2 answers
Núria
Student
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
2
Questions
Asked
1210 views
Translated from Catalan .
És viable fer un grau en Dret i un grau superior en interpretació de piano?
Is it feasible to do a degree in Law and a higher degree in piano performance?
I am an IB student and I would like to study Law at university. I also study piano at the conservatory and I would like to dedicate myself to it, so I do the Higher Degree in Interpretation. Is it possible to do both?
#ib #piano #law
Login to comment
2 answers
Chris Kao
8
Answers
Updated
Chris’s Answer
Ramon gave a great answer. I grew up playing piano but decided not to make a career out of professional performance. Yes you can do both, as Ramon mentioned, if you have EXTRAORDINARY work ethic. Piano performance is hours of practice each day to refine your craft. Likewise law school is even more intense. Doing law school part time is a great suggestion, otherwise you are spreading yourself too thin and setting yourself to perform poorly in one or both.
If you don't intend for a career in piano performance, and just want to pursue the degree, it would be a lot more feasible. For example, devote most of your day to law studies, and 1-2 hours toward the music degree. Very interesting combination of studies you have there and I wish you the best of luck!
If you don't intend for a career in piano performance, and just want to pursue the degree, it would be a lot more feasible. For example, devote most of your day to law studies, and 1-2 hours toward the music degree. Very interesting combination of studies you have there and I wish you the best of luck!
ramon garcia
customer service
3
Answers
Bangor, Pennsylvania
Updated
ramon’s Answer
Hello! Yes, it is definitely possible to do both--I have even met a few people with 3 different undergrad majors who survived it.
Personally however, after graduating with my Bachelor's degree, I went to law school full time for 2 semesters. Unfortunately I also made the mistake of working a demanding sales job 20 hours per week along with my full course load. At first I managed, but after several months like this with no days off and minimal sleep (and especially studying for finals, oof) I ran out of gas and did poorly on my finals, lost my scholarship, and had to choose between going bankrupt or dropping out. It was an extremely rough experience, and I regret my poor time management to this day. If I could go back, I would've chosen to do law school part time. But that's just me. Not everyone is the same of course!
One area of focus is difficult, and having two will be extremely difficult--especially when they're both very time-consuming like Law and piano. It is possible to do it, but this will all depend on *you*.
Are you the type of person who's willing to spend all their time working with almost no time to relax, for years? Are you willing to sacrifice most of the social life that people your age usually have? Are you unusually well-disciplined compared to your peers? Do you know how to manage time wisely without driving yourself crazy or having a nervous breakdown? If your answer is yes, that is very impressive and by the end you will truly be a force to be reckoned with, with many doors open to you in life.
However, if your answer is no, that's great too--"no" is the answer most people give, including highly successful ones. If the workload is too much for you, between the 2 options, a pragmatic choice would be to focus on law, since that is far more likely to lead to a career. Meanwhile, you can always continue to pursue piano and become a top level virtuoso after graduating and throughout life. Some of history's best pianists had no formal schooling, but it's almost unheard of to find a legal expert who didn't put in the years at school. There's no wrong answer here, it all depends on you.
Hope this helps a little. Good luck in whatever you choose! They are both fantastic callings :)
Personally however, after graduating with my Bachelor's degree, I went to law school full time for 2 semesters. Unfortunately I also made the mistake of working a demanding sales job 20 hours per week along with my full course load. At first I managed, but after several months like this with no days off and minimal sleep (and especially studying for finals, oof) I ran out of gas and did poorly on my finals, lost my scholarship, and had to choose between going bankrupt or dropping out. It was an extremely rough experience, and I regret my poor time management to this day. If I could go back, I would've chosen to do law school part time. But that's just me. Not everyone is the same of course!
One area of focus is difficult, and having two will be extremely difficult--especially when they're both very time-consuming like Law and piano. It is possible to do it, but this will all depend on *you*.
Are you the type of person who's willing to spend all their time working with almost no time to relax, for years? Are you willing to sacrifice most of the social life that people your age usually have? Are you unusually well-disciplined compared to your peers? Do you know how to manage time wisely without driving yourself crazy or having a nervous breakdown? If your answer is yes, that is very impressive and by the end you will truly be a force to be reckoned with, with many doors open to you in life.
However, if your answer is no, that's great too--"no" is the answer most people give, including highly successful ones. If the workload is too much for you, between the 2 options, a pragmatic choice would be to focus on law, since that is far more likely to lead to a career. Meanwhile, you can always continue to pursue piano and become a top level virtuoso after graduating and throughout life. Some of history's best pianists had no formal schooling, but it's almost unheard of to find a legal expert who didn't put in the years at school. There's no wrong answer here, it all depends on you.
Hope this helps a little. Good luck in whatever you choose! They are both fantastic callings :)
Thank you so much, that was very useful!
Núria