Am I Too Old To Learn To Play The Piano?
If you're reading this article, you must think you or someone you know is
too old to learn to play a piano, keyboard or organ or any musical instrument
for that matter.
So lets give you the quick answer, "no you are not too old". Now I
think I should actually re-phrase the question, "Do I want to learn to
play a musical instrument?" If you can ask yourself this question,
whatever age you are, then you should be able to answer positively.
So let's assume you have retired and you are aged between sixty and seventy
years old. Let's also assume you have some saving and a pension and you need a
hobby to fill up your time. You decide that you want to learn to play a
keyboard instrument. The next step is do you want an electric organ or electric
keyboard.
If you want a new electric organ such as the Hammond, Roland or Lowrey its going to cost
you a quite a bit.. Having said that, the organ market
is all but dead, so there is a thriving second hand market, and plenty of
bargains to be had. If you want an electric keyboard then you can buy one of
these, brand new with the latest technology at prices from $500 to $1000 on up.
Although there is some operational learning with these keyboards, they are
designed so you can start playing the thing as soon as you take it out of the
box.
Avoid workstation keyboards. These are fantastic keyboards but the learning
curve for these machines is very steep and if you are learning to play the
keyboard, you don't want to be spending all your time learning how to operate
the keyboard. Whatever instrument you choose I recommend, you find yourself a
music teacher. If you buy a keyboard or organ from a music shop, they can
certainly recommend a local teacher or like many music shops provide keyboard
lessons on the premises.
Learning music is about what you personally want to get out of it. You might
for instance want to learn to play one piece of music or a book of music or
just to see how far you can go. There are no limits. You can learn as much or
as little as you personally want.
I have taught many older people that have said, "I wish I had learned to
play when I was younger" and "children can learn a lot quicker"
and "maybe I won't be able to learn at my age". Yes children will
pick things up a little quicker because they have less to think about such as a
mortgage, bills, work and many other adult related things that children will
never have to think about until they themselves are adults.
Adults of any age, have less time to learn a musical instrument but still have
the ability to learn. So if you are a member of the older generation and
wondering whether to learn a musical instrument I say absolutely YES go for it and
enjoy it. You won't regret it I promise you.
Our Friend Michael David Shaw wrote this article and
expresses our feelings here at B&G Music as well. He runs music websites http://www.mikesmusicroom.co.uk
and http://www.keyboardsheetmusic.co.uk
