How much practice, time, and effort did earning my Royal Conservatory Level 10 and ARCT Pedagogy diploma take?

How much practice, time, and effort did earning my Royal Conservatory Level 10 and ARCT Pedagogy diploma take?

1. Four contiguous years of effort.
2. Approximately 160 one-hour piano lessons.
3. 30 to 40 one-hour theory lessons.
4. I memorised an hour of music and sat for numerous theory exams.
5. I spent five thousand hours of solitary practice and study. (I kept track of my time in a diary) That is an average of 3 to 4 hours of effort for each day of the year. Obviously, some days had more, and some days less.

How did it turn out?

1. I was a local scholarship winner in Level 10 and a national, provincial, and local scholarship winner at the ARCT level.
2. I'm now a full-time piano teacher.
3. I became a travelling adjudicator, workshop facilitator, and piano examiner for many years: Vancouver to St. John.

How did I feel about it?

1. I felt like superman.
2. Afterwards, I found listening to myself playing piano disconcerting as I didn’t recognise the sounds I was now making. However, within a few years, I became more comfortable. Now twenty years later, I’m just amazed.

What were the consequences of completing the program?

1. I was able to leave the music business and devote myself full time to my students.
2. When I play jazz piano, I can now play what I hear in my head with ease and finesse.

Do I recommend a similar journey to my students?

1. It depends. It took a lot of personal sacrifice to devote so much time and emotional effort to the project. A person needs to be strong and incredibly determined, while at the same time be realistic with timelines and available resources, and social supports.

What do readers need to know?

1. My journey was helped by my previous musical training and professional experiences as a commercial musician. 
2. Though I had not previously studied classical piano, I did play at a professional level. 

Any regrets?

1. Yes, a few. If I had done it earlier in life I may have had a different type of musical career. 
   
2. The musical competency I earned combined with my natural inborn confidence would have helped narrow my ego-talent discrepancy gap.   That would have been helpful at age 25.