Beginner: Is 24 too old? Yamaha CVP501PE

[chumpi]

Hi. My name is Stephanie, I am from Northern Ireland and I am new to the forum. I am a complete beginner to the piano and I would be very grateful if anyone can offer me some advice in regards to a few questions I have.
 
I do not currently play any musical instrument but I have always harboured an ambition to play the piano as a personal pursuit. I would like to ask, is twenty four years of age too old to begin playing the piano? I would like to achieve a reasonable degree of skill with the piano so as to play relatively easy modern songs as opposed to classical pieces in private. I am hoping to buy a digital Yamaha CVP501PE for Christmas which is worth £2000 and to learn gradually and at a steady pace. So, I would like to ask do you believe that twenty four years of age is too old to begin to learn (with the final ambition being to play songs such as those by the Beatles etc.)  and is the CVP501 a good starter piano?

I am a final year Ph.D. student in International Politics and I am hoping when I graduate to enjoy my time by learning the piano and satisfying a long held ambition. I have the desire to practice at a steady rate and I would also like to ask – although it may be impossible to answer – how many years it may take to gain reasonable piano skills so as to play modern and relatively non-complex pieces of music?

Thanks very much.

[dss62467]

24 is definitely NOT too old!  As long as your fingers work and you have the desire to put some time and effort into it, and have patience.   Do you have a teacher?  Trying to teach yourself, I don't know.... there are people who are self-taught, but a good teacher makes such a difference.  Besides them sharing their knowledge and tricks with you, you have sort of an accountability there.  It's a really embarrassing feeling to me to walk into my lesson without being prepared.  I actually surprise him because I over prepare.  I practice SO much because I want to make him proud that I'm always further along than he expected.

I did take 7 years between ages 9 - 16, and was a pretty good player.  But I really didn't practice much or put effort into it.  After being away from it for 25 years, and getting a teacher that I could relate to, because we're BOTH adults, and paying for the lessons with my own paycheck, I've put a whole new level of intensity into it.   

So I think an adult beginner can actually make more progress than a child.  There are, of course, his other adult students who never practice.  I don't get that at all.  Lessons aren't cheap.  Why waste your money?   

Pop music isn't that complicated.  I think you could probably play some stuff within a year or two, depending on your motivation and if the instrument becomes your passion.  I hope it does.  There's nothing quite like the feeling of mastering a piece that seemed so difficult when you first sat down to learn it.  You'll surprise yourself with what you can achieve if you put the effort into it.   

[1piano4joe]

Hi Stephanie,

     I have just started teaching piano to an 81 year old. He drives, plays tennis and still skis.  So no I don't think your too old to begin learning piano. I don't know anything about the digital piano you mentioned but I personally prefer an acoustic piano.  There is a book "The Beatles Best" arranged by Dan Fox. This is an easy piano book by Hal Leonard. Also, I would like to recommend "The  Complete Piano Player Omnibus Edition". This is a piano course based on popular songs. I could have you playing a popular song using both hands at the keyboard in 10 minutes at most. This would be strictly by imitation of course. You could not read or understand the music notation for that song for sometime though. In under one year with a "Good Teacher" you should be able to play some popular songs of your choice as you will have acquired a knowledge of chords, notes and their time values.  Learning pieces you know and love are not only great motivators but are easier to learn since you have an aural memory. You know how it goes, how it is supposed to sound. You will know if you play a wrong note. I highly recommend finding a teacher. There are all sorts of free piano lessons online that come in many different shapes and sizes. Youtube is very beneficial for not only listening while you follow the music but very often you can see the performer's hands, which fingers they are using and correct motions. Finally, this forum is awesome for all kinds of information. Just ask and usually somebody answers.

                                                                                                            Joe

[ajspiano]

Definately not too old..  I would even argue that some adults will learn remarkably faster than they may have as a child.

You have 15-20 more years of experience at learning things than the average kid starting piano.. assuming you bothered to learn things..

[flyinfingers]

AJ -- you seriously think a brain can function and absorb as a senior versus a child?  Do you have any proof of that?  I just find that amazing and I would hope to think so.  Me?  I'm having trouble memorizing like I did as a child and probably absorbing, but when you're young you're oblivious!  NO FEAR! 
Thanks, AJ for all your advice!  I can tell you love what you do!

[ajspiano]

@flyinfingers

Its not about absorbing new information so much as the ability to handle and process complex information.

Take a bunch of kids, ages 5-12..  now its no fault of their own, but here's a bunch of things that they may still be pretty terrible at comparitively to an adult, depending on the given child's age and rate of development obviously.

Walking/Running
General arm and hand coordination
Writing
Counting beyond 10
The alphabet
Reading
Addition/subtraction
Formulating a sentence/asking a question
Focusing on something for more than 10 minutes
Seeing the 'grey area' as opposed to just dealing in 'black and white'

Adults on the other hand can quite easily -
Seek information outside the lesson and direct their own learning
Formulate targeted questions that will accelerate the progress
Have the confidence to say when they don't understand something
absorb and take notes on large amounts of information at a time to work on piece by piece later

I could go on - the point is that as an adult you take for granted your lifetime of experience, and I can assure you that a lifetime's experience is certainly enough to level the playing field vs the super absorption powers of a child's brain.

[riko]

Hi Stephanie,

if you 'just' want to learn the piano the Yamaha CVP501 might be a little too much. It has a lot of different instruments and rhythms that you don't really need if you just want to play piano. And with all those buttons and the monitor it reminds me more of a computer than a piano
Have a look at the Yamaha CLP Clavinova series or Kawai CN series for example.

[pianovan]

Good for you. 24 is SO not old. You're still in your youth. Be mindful that often the only difference between adult students and child students is their attitude towards themselves: adults are much more hard on themselves then children are, and expect greater results faster, even if the adult is progressing faster than a child (as is very often the case). Be aware of this when you're starting up and you'll do fine.

The key to playing any instrument well is to treat it like marriage: the first year is going to be very exciting, the second year the initial excitement has worn off, but you must be in it for the long haul, for better or for worse, to see awesome results. Make sure you get a teacher to hold you accountable and to help you push through the "routine" phase, because if you can survive that, piano is the best thing in the world!!!!

Good luck!

https://pianolessonvancouver.com

[zolaxi]

Stephanie, learning the piano is a life long process. No musician can ever say:"There. Now I know everything. I can stop learning."

You are not too old, and while you enjoy learning, enjoy getting to know new music and a sense of achievement from playing, you'll never stop.

Take me for example. I've been playing since I was 7ys old, and I'm now 61!! Since retiring, I'm loving playing and learning new pieces more than ever. Played for 54 years (holy cow!) and I'm still learning.

[keypeg]

AJ -- you seriously think a brain can function and absorb as a senior versus a child?  Do you have any proof of that?  I just find that amazing and I would hope to think so. 

I'm a bit older than you.  There is no proof the other way around either.  I'll suggest that we are individuals with individual differences.  Chances are that when we were both in our twenties, that the differences were there too.  The biggest obstacle in age is the tendency to do things how you are used to doing them, and comparing everything new to something that is familiar.  These are habits, and habits can be changed once you are aware of them.

[faa2010]

I'm a bit older than you.  There is no proof the other way around either.  I'll suggest that we are individuals with individual differences.  Chances are that when we were both in our twenties, that the differences were there too.  The biggest obstacle in age is the tendency to do things how you are used to doing them, and comparing everything new to something that is familiar.  These are habits, and habits can be changed once you are aware of them.

I agree with keypeg, this makes me think when adults give as an excuse for their faults that they cannot change them because they are old.

Another issues related to learning which we, as adults, have to deal with are having patience, flexibility, and being open-minded.  

As long as you have the determination and inspiration to play, age doesn't have to matter.  By experience you'll learn which learning techniques can suit you.

[gradedpiano]

its not too old.