Beginner at 30

[pianoroad]

I'm 30 and a beginner in piano. What are my chances to be good at it if I practice 4 hours a day?

[tenk]

Who cares? Why does it matter how good you become?

There is so much amazing music out there at all levels, from beginner to virtuoso. If you learn to enjoy the journey of practicing and appreciating the musicality of music at every level, you will never be concerned with how "good" you have become, only how much you are enjoying what you're playing.

[dogperson]

Tenk is correct--- you need to be aware that learning piano is a progressive activity that can't be accelerated just because you spend XX hours per day practicing.  Want to be good at playing the piano?   Get yourself a teacher that will put you on a systematic schedule for learning.  You will not need, nor will it be any benefit, to practicing four hours per day as a beginner.  Trying to cram in an accelerated schedule will not be of benefit as you need to develop and layer one skill on top of another.

As an adult, just like all of us, your worst enemy will be your own impatience and thinking that there are shortcuts you can take because you are an adult.... including the fallacy that practicing four hours per day will get you 'there' quicker.   There are no shortcuts.  Be patient, and do what your teacher instructs you to do, and you will progress.  Learning the piano well is a journey, not a destination.

[keypeg]

Pianoroad, if your goal is to "play well" (a better version of "being good") that is not a bad goal to have.  But your means of getting there measured in time spent daily is the wrong means.  It involves working well and effectively and this is best done in smaller, goal oriented sessions.  The rub here are the goals themselves - what will you be focusing on?  One aspect of playing is the physical, how to move etc.  Will you be having a decent teacher to guide you, or what means are you using for that part?

[vaniii]

Don't be fooled, getting good is not just about how many notes you play.

It' about how you play them.

Many audiences and listeners would rather you play a relatively simple piece well, than virtuosic repertoire badly.

Best of luck in your journey, please post if you want some anonymous guidance.  This place is full of little gems of knowledge.

[outin]

I'm 30 and a beginner in piano. What are my chances to be good at it if I practice 4 hours a day?

Depends on what you mean by good. I started at 45 and I think I am much better now than when I started

But I never practiced 4 hours a day (except maybe some weekends) and I think about one hour a day is a good amount of efficient practice for a relative beginner when you have a life as well. Resting and letting the learned things settle is just as important. There are  also many other things to learn about music than just making the correct sounds on the piano (my excuse on hanging out on piano forums instead of sitting at the piano).

If you can commit to good teaching and work consistently and smart  6-7 days a week regularly for a few years you should be able to achieve a lot. But only time will tell how much. Then you evaluate if you feel you still want to play and if you still want to be better. Until that it's all just speculation and I usually find speculation the most worthless activity there is...

[bronnestam]

I second what everyone else above writes, adding my own $0.02:

If your define "good" as "at least as good as Rubinstein/Argerich/Zimerman/Tengstrand/Li/Wang/Pollini/[insert whoever you like here] and filling Carneige Hall in every performance" then it is impossible to give an answer. It is like starting to play football and ask when you will be better than Ronaldo.

If you define "good" as "being able to study even the tough classical masterpieces" then I would guess it will take you a decade, and as other people say - it will not help if you put more hours of practice into your day. It will probably still take a decade before you are ready to tackle whatever-you-like. But of course there are easier pieces you will learn to play after a short period, so the whole journey is fun.

Being able to study does not, of course, automatically mean that lots of people will pay money to hear you play. I am learning the Appassionata now and I do it for my own pleasure because I like to do it. But I don't have any illusions about the quality - noone but my closest relatives will ever appreciate my interpretation. I see no reasons why this should stop me, though. I play the piano because I like it, not because I want praise from anyone else.

[tenk]

Being able to study does not, of course, automatically mean that lots of people will pay money to hear you play. I am learning the Appassionata now and I do it for my own pleasure because I like to do it. But I don't have any illusions about the quality - noone but my closest relatives will ever appreciate my interpretation. I see no reasons why this should stop me, though. I play the piano because I like it, not because I want praise from anyone else.

Well said Bronnestam!

[bronnestam]

Oh, but I have to add something to my own rambling above. I said "I play the piano because I like it, not because I want praise from anyone else". That is very true, but I have also been in the situation that there is a piano, maybe someone here can play a little? And I blush and say no, because I suck at memorizing and besides I cannot master ANY of my "project pieces" to such an extent that they are fun to listen at.

So there is the piano, and I feel that it would have been nice with a little tune here, yeah. Just to cheer people up, you know.

I discussed this with my teacher some days ago, when I proudly announced that I FINALLY have learned how to memorize pieces. She said something very clever: "you know, when people want to hear you play, they don't want to hear anything long and complicated. They want a short, easy-going little piece, why don't you learn a few of them?"

Indeed that was true. When they ask you to play, they don't really ask for the Hammerklavier Sonata. So she gave me two lovely little pieces, one page each, one by Mozart and one by Chopin. I will memorize them over Christmas and then have them "up my sleeve".

I realize it could have seemed depressing, what I wrote - it will take you a decade before you can study the real hard pieces. (And a lifetime to master them ...) But meanwhile, if you want to play not just for your own sake but also to be able to entertain people at the party etcetera, you can gain a little repertoire in a few months, maybe a year or so.

So let's not underestimate the short, easy pieces. It is good when you are "almost there" with Fantasie Improptu etcetera, but you may still find yourself in situations when people just want to hear you play Happy Birthday and Auld Lang Syne. If you can play them well, and on demand, people will definitely say you are good!  

[outin]

To make the OP feel better: It is possible to manage smaller interesting and relatively complicated classical piano pieces in much less than a decade...After 5 years you probably won't sound like the masters playing them, but if you work smart an average person will be impressed (which may or may not be enough for you).

Memorizing a few shorter pieces is great, but how do you keep them playing ready while trying to learn new things? For me the only way is to relearn them again and again and try not to get frustrated  in the prosess. Right now I am determined not to forget a couple of Scribin preludes I spent so much time memorizing... on a good day they come back quite easily, but on some days it's like I never memorized them at all...but I am optimistic. The only problem is that most people just don't get Scriabin. Mozart and Chopin would be better, but not for me I'm afraid...

[bronnestam]

To make the OP feel better: It is possible to manage smaller interesting and relatively complicated classical piano pieces in much less than a decade...After 5 years you probably won't sound like the masters playing them, but if you work smart an average person will be impressed (which may or may not be enough for you).

Memorizing a few shorter pieces is great, but how do you keep them playing ready while trying to learn new things? For me the only way is to relearn them again and again and try not to get frustrated  in the prosess. Right now I am determined not to forget a couple of Scribin preludes I spent so much time memorizing... on a good day they come back quite easily, but on some days it's like I never memorized them at all...but I am optimistic. The only problem is that most people just don't get Scriabin. Mozart and Chopin would be better, but not for me I'm afraid...

If you like Scriabin, then play your Scriabin. I did not say you are obliged to become a bar pianist on demand ...
I think that if you play these memorized little pieces once every day, as a warm-up, they should eventually be so stuck in your memory that you never forget them. As they are short, it should not take many minutes? After all, there are plenty of skills you don't have to refresh all the time, like your everyday vocabulary in different languages and the ability to drive a car, make calculations and so on - you have done them often enough, and you will have these skills with you forever, unless you get a stroke or something that nasty. Why should some piano pieces be different?
(Yeah, yeah, I kept on asking myself the same thing about memorizing pieces ...)