AGE

[leslieb547]

Am I the only amateur pianist of modest ability aged 70+ in this Forum/Chat Room, or are there some more out there? I'd like to know.

[Bob]

Lots of teens on the site.  Some older.   I think you may get the prize though -- The oldest I knew of was 50-60 something.   Congrats on being here.  I think the site needs more people on the upper end to balance out all the teens.

[leslieb547]

Thanks Bob, though I'm sure there must be some others out there. Anyway, it is an interesting site and some of the forum discussions are worth adding an opinion to, not the mention the top quality music downloads.

[pianowelsh]

Whilst I myself am considerably younger than 70 - I do teach two students who are 70+ one of whom is a good level.  Unfortunately neither of them can be persuaded to join here..they wont even connect to the internet. Having a compture instead of a typewriter is still a huge step for them.

[thalbergmad]

Am I the only amateur pianist of modest ability aged 70+ in this Forum/Chat Room, or are there some more out there? I'd like to know.

There is a member of pianophilia who i think is 86 and he is as sharp as a razor.

We need a more mature outlook here sometimes to counter the teens.

I look forward to more of your posts.

Thal

[ted]

I shall be sixty this year and have been posting here for a few years. I have always thought it a pity that more older players do not share their experience on forums. I am posting a lot less often recently, largely because my ability to help and contribute is probably confined to one or two musical areas, and I have already said most of which I am capable of saying about them. 

Creating in sound at an instrument, it seems to me, should be a constant source of pure joy for a lifetime. The proliferation of posts on forums about physical injuries,  mental problems and diverse worries connected with piano playing saddens and perplexes me.  I suppose I just have to face the fact that I am built differently in this regard and there exists a natural limit on how my frame of mind can be communicated in words. 

[ahinton]

If Elliott Carter can continue to compose (as he does) in his 99th year, what price "age"?

Best,

Alistair

[burstroman]

At 62, I still teach some kids, and my desire to learn new repertoire only grows.  I'm looking at recently written stuff which is keeping the gray cells active. 

[rc]

Actually Ted, if I'm understanding your approach in the eternal present right, I think that's exactly what's needed to remedy the destructive attitudes that create barriers for practicing musicians, across the board... 

It's hard to say if what I've been doing is the same as what you do, but my most useful and rewarding practice comes from when I enter a state that could be described as the eternal present.  I think it may be, because it's fun, and because of that I completely lose track of time, I surprise myself to find that an hour has passed.  I'm trying to cultivate more of this, it's much more productive than any kind of forcefulness...  But it also seems to be reliant on having a balanced lifestyle - I have a harder time getting there if there's something troubling my mind, it rises and interferes.

[ted]

I have to admit that I did not start acquiring the knack of always entering the eternal present through music, if knack is the right word, until I was relatively old. Looking back, it appears to have been a continuously developing phenomenon which started creeping up on me in my late twenties, although I was certainly never as unhappy as many posters on forums appear to be.

All this has nothing to do with life events, you understand; I am just as badly affected by strongly negative life events as the next man. It is just that music sort of floats along with me independently of it all. It is a constantly available portal into what Huxley called suchness, or the clear light of the void. The trouble when trying to talk about these things is that it is hard to do so without dressing them up in mystical language which puts people off.

I could simply say that it is like having a constantly available mind altering drug to hand which, unlike real drugs, is completely harmless.  However, the pejorative implication of the analogy probably puts just as many people off as the mystical description. The only concrete suggestion I can offer is to try to let the music act as a counter to the life events rather than the other way around. The distinction is subtle. When you commence playing say to yourself, assuming life events are pressing, "All these things are important and I must attend to them in an hour, but right now, and for the next sixty minutes, I shall forget about them altogether and abandon myself to something which I enjoy." This also has the virtue of being completely rational.

The perverse reality seems to be that most people think, quite irrationally, in the precisely opposite direction. "I have to get all these problems and worries out of my life first before I can concentrate on my music (or whatever the interest is). Once I do that, then I shall be able to attain creative freedom."

Of course that never happens because a fly of some sort always drops into the ointment , it's just the way life is. The same specious reasoning often leads creative people to become obsessively precious in the cause of their art ("precious" has taken on a whole new global meaning since Peter Jackson - an appropriate meaning for this purpose, as it happens) and shut out friends, family and half of life. Not necessary.

[electrodoc]

Hi

I'm electrodoc and have only just joined Piano Street. I'm 63 years young and started to play piano at 45. Have reached moderately advanced intermediate standard and thoroughly enjoy my hobby including endless frustrations.

[ted]

Welcome to the forum, Electrodoc. Do not hesitate to ask questions, share your ideas and post your recordings. Our membership comprises a very eclectic spread of playing style, experience and musical preference.

[cygnusdei]

oops sorry wrong message board. ignore please .....

[steve jones]

Am I the only amateur pianist of modest ability aged 70+ in this Forum/Chat Room, or are there some more out there? I'd like to know.

Welcome on board, my good man! 

SJ

[sailwave]

Am I the only amateur pianist of modest ability aged 70+ in this Forum/Chat Room, or are there some more out there? I'd like to know.

I've recently started learning again aged 47... 

[leslieb547]

Hi All, pleased to see that I've generated some interest on this topic. I learned piano up to the age of 15 - grade 6 or 7, can't remember which. Then didn't play during a lifetimes work and decided to try to pick it up again when I retired at 65 - 7 years ago. I treated myself to a top of the range digital Yamaha CLP970 which, by and large, I am quite happy with, although I am thinking of changing to the latest Yamaha or Roland. I regularly play a fully reconditioned Bechstein concert grand in a concert hall as part of a music group I have formed and 4 or 5 times a year we give recitals on a big Bluthner as part of weekly amateur concerts in another venue. I have realised that I will never get back to the standard I reached as a child but nonetheless find great enjoyment making music with friends and increasing my repertoire. I look forward to hearing more details from some of my contempories on this forum - maybe even in the chatroom!

[donjuan]

Hi All, pleased to see that I've generated some interest on this topic. I learned piano up to the age of 15 - grade 6 or 7, can't remember which. Then didn't play during a lifetimes work and decided to try to pick it up again when I retired at 65 - 7 years ago. I treated myself to a top of the range digital Yamaha CLP970 which, by and large, I am quite happy with, although I am thinking of changing to the latest Yamaha or Roland. I regularly play a fully reconditioned Bechstein concert grand in a concert hall as part of a music group I have formed and 4 or 5 times a year we give recitals on a big Bluthner as part of weekly amateur concerts in another venue. I have realised that I will never get back to the standard I reached as a child but nonetheless find great enjoyment making music with friends and increasing my repertoire. I look forward to hearing more details from some of my contempories on this forum - maybe even in the chatroom!

Most people your age don't know how to use a computer, let alone the internet or online forums.  Good for you

[teresa_b]

Hi leslieb,

I am an ol' lady of 50-plus.  Welcome!  This board can always use some sages like us to add to the wisdom quotient.   

Teresa

[rc]

Ted, what you say makes a lot more sense than limiting ourselves by unavoidable realities, it sounds like a good approach.  Most things aren't such emergencies that they can't be put off for an hour or so.  That's something I would categorize as balance, or self control.

Though, when I became overly precious about learning music was when I made the most progress.  I guess it's just a personal thing.  Sometimes I could use some seperation from family, friends and half of life, heh.

What Huxley book were you referring to?

[tds]

wisdom quotient. 

i like that. thx

[ted]

rc:

I think it is largely a question of balance. We all need time to ourselves and we also need the nurturing of other people. There is a difference between separation as part of a healthy balance and exclusion as a neurotic objective in itself. You made more progress when you were "precious" about your music ? I suspect, although I don't know, that I might be a bit lucky there, as the peculiar nature of my own musical objectives coupled with my rather laid-back mental state, might enable me to get by without being "precious".  A concert artist, professional or student is, of necessity, forced, by the nature of things, to be more intense than I could possibly comprehend. In the end you are right, we have complete personal freedom to choose exactly how "precious" we are about our art; it is a choice.

At the personal level, I have learned that I must be very careful about posting thoughts, much less advice, about either musical or general philosophical matters. I started out on forums around six years ago thinking I was a rock of commonsense musical normality and wondering why other posters had such strange notions. Now I have come to realise the truth of the matter - that I am the oddball, and what is right for me is likely to be decidedly unhelpful for almost everybody else.

These ideas permeate all of Huxley's writing in one form or another. "The Doors of Perception", "Heaven and Hell" and "Island" come to mind immediately in that regard, but the thread goes back to his earliest novels. Huxley's contemplative personal mixture of Buddhism, quietism and Jungian individuation, aligned as it is with a strong and supremely distilled intellectual overtone, expressed in his wonderfully eloquent English, is almost as far out of fashion these days as it is possible to be. Many of his ideas just happen to suit me, possibly because my ideas are also "out of fashion".

[penguinlover]

Well, I am no youngster anymore, I am over 50 also.  I enjoy hearing from the younger ones, but agree that the more mature amongst us offer great wisdom and advice due to life experiences.   Welcome.

[rc]

Well Ted, I can't say I know much of your general philosophies, but I think your ideas in music are useful.  Granted, most around here aren't so interested in free improvisation, though it would definitely be an enriching skill for anyone.  But I believe the concepts of the eternal present and enjoyment of music would still be vital for those more interested in playing the music of ancient dead guys.  It sounds ridiculous to do anything BUT enjoy the music, heh.

The difference for a student (aspiring professional) would be the discipline of sticking to a plan, but once in practice I figure it ought to be the same thing - enjoyment in the eternal present.  It seems to be a good formula for learning and development.  Maybe that's the trap - the plan can become a prison as much as a map, while people change sa they go, examination requirements don't...  The standardized grading system always seems like a weak compromise, mass production doesn't suit art.  Still, as a means to an end, if it can get one in contact with other interested individuals, different ideas and perspectives are valuable.

Anyhow, that description of Huxley sounds pretty interesting.  I'll have to hit the bookstore sometime this weekend.  Thanks!