A little too late?

[gabriel]

I used to be a real slacker, not practicing more than an hour per day. Some weeks, I don't even practice everyday. Is it too late to start seriously playing now? I'm afraid my hands are not too fit for piano because my technique might not be good enough. I've been playing for about 11 years now, and I'm 16.

-G

[Triton LE 76]

I used to be a real slacker, not practicing more than an hour per day. Some weeks, I don't even practice everyday. Is it too late to start seriously playing now? I'm afraid my hands are not too fit for piano because my technique might not be good enough. I've been playing for about 11 years now, and I'm 16.

-G

It is never too late!!
Do not stop. You've got too much interest in music..

[stringoverstrung]

Indeed it's never too late and certainly not when you are 16.  You even have some quality time left: you are still at an age at which when you learn a piece thoroughly, it remains in your memory for the rest of your life! I myself quit when i was 18 and restarted when i was 28: i thought " why not it's never too late" (of course the things you can reach  change) and i'm amazed how much i still learned in  the last few years! You learn a little bit slower but you get smarter all the time.

It is also important that you played when you were younger even if it's only a little. For me this has helped me to learn much faster then an adult who is starting from scratch. So don't waste any more time: make a realistic plan and stick to it.  (Bernhard's advice is part of your plan / Sandor's book is part of your plan).  Determination and perseverence are the key as well as drive and love for music! And before all: enjoy it!

Good luck on your lifetime journey!


_{without a home the journey is endless (bos)}

[stormx]

Too late at 16? Are you kidding or what?? 

If so, what does it remain for people like me that recently started at 36?

It is never too late for making something you like!!!

PD: i am speaking about playing piano just for fun and pleasure...to reach concert level, is another matter, of course.

[Aniam]

I started piano when I was five or six, but often on a 'I'll practice when I feel like it' basis. When did I get serious? When I was sixteen. Then later after a teacher switch I really started to make a lot of progress. I have problems with technique too, and I'm developing faster musically than I am technically. So my teacher has lately started to focus a lot on etudes as well as various other exercises. This summer is going to be etude-intense. The standards for technique these days are very high, but I certainly don't think sixteen is too late to start trying to meet them! If you have the will, dedication, and passion you can do it. 

[gabriel]

Thankyou for all your replies. I will most certainly devote my life to piano. Gotta love it =)

[Derek]

Jeez, I started when I was 17, and I'm learning lots of great stuff and playing it well, too! I'm 21 now.  its never too late. its probably EASIER when you're a child or a teenager since your brain is still developing quickly, but its never too late.

[gabriel]

Playing music is wonderful. Don't know what I would do without it.

[Disarmedpianist]

I'm in the same boat (almost) as Gabriel... I'm 21 right now and I've been playing piano for over 12 years, but on a "i play when i feel like it" basis and I've gotte my certificates for RCM grade 9... Now that I'm thinking about going seriously into music, is it too late? I know it's not too late if i'm aiming for an amateur level, but is it even worth it to change my program of study and going straight for music now? I'd like to hear some advice from those who have been studying music seriously and are thinking about going for concert level of piano playing...

[allthumbs]

Greetings Gabriel

Too late! Are you kidding? I'm 54 and I went back to the piano in 1995 after not playing for almost 20 years. I only ever took some informal lessons from my mother from the ages of 7 until I quit at 12. Although I took theory, which was incorporated, into high school music program (I played trombone in the senior orchestra for 4 years), I was basically a self-taught pianist.

I then started formal lessons in late 1997 and in a little over two years later; I did my Grade 8 RCM piano exam and two years after that, my Grade 9 exam. I also completed Grade 1 & 2 Theory, which was basically a refresher from my high school music classes for the most part.

I am now working on my Grade 10 level conservatory repertoire and Grade 3 harmony and history with the hope of doing my RCM Performers ARCT before I hit 60.

So, the point is,"It's never too late!"

Cheers

[robertp]

Excellently put, allthumbs! And amazingly close to my own history, although I'm not in RCM territory. But my age and piano odyssey are very, very close to yours. I never thought I'd be doing big romantic concerti and "Big Chopin" -- but so I seem, and meeting my own rather impossible standards too.  I bet there are a lot of people inspired by what you wrote -- I was, and I was pretty inspired already!

[gabriel]

Thankyou for your story allthumbs.. I won't give up piano no matter what. Well, unless my hands get chopped off.