whether the families simply saw high-level musical performance as a means to an end – typically HYPSM – and encouraged the student to drop piano once the end was achieved. Either way, I find it sad.</p>
<p>I believe that if someone is really good in a musical instrument, they should go to a conservatory, not an academic college. However, I also can’t blame parents who are worried about how good their kid really is, as it is far, far harder to make a living through music than it is through any academic field. If the kids do go to an academic college, however, I think it makes total sense to drop the instrument, and focus on whatever future career the student chooses. Focus is key. In anything.</p>
<p>One other thing. It is very hard to keep playing once you are in a college dorm. You do not have the flexibility to practice that you have at home. You may not have the same access to teachers as you did before.</p>
<p>Wow. I don’t know how to respond to that. I would have been crushed had my child, who was conservatory material but not interested in going that route, decided to drop his instrument in college. Crushed. There is very high level music to be found at academic colleges. I am thrilled that my child has had phenomenal opportunities to grow as a musician at his school.</p>
<p>Yo Yo Ma went to Harvard, not conservatory.</p>
<p>Edited to add: With fewer hours a day in class and a more flexible schedule, my son has actually found more time to practice in college than in high school. With respect to finding the right teachers, chamber music coaches, etc. you have to choose your college wisely. ;)</p>
<p>But he went to Harvard Music School. He had full intention of becoming a musician. My point is this, decide what you want to do with your life, and then focus 100% on that. If it is music, Harvard is fine, but I recommend Peabody. If it is not, then drop music and focus on what you want to do with your life. Don’t give your second best shot at something you are determined to make your career. As it is it is hard to become good in anything. A half-hearted effort won’t work.</p>
<p>Gee, my friends who played instruments in college practiced in the practice rooms in the music building. They didn’t practice in their dorm room. There were pianso in the dorm living rooms/parlours that students played recreationally, but they werent used for maga hours of practice. That would not be appropriate.</p>
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<p>We will have to agree to disagree on that, IP.</p>
<p>Yo Yo Ma may have majored in music, but he went to Harvard College, which is an undergraduate liberal arts institution. He got an AB, not a BM.</p>
<p>I think so, wjb. On the agree to disagree bit, that is. Yo Yo Ma’s degree is not the point here. The point is his chosen career. </p>
<p>Would I be sad if my kid decides to be a pro squash player and drop piano? Of course, but what is the alternative? You don’t have the option of doing everything in life. You have to pick and choose.</p>
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<p>I am just repeating what I heard from a few very musically talented kids who went to the Ivies.</p>
<p>Your life’s work may not be apparent before college. ( or even for sometime afterward)
We have all heard the story of the young man who dropped out of a rigorous LAC because of money problems, but hung around to take some calligraphy classes.
What he learned in those classes he didn’t draw from for a few years, but they gave him a perspective he wouldn’t have had otherwise.</p>
<p>Hobbies and side interests can give a depth of character & spirit that contribute to a life well lived.
Particularly if the choice of such is up to the individual.
[Text</a> of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)](<a href=“You've requested a page that no longer exists | Stanford News”>You've requested a page that no longer exists | Stanford News)</p>
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<p>But his degree IS the point, IP. Because he pursued a liberal arts curriculum at Harvard, he could not focus 100% of his attention on his instrument. He was also required to pursue mathematics, science, the humanities and social sciences. And his career turned out pretty well despite that lack of focus you decry.</p>
<p>Innovation for the sake of innovation is novelty. Look at some of the most unique items in the world, they are just novelty, serving no practical purpose.</p>
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<p>That’s not what I said. I said that continue with the instrument only if you want to become a musician. Drop it otherwise. It’s just a distraction then.</p>
<p>There is a reason most great musicians come out of a conservatory. You can’t hang on to one exception and try to pass it as a norm.</p>
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<p>IP, I have to disagree with you as well. You are basically assuming that you can only do one thing well at a time, that people don’t change their mind and that being at the “top” of a profession is the best end result. I think that much of the richness in life would be lost if everyone followed your advice. Music is a wonderful example. I have always been a musician (went to a very competitive Saturday prep program from a young age), but I chose to go to a non conservatory for college. However, I played, performed and took lessons throughout college and to this day, I continue to play and enjoy my instrument and still write and perform music. Why would I/should I have dropped music, even though it wasn’t going to be my profession?</p>
<p>And in terms of not being able to do more than one thing exceptionally well, I would have to disagree. My son is nationally ranked in his non-recruited sport and also is top-ranked in his instrument. I think the thing that tends to fall by the wayside with kids who do a lot of things well is their social life–there’s no time to hang out at the mall or spend many afternoons going to friends’ houses (and I’m not happy about this, but that’s how I think these kids manage it).</p>
<p>I respect your position, but that’s how I have led my life. I do one thing well, and everything else really, really poorly. But the thing I do well, I really do well. Since I love doing it, it is my passion, hobby, and profession all rolled into one. It doesn’t make for good conversation in cocktail parties, but I am fine with that, as I am super happy. Frankly, I am amazed that people pay me so well for doing something I would have done for free. I am at the tail end of my career now and not as sharp as I used to be, but I have had a wonderful ride.</p>
<p>Your son seems to be a fine young gentleman. Kudos to him!</p>
<p>S2 who is a rising senior worries about his lack of “passion” for one thing and whether or not it will hold him back in the college admissions process. I think he is just an incredibly curious young man with many interests who is not ready to focus on just one. He tends to be very good at whatever his current interest is, but never gets to “exceptional” What’s wrong with that!! I think passion is way over rated these days. </p>
<p>Let them explore many things. I think their life will be much richer.</p>
<p>soomoo, I agree. Kids who haven’t found their passion before they are 18 are hardly lost. They will try many things and ultimately find their passion. That’s why I find so much advice on this forum about finding your true passion and doing well in it to be so hollow and cliche. Same goes for leadership and giving back to community.</p>
<p>That said, if a kid has found his/her passion already, then they should focus razor-sharp on it.</p>
<p>I am not trying to pass Yo Yo Ma off as the norm. Just correcting your misstatement about the nature of his education. </p>
<p>I think it’s fine to go to conservatory if that’s the direction you want to take. But for an extremely talented musician to simply drop music because s/he has decided not to make it his/her life’s exclusive focus is, to me, sad. </p>
<p>And what would institutions like Harvard and Yale be if every student focused exclusively on his/her academic major. Much of what makes these institutions great is the extra-academic stuff. According to your rubric, an engineering major could not engage in policy debate, and a chemistry major couldn’t join a chamber ensemble. Waste of time. Talk about changing the texture of these schools for the worse!</p>
<p>wjb, I am not touching the texture of Harvard/Yale discussion. I don’t want this thread locked down. All I can say is if my kid drops 2 of his three ECs to focus on the third, my full support will be there.</p>