Is there a critical window for learning music, similar to language?

[ranjit]

Music and language share quite a few similarities.

The critical period phenomenon is widely accepted with regard to language (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period_hypothesis).

On searching for this online, I found this paper which is pretty interesting: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7961838_Are_there_critical_periods_for_musical_development

Thoughts? Do you guys have any leads?

[dogperson]

What do I think? If we are past the ‘critical age’ to learn music, worrying about whether it will be harder than an eight year old is self-defeating, because we can’t choose to go back to being an eight year old again. There are adults that start learning a musical instrument after retirement. They don’t worry about ‘too late’ or ‘not best time’, they just learn it.  Or we can create s self-defeating philosophy that it is too late and have that come true by our own negative thoughts and worries.

My teacher has taught me not to think or say ‘I can’t do that’ but rather to think and  say ‘I can’t do that YET’
I don’t look for articles that will change this perspective. If I have a limit, I don’t want it to be due to self-doubt.
Since you are teaching yourself, please learn to be your own cheerleader 😊. It isn’t easy not to let the self-doubt creep in but it is so important

[ted]

Dogperson is talking sense as usual. Conjecturing about your own limits is a waste of thought and shoots you in the foot with the starting pistol. Concentrate on developing what you can do and you'll be surprised how far it takes you. A lot of things musicians and "experts" say on the internet, "ought not to do this", "must do the other" are very negative, especially on forums. These people might be well intentioned but their effect is to stultify personal enjoyment of music in all but the supremely confident and iconoclastic. Be in music like Richard Feynman was in physics; take everything musical into your own mind but eschew the absorption of your creative volition into an external worldview.