19, never played before. Is it too late to start?

[jdjinkins]

Hiya,

Basically, I'm 19 years old, and I've wanted to play piano for years, but had no time due to school, sixth form, etc. I'm off to warwick university in september but I've found that I will be able to play piano a few hours a day if I want too at a family members house, and I will be able to start taking lessons up there.
My question is basically a matter of whether it's worth it or not. I always hear of these classical musicians who started at 4 or 5, and sure I imagine plenty of other fantastic pianists are out there, but all I hear when I mention that I want to start playing is that it will be too late for me to really get 'good' at it. I don't want to become any sort of performer, I mainly just want to play for myself, but at least too a level where I can play some of my favourites.

If it helps you answer me, then these are the sort of things that I would happy if I could ever play (I'm sure some are probably too difficult, but I'd be happy with almost any!):

Almost any of Chopin's Etudes (favourites would be Op. 10 and op. 25, probably), Fantasie Impromtu, Minute Waltz,
Liszt's Liebestraum, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and La Campanella but obviously that's not going to happen!
Mozart's Turkish March, Piano Sonata in C Major, probably some others..
Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, Piano Sonata no. 23 and almost any of his solo piano pieces
Schubert's impromptu's (any of them), umm,
Any of Mendelssohn's songs without words series,
There's also plenty of Rachmaninov, Debussy, Horowitz and Rubinstein I'd love to play, but I'm beginning to think it's just looking like I'm trying to name a bunch of amazing piano pieces!


Back to the point anyway, will I ever be able to become good enough to play my favourites, or will it be a massive waste of money and time?

[lloyd_cdb]

If you want to play, play. Work with a teacher to set tangible short term goals. Dreaming big is great, but if you want to play those pieces, you need to learn the pieces that get you there. Those 4 and 5 year olds take years before they even get to play some of those pieces. Be honest with yourself and you'll be able to play with enjoyment instead of it turning into a chore.

[virtuoso80]

It's never 'too late' to start. You're not going to become prima ballerina starting at 19, but you can still become a heck of a good dancer.

I had sporadic lessons from ages 8-12, but didn't really start piano seriously until high school. At age 32, I can play most of the Chopin Etudes, and many other pieces some part of me thought I never would be able to. And honestly, I'm quite lazy about practicing (with better discipline I could have been where I am now years ago), so if I can do it, you can too!

Your two biggest enemies will be 1. Frustration and 2. Consistently dedicating the time and effort to it when other aspects of life intervene. I've taught many adult students who had potential, but they almost all give up because they become impatient and frustrated, and/or because they have lives and families and just can't find the time and energy. ALL pianists get frustrated at some point! It's part of the deal. It's the ones who keep playing through the frustration who persevere.

So yes, you're almost certainly are physically and mentally capable of playing those pieces you mention. The reality is that the odds are against you actually doing so, so in order to beat the odds, you're going to have to push your way through the barriers that most people stumble on. If you can do that, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get to the level you're looking for in time!

[virtuoso80]

delete

[hfmadopter]

I have 5 children and 13 grand kids, I'll tell you what I tell them when they have a question like this. To the best of our knowledge we live this life but one time, if there is anything that you really want to do in this time here on earth then the only one stopping you from pursuing it is you ! Don't ever let anyone tell you it's too late to try something that you honestly want to do. In your case that's piano, it's something you have wanted for a long time. You deserve the right to try it, you owe it to yourself to do so and no it is not too late.

[bronnestam]

Of course you can do it! Just start and be happy.

Just remember to enjoy the process of learning, rather than eagerly waiting for mastering this and that. When I was a kid I had a schoolmate who wanted to learn playing the piano because she wanted to play "Für Elise". Of course she never got very far, as she had no interest whatsoever in practicing.
Of course you should have your major goals, but in your daily practicing sessions you must be very patient with yourself. Every little step is one step further, always remember that. Every step is necessary, every step counts. Yes, some of the pieces you mention will take years and years and years - but I promise, you will learn them, eventually! You will probably realize that they are even more difficult to learn than you think today, but ... they are not written for super-humans. Just one step at a time. I used to think some pieces were too difficult for me, because I sat down at the piano and tried to play them right off, it seemed impossible, it sounded just dreadful, so I gave up! But then I took another approach: I decided to give it the time it needed, and not care about how awful it sounded. I focused on just a few bars and did not care that there were 100 more to go ... And slowly things improved. Slowly I learned to play things I had not been able to play before, and I realized that the learning itself was very fun. Like laying a very big and complicated jigsaw puzzle. You don't lay a jigsaw puzzle just because you want the end result, do you? And you don't expect to lay a 5000-piece puzzle in one afternoon, and you know there are no shortcuts either. A 5000-piece puzzle is in fact not more difficult than a 100-piece puzzle, it just takes more time to finish ... The same with difficult piano pieces. Break them down, bar by bar or even shorter, and you will finally get down to a level which you can handle.
 

Good luck.

[patrickd]

No it is not too late.

[louispodesta]

I too had lessons as a child, and I always quit.  My gut told me to play baseball with my friends and have fun, which is what children are supposed to do.

I didn't get serious until I was 19, also.   And, I didn't get my degree until I was 30!

When someone asks me what age someone should start their child at the piano, my stock response is: "when they get down on their knees and beg you."

That is where your heart is now.

Art is a reflection of life, and you and I have lived some life.   That is why I am twice the pianist of some twit who grew up in a practice room.  They have never lived life.

You are also in the fortunate situation of being just miles away from one of the top 19th century historical performance practice pianists in the world.  His name is Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, and he is at the University of Birmingham.

I highly recommend that you get a copy of his book, "After The Golden Age," which is a thorough summary of 19th century performance practice, and how we got to where we are today interms of modern classical pianism.

Plus, make sure you spend the extra time and money to study theory/composition so you can learn how your music is put together.  It makes all of the difference in terms of development.

That way, in about five years, you wil be a fairly decent pianist, especially if you have studied under Dr. Hamilton.  You may use my name, as a reference.

Good luck to you.

[bernadette60614]

For me (and for my family), there are free joys as great as learning something.  It doesn't have to be learning something for some other purpose...it is just the pleasure of learning.

So, my husband has learned how to build his own computer (though it would be much cheaper on an hourly basis to buy one).  I'm a very good and creative chef.  Our son is learning how to design and create board games.

None of us is ever going to do any of these things for the pleasure or awe of others.

So, if you are learning piano to learn piano it is never too late to learn piano..and to enjoy playing.  If  you are learning piano to have an international concert career, then I would say 19 is too late.