New to piano: seekign advice etc.

[quanta]

So, I'm 24 years old. I have had a long background with music ( played guitar for 13 years)
but more recently I started using synthesizers and drum machines ). I'm not heavy on musical theory. Always played msuic by ear - However, a couple of months ago I acquired an electric piano that my father left at my home. After a few weeks after having it here, I decided to start playing it.
After 4 weeks I have managed to learn the first few sections of Motzart's Turkish March
and can execute it reasonably well considering the short period of time I have been playing.
On a good day I can even get really good control of the rubato and the velocity.

I now feel like I really would like to start playing piano on a serious level, and have made a mental goal to be able to get to a level where im able to playu the 3rd Mov of Beathoven's Moonligt Sonata.

I realise that this isn't going to happen over night and, even at 24, I worry that it's too late to get to that level untill far into the future. 
I do find some comfort in the fact I took to the Turkish March quite well (even my friend who is at grade 8 was very shocked how quickly I picked it up) and that's what's keeping me motivated. 

I understand that this is a subjective, and ridiculous, question: but  I would just like to know how long do you think it would it take for someone like me to be able to get to this kind of level of playing?


cheers.

[lostinidlewonder]

How long is a thread of string? You've answered it yourself, it is "subjective". Get a good mentor and you can learn a lot faster.

[keypeg]

The question is now "how long" but "how.  Naming a piece and saying you have "learned" it doesn't say much either.  How are you playing it?  Did you memorize the notes so that you can now type out the correct notes, or sound out the correct notes and that is "playing" the piece?  Do you have efficient and good ways of moving so that are creating a convincing, musical sound?  If you have a melody in one hand, and accompaniment in the other, can you bring the melody out?  If you cannot read music, do you intend to stay dependent on imitating recordings, or might it be good to master the skill of sight reading piano music?

In other words, learning to play the piano involves getting skills.  The question is not how long it takes to get a bunch of notes under your fingers from a given piece, but how long it takes to get the skills so that this bunch of notes can be convincing, and without eventually hurting yourself.

[quanta]

Ok, I'm not trying to pass things off as if I have come along and learnt something
with no error or without difficulty, so in order to help I'll be more specific.

Yes, I have memorised the notes from a piano tutorial. I can read music on a very basic level, but could certainly never learn a complicated song from sight reading.

Like I said, I think I manage exorcise a quite decent amount of control over the playing(rubato and volume) and I think it sounds quite good when I have recorded myself playing.
I am quite a musical person anyway, and have acute attention to detail about things by nature, and have no fear of self caricaturization.

Things I find hard is doing fast scales going up (right) on my right hand; and going down (left) with my left hand.

I think I will get some sort of mentioning, but I was just wondering roughly how long roughly it takes to play a pice like the 3rdMov.
How man

[lilla]

Addressing the scales - always practice slowly until your material is correct.  Once it's correct, it can be a simple matter to increase your speed.  Are you using the correct fingering for your scales?  That is essential.  Are you familiar with the scale pattern?  (Major:  WWHWWWH)  Knowing the correct patterns will ensure that you play the correct notes.  In addition, take a look at some piano teaching videos to ensure that your technique is correct.  Without a teacher, I'm thinking observation would be next best.  OK, assuming all these are under control, you're maybe ready to work on speed.  Start with quarter notes, feeling single pulses.  One octave.  Then move to eighth notes, two octaves, feeling the same pulse, but now counting 1 and 2 and 3 and, etc.  Then move to triplets, three octaves, feeling the triplets in one beat (one tri-ple, two tri-ple, three tri-ple).  Finally,move to 16ths, playing four octaves.  Again, you feeling the pulse (1e+a, 2e+a, etc.)  Does this feel comfortable, rhythm is steady, scales are shaped? ("piano" to "forte" and back)  Put it to a metronome, feeling the pulses.  Start slow.  Increase the metronome slowly and steadily.  Before you know it, you'll be flying through the scales, shaping them from piano to forte, with a beautiful steady rhythem, and a perfect hand technique.  (More than you probably wanted to know, but try it!)