How old will I be when I play my first chopin etude?

[hans]

Hello,

when I red the last poll I wondered if in this forum - in the student's corner - are only young and hopeful piano students or if there are also older ones who started like me a little bit late?

(I'm 46 years old and started learning piano two years ago.)

Ciao
Hans

[luc]

I started when I was 14. Ok, that's not that late but later than the average starting age in this forum I think

[gorbee natcase]

We are  piano students, for ever as we are always learning.

[gouldfischer]

I'm 28 and have just started seriously (albeit still by myself) now.

[nightmarecinema]

I started when I was six, but I wouldn't say that I started seriously playing until last year, when I was 15. Again, not late, but definately not "early"

[edgemont]

I'm 50 - started less than a year ago.

[asyncopated]

I'm replying because no one seems to be answering your question!

If you plant a seed in the ground, how long will it take for a tree to grow? 

OK, it's not really an answer.  So here is the answer.

It depends of the type of soil, the weather, sunlight, if there is a larger tree blocking, the pests, the fungi, etc.  But you probably knew all that.


A better gauge -- having read the posts of some of the teachers in this forum, here are some estimates.  I assume that one is able to start on Chopin’s etudes if they are able to finish their grade 8 ABRSM.  (There are 8 grades in all, after which you start your diploma.)

The fastest claim I've heard is that anyone who learns to play the piano in the correct way can get up to about grade 5 in about 6 months to 1 year, and grade 8 in about 2 years.  I have no reason not to believe this claim. Let say then that it is possible to learn your first Chopin etude (without struggling too much) in 2-3 years.   

However, the ABRSM board expects that a student takes one year for each grade (there are 8 ) and in addition one or two extra preparatory years.  In which case, you would start learning it after about 9-10 years.  This is supposedly the average.

The upper bound is of course infinite -- you never learn a Chopin etude, which applies to the majority of people.  In fact, probably even the majority of people who have learnt to play the piano at some point in their lives.
 

al.

[vera]

This is a hard one to answer, for more than one reason. Part of it is, that as an older beginner, you will have certain goals in mind and think, you can just fulfil those in time. It does not work that way unfortunately. It can be very hard for a piano-teacher to be really honest on this issue. I have never yet seen any older student, who began at such a late age and made it to that level. Only if they had played before to a reasonable level, and they wanted to pick it up again, did they reach that stage. I wished I could say otherwise.        If you had learnt for a while as a child that would help a lot, or may-be even if you had played another instrument.
There have certainly been a very few, who made it to grade 8 in 2 years, but only in the before 20 yrs old range. That was exceptionally good.
And you have to be considerably better than grade 8 to play those Chopin Studies.
I think you can compare learning piano to a certain extend with learning a totally new language. To reach fluency in that is practically impossible, when you are a late starter.
The fast coordination needed for these skills is almost impossible to achieve as a late starter.
I would recommend to think of different goals, there is plenty of other music you can learn to play, that would be challenge enough and yet give great satisfaction.

[kelly_kelly]

Like everyone has said, it really does depend. What can you play now? How are you progressing? I am currently playing a Chopin etude after 3 1/2 years of study, but then, I'm 12. so it's very different for me. I also agree with what everyone has said, that it's very possible that you may never play a Chopin etude, but this doesn't mean that you should get discouraged. It is possible if you try hard and learn correctly. And even if you don't reach that level, there are still some nice pieces that you can play.

[hans]

Hello,

thanks everybody for your replies. I must admit that the subject above was not so seriously a question - it should be a variation of the polls question. I only intended to know, if there are other (very) adult beginners in "student's corner" and if I have the chance to discuss some of the specific problems that we high aged people have

Greetings
Hans

[beanz]

when I red the last poll I wondered if in this forum - in the student's corner - are only young and hopeful piano students or if there are also older ones who started like me a little bit late?

(I'm 46 years old and started learning piano two years ago.)

I am 20 and i just started to learn six months ago. I can play the first page of Chopin's Ballade no.1 in G minor without any difficulty ( the hard part is the bit where there is a trill in the bass clef hahaha).

So all that counts is really the determination to learn no matter what the age.

[026497]

are only young and hopeful piano students or if there are also older ones who started like me a little bit late?
(I'm 46 years old and started learning piano two years ago.)

It is not late. My grandfather is 79 and he started learing music when he was 65. Compared to him, you are not a late starter. It is absolutely possible for you to learn now.

[nanabush]

Isn't the first page just the slow part of the Ballade, lol that's funny, o well wow ur GP is 79?  So he playd for 14 years, he must be very good now...like really good!

[asyncopated]

Hi Hans,

Actually, I think it's great that you are learning the piano.  Most people never too.  By 20, the say you are two old to start learning.  There is a huge amount of stigma if you start late and want to be good at the piano.  In all honestly, I think it's bull. 

I'm 29 this year and started learning learning last year, so I do qualify as a late beginner.  I am playing pieces at around a grade 5-6 standard resonably well (or so I'm told), and do intend to get to about grade 8 in a year or so.  So I do intend to start my first chopin etude by the time I'm 31.  I am ademant about this.

al.

[026497]

Isn't the first page just the slow part of the Ballade, lol that's funny, o well wow ur GP is 79?  So he playd for 14 years, he must be very good now...like really good!

my GP learned "listening" music first. Then he started with a Chinese instrument. It is easy to play. After that, he got up courage to learn digital piano. I think it is better for old people to start with a "easy-to-use" instrument first.

[pianote]

there's no right answer.... practice diligently and in a few years ... or it could take years upon years...

it also depends on which etude... his 6 etude isn't as hard

[cchamp27]

The fastest claim I've heard is that anyone who learns to play the piano in the correct way can get up to about grade 5 in about 6 months to 1 year, and grade 8 in about 2 years

Well, you can change that first part :-). I have been playing piano now for 6 completed months. I took a look at that ABRSM site (the 03-04 syllabus) and the pieces there for grade 6 are well within my ability. I am playing Bach Two-Part Inventions, Schumann Album for the Young, Tchaikovsky Album for the Young, a Clementi Sonatina, 4 octave scales and arpeggios from Hanon and my teacher said she's going to get etudes by some guy with a "T"; it was like Terny(sp?) or something. I didn't really catch his name. And then soon Chopin. She's amazed because she said she played for 9 years before she started her first Chopin and for me it's going to be less 1 year. I'm 16 and I started in December. She thinks I could really do something with piano, but I love my violin more :-)

[nanabush]

1 year into chopin, wow...  I guess after hearing that that the only good thing about starting really young, is that the theory is out of the way by the time ur 16 and can start chopin etudes.

[hahad]

Well, I know there has already been a lot of discussion about the relation of age to obtainable skill in these forums, but I wanted to add my own thoughts and experiences. The plain and simple fact is that the younger you start playing the piano the better. I believe you learn a bit faster and are more adaptable at a younger age. A lot of people tote the stigma that you can't learn to play the piano well if you didn't start as a child. That is just plain wrong. How good you will get (assuming your not ancient and decrepit ) depends on how talented you are, how smart you are, and how much time you have to dedicate to the art. I believe this stigmatism exists because most young adults or older adults just don't dedicate the required time to learn to play the piano well. They have so many other things going on in their lives. My advice to you is to practice at least 1-2 hours a day and if you have the required talent you will be very satisfied with your results; even if you have started late in life. A savant is a savant.

[beach]

I started 9 months ago at the age of 42 and I love it!  I practice 2 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Based on a previous post by "asyncopated" I hope to play my first Chopin etude in 2 years.  I'm pleased with how it's coming along...I never thought I could play something like a Bach Menuett when I first started.  It's very challenging and rewarding...gotta go practice! 

[thierry13]

The fastest claim I've heard is that anyone who learns to play the piano in the correct way can get up to about grade 5 in about 6 months to 1 year, and grade 8 in about 2 years.  I have no reason not to believe this claim. Let say then that it is possible to learn your first Chopin etude (without struggling too much) in 2-3 years.

You can again change it. I played the revolutionary study after 2 months of learning, I now have been taking lessons for a bit more than a year and am over diploma level. I know the 24 scales at speed, I know my harmonic progressions, have good theory( I have more than a year on theory tough, I saw a bit at high school), and every teacher i saw said I had amazing sight reading. When you like something : no limits.

[jeremyjchilds]

59

[gorbee natcase]

How long is a piece of string

[sweetsinger729]

i've been playing for 7 years and am working on my first etude.
i started when i was seven years old, though, and had to work my way through books of easy pieces when i really could have played much more challenging repertoire. what can i say, my teacher had her mind set on what i was to play, and im not a very assertive person. plus, im a student with a full load of honors courses and school activities, so i can only devote about an hour a day to practice. in short-there's really no way to know how soon you will be able to play a chopin etude with quality. it really depends on how much time you have to practice, how dedicated you are, and when it comes down to it, your innate musical talent. i wish you luck and think that its awesome that you're starting, no matter what age you are.