Very old beginner

[johnvw]

Hi to All,
My name is John ( possibly silly old John ). At 72 I wish to learn the piano,  currently learning  clarinet.

Is it unusual for may left hand fingers ( currently right handed ) to be uncoordinated when selecting fingers 3 and 4. Is this natural at this very early stage or an indication that the piano is not for me.

I know the digital piano that I would like, as a keeper, but my head indicates buy a cheap dg piano to learn on for a year or two then just ditch it.

What has been your experience when confronted with new students or mature aged ( ahh just rolls of the lips ) hopefully.

Thank you in advance.
Regards
John

[ranjit]

Hi to All,
My name is John ( possibly silly old John ). At 72 I wish to learn the piano,  currently learning  clarinet.

Is it unusual for may left hand fingers ( currently right handed ) to be uncoordinated when selecting fingers 3 and 4. Is this natural at this very early stage or an indication that the piano is not for me.

I know the digital piano that I would like, as a keeper, but my head indicates buy a cheap dg piano to learn on for a year or two then just ditch it.

What has been your experience when confronted with new students or mature aged ( ahh just rolls of the lips ) hopefully.

Thank you in advance.
Regards
John

Not a teacher, but having uncoordinated 3 and 4 as a beginner seems very normal to me.

[skypert]

I would say that when you have slightly more years under your belt, your main motivation should be that you like piano and that you find it fun. I use it almost like meditating as I rarely think about anything else when practicing, therefore who cares about the progress.  Stick with it as it is good for heart and soul.
I would suggest getting the best piano you can get in the second hand market. You will quickly outgrow the cheap ones and wish you spent more at first.  By buying second hand, if you find it isn’t for you, sell up and you will find that it hasn’t cost you much. If you bought new, then you would have lost a chunk in depreciation.
Ps. It is quite normal to feels as it your hands are completely uncoordinated but progress will be made as you acquire this new skill

[johnvw]

Hi to the posters,
Many thanks for the reply. Thought there may have been a little more activity, especially as a beginner.
I trust my next question creates a little more reaction.
Regards
John

[brogers70]

It's pretty hard to set expectations in advance, but...I had a fellow student who started around your age, without any prior piano experience. After five years, with a good teacher, she was playing things like the easier preludes from Bach WTC, Kuhnau sonatinas, the Chopin G minor Nocturne Op.15, Debussy's First Arabesque, and playing them quite musically. At five years I'd think you could mange lots of the two part inventions, one or two of the fugues from WTC, easier Haydn sonatas, the Beethoven Opus 49 sonatinas. I'd go slow - with luck and good health you may have 20 years to work on this, so no need to try to jump into harder things too soon.

[lelle]

It's quite normal for fingers 3, 4 and 5 to feel a bit, or even quite uncoordinated before you start getting the hang of things.

[skypert]

Hi to the posters,
Many thanks for the reply. Thought there may have been a little more activity, especially as a beginner.
I trust my next question creates a little more reaction.
Regards
John

I must say, the “am I too old to start piano” question is getting a little old which is probably why you don’t see many responses.  I am yet to read a “yes you are, here is a website that does cheap one way tickets to the cemetery” answer

[ranjit]

I am yet to read a “yes you are, here is a website that does cheap one way tickets to the cemetery” answer

Haha yes, that would be a nice response.