Am I Too Old to Learn Piano? 

the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. the 2nd best time is now.

I started learning piano a while ago at age 37. At my first lesson the teacher asked what my goals were and I told her I wanted to play for my own enjoyment, but wanted to play WELL... not just mess around. 5 months later I sat my grade 1 exam and from there onwards I turned into a piano-monster. Fast forward 3 years and 7 months, I'll be sitting my grade 5 ABRSM exams next month and I love every moment of it, I even have 2 pre-grade 1 students and would love to teach as a career. Moral: if you have a passion for it, don't ask if it's possible, just believe it is!

I started teaching myself how to play the piano two years ago. I am now 53. I recently learned to play Bach's Invention #2 in C minor. It feels SO GOOD to be able to accomplish something like this. I can feel myself learning and growing. I am developing the ability to "see" the piano keys without looking down at them. It's been fun. It's also been extremely challenging. But most of all, it has been and continues to be so very rewardinging. Here's my word to anyone reading this. Turn off the TV. Disconnect your social media. Get off Twitter and FaceBook. Turn off your addiction to "politics" and go learn to play the piano. I am so glad I started this endeavor two years ago, and if anything, I regret not starting sooner.

I'm 60 years old and I started 2 weeks ago. I am now almost half way through Alfred's All In One Book 1. As older people we need to be constantly challenged or the mind and body will start to falter from disuse. Thanks Alicia for having this channel.

Thank you for this! Started last September, I am 57. Loving playing, practicing, learning ... ALL of it.

I’m an older learner (67)- brushing up on a latent skill learned as a child and neglected for decades. You are right about the music being more relaxing and emotionally gratifying now. Less pressure and no parental expectations. And no humiliating recitals! The inner child is just having a romp! Thank you for addressing the topic.

I took up piano after I turned 65. I'm self-taught because I live in a rural area where teachers are pretty well confined to the school system. I use the ABRSM syllabus as a guideline for learning. If I had to guess I'd say I'm around grade 4 or 5 under that system. To me it was a matter of do I want to sit at home and watch the weather channel or game shows like other people my age or maybe do something creative. No brainer for me. So, Lang Lang and Val Lisitsa, don't worry. I'm not gonna catch up. However, the satisfaction I get from playing overshadows everything else. This is my favorite piano channel because it is so well rounded, i.e., technique, history, etc. Hope to be around playing for many more years.

31 here. - my Piano story. Started piano lessons at 21, although music always in the family and I used to mess around on the piano as a child not being able to read music then. 15months in I sat Grade 3 9months later , I sat grade 5 a year later I sat grade 7 .. Then I burnt out. Music was an emotionally satisfying need for me. It was the first time I felt like I had achieved something in my life. and it helped me through horrible situations in my life. -- deaths and support while I coped with those people with mental illness around me. Within 6months of learning/playing , a pianist at our church died, after that, I was asked to play in the church every week, this fuelled the focus and the drive to read sheet music, to try and give the church the standard that the former pianist gave. I ended up playing all throughout my country in churches by the time I had hit grade 7. Performance opportunities gave me fire if not loads of nerves too. Christmas concerts, Easter and harvest festivals all fuelled my passion for learning repertoire. 2012 the year I crashed, - by this time I was also asked to be an accompanist by my teacher for his wife' violin students. I had already done one of these in 2011 which went well. but 2012.. I was exhausted and conflicted with a matter of faith regarding to play (Sabbath Issues SDA) I did play, and it broke me, I played terribly and I was spiritually hurt. It was the beginning of the crash. Following this, I still played, and played a couple of classical pieces in church, but my passion had been burnt out. By September of 2012, I started studying music at A level, as a promise to my Nan who died a week later. But with little passion, and life and even depression starting to take a grip, of my life, I didn't do very well in study and attendance. I lost my old teacher because my Nan who died, was the paying for the lessons, (I was her carer) The college offered a teacher, but I never really clicked with his style of teaching, but mostly, with little passion it's hard to learn anyway. late 2012-2018 --- I still played for churches, not much passion, It had returned in semi committed phases, driven by the church who called upon me time and time again to play hymns. -- This lead to me playing for several funerals and a wedding , which went very well. during 2017, I decided to start singing after watching a very good music film. so I recorded myself playing and singing, and a passion for music returned. Initially not the piano, but it came back.. and I gave the best new years singing performance in my church at new years event. During late 2018, I went to Africa, Zambia, to see my girlfriend. the First time, They had me play the piano/(Keyboard) .. and the Zambians were inspired. So 2019, I decided I would need a career if I ever moved to Zambia. and I am seeking that to be music, it makes perfect sense. Music isn't very widespread in Africa as a whole, but it can be. So, in light of that, I decided to get my piano teacher back in February. We are now working at grade 8 repertoire , he thinks i'll be ready by Christmas to take my grade 8 exam. My passion has been restored, and I believe I can go higher than grade 8 in years to come. I am interested in weddings, funerals, probably a good bit of group playing to get my accompanying skills developed, teaching and performances. It will take time, but I believe I can achieve. P.S During practice sessions around grade 5, I was studying 4-8 hours a day, I wasn't very social, I was a carer.. I had plenty of hours in the week .. May'be this was my downfall, I had spiralled out of control, practising lots but not the stamina for a whole piece... insecurities about playing on an old digital piano. accompanying was the biggest downfall I am sure. 2019 goals, - achieve grade 8, whatever piece I start, learn it thoroughly, seek performance opportunities & work on my general health.

Allysia, I am 80 years old. I started at 78 to dedicate myself to a dream to be a proficient piano player with composition and songwriting as my goal. this past year, I have gone from grade 2 to grade 3B. I do struggle with brain- hand- rhythm coordination, but I do believe I am doing well. You are right when you say it is frustrating for our knowledge can be greater than our ability to perform. But, I concentrate on small tasks and complete them before I move on. I do mix up my practice and selection of music to keep it interesting. But, I hope to share that it is not the goal so mush that is important, but it is the journey and the love of music that is. The joy you exude is a gift to us all. Thank you!

I'm 56 & started playing piano recently after a a long 30 year break ❤️☺️❤️

Never too old to learn anything, the best time to learn is now!🙂

I've started with 54 and regeted no minute that i did that. Have lots of fun with classics and boogie woogie too. A good teacher helps a lot.

It is also possible to be really good even if you don't start to learn music when you are a kid. For instance, Ludvig Schytte started his music education at age 22, after getting a degree in pharmacy. When he was 36 he traveled to Germany to train with Liszt, and in the end he didn't create like a really massive amount of music literature, but he left some brilliant stuff to be honest.

Thank you, Allysia. Your straightforward explanation helped me know I'm not the only one who feels discouraged with my ineptitude. I'm 68, and trying so hard to just play something just one time without an error!! I'm self-taught and just learning piano, but now I feel better about my determination and less mad at myself for having no talent. Thanks again. Good job.

really like your optimism and positive stance. I started 3 years ago at 68 and do have some arthritis too. I could not read music and now I am playing simple classical pieces from Bach Mozart Gurlitt and Franck, albeit at a slower pace than some younger players achieve. I agree with everything you say, it reflects my own experience. Coordination is slower, it takes more time, so patience is important, and as I have a long guitar background the time factor it takes can be frustrating. Expectation is the real problem: as adults we know so much music already - otherwise we would not be driven to learn an instrument. So the motivation is there - keeping is another time if you really want to advance. For example am I going for a walk with the dog, talking to the kids, cooking, washing, cleaning the appartment etc - priorities… Overall I am glad I have invested the time and effort, and today, at 71 I think: have I got another 15 yeara left, if so will I be able to play this or that - go for it, that is the answer.

I'm 54 and began pursuing music several years ago on a Mountian Dulcimer. I also started piano this last Christmas to fulfill my long-time dream of learning it and to increase my understanding of music for my beloved dulcimers. I can attest that the act of playing and learning music can help one deal with stress, physical pain, depression, and even PTSD. Thank you for these videos! They often brighten my day and encourage me to keep going!

Great stuff and very encouraging!

Love this channel

Great info!

Great job. Thank you !!!!!

Lovely to see you and this question, always love it

Love your videos. Bless you.

Very encouraging video :). Thank you!!

Thank you for you videos, they motivate me a lot.

You are so friendly and encouraging, thank you!

Thanks for the inspiration.

I started playing at 41 and I love it.

These are like pep talks for me to keep going. I’m going to make my year soon and I feel I’ve gotten somewhere. I’m not going to stop, beginner stage is awkward but it is an experience to move through.

Excellent video, love your infectious excitement. Awareness is a key for the adults to connect with beginner mind.

I very rarely leave a comment, but I was SO impressed by your video, I just had to. It was inspiring, and I loved the science behind the explanations of the when and why. Thank you so much. :-)

Lovely to see you and great topic! Love seeing the comments from all the adult learners here. I started piano at age 34. Now I’m 40. Just taken up viola too. I’ve made it to a wobbly grade 7 but I’m not going any further before I’ve sorted my awful sight reading! I was on your excellent sight reading video yesterday and have started on the Bartok Mikrokosmos as a result. Thank you for a super channel!

Stumbled upon your first video, loved your personality and humour - I am 27 and am about to buy my first keyboard to start learning how to play Piano, think I will definitely be watching more of your videos.

I am a guitar player who started at age 40. It is both incredibly enjoyable and sometimes frustrating. I haven’t been able to find a teacher for adults, so I’m going it alone and with youtube. My 7-year-old daughter is in her first year with a teacher, and I am amazed at how quickly she’s progressed.

Wow I love the point when you're talking about your daughter starting to walk It's so true about so many things in life That we fail because we didn't have the strength to get up and move on

6:25 is me right now. I'm a returner to the piano as an early 30s year old with previous 4 classical training as a teenager. Thank you for the word of caution to balance out my practice regimen.

Thank you, your videos help me soooo much!!!! I can’t believe your MOTHER you look so young. Your kids might be prodigies if they are like you🧐. Keep making these awesome videos, and I just bought your book and I love it!!!!

Thank you Alicia for giving a great talk on this subject. I am in my 50's and decided to take piano just over a year ago, and I have a great instructor. This is my first time playing an instrument and am excited to learn. But as you said in your video, I feel very clumsy and uncoordinated, and having a hard time excepting failure. I had set expectations for my first year, so far, I have not come close to those self implicated expectations. I feel intellectually I should be able to do this but my hands are just not responding. So I guess more neural pathways are needed. But if I look over my first year as a whole, I am pleased with my progress. For my intellectual side, I started composing, and I feel this is a great way to " jump ahead" a bit, as I have 50 years of listening to all types of music, maybe an advantage over a 6 year old. So I encourage adding composing to your repertoire.

Wow, you brought up the whole myelin thing. I'm impressed!

I’m 39 and started in December last year. It is the first instrument ever for me and is already one of the best choices of my life. I will now and forever tell everyone that the hardest part of learning piano was to tell myself my whole life that I couldn’t do it, that I just was not musically talented and couldn’t possibly learn any instrument anyway. I had a whole lot of rethinking and reconceptualizing to do around talent vs practice and skill acquisition. I know I can do and learn anything now if I put deliberate practice, time, and sheer repetition into it. I have followed your channel from the beginning of the decision-making process even before I had my first lesson and my piano. You are pretty awesome. Also got your practice journal and it really helps me keep track of what I’m doing/learning, how I progress. So thank you for all the heart and work you put into this for everyone!

I'm 68 and started 8 weeks ago.

Thanks for your video. I start learning at 69 and is a bit hard but I practice every day and slowly getting up. Thanks

I just discovered your channel as I am starting to learn piano at 50. I LOVE your videos!! Congratulations and thank you!! You seem to be a lovely lady and your insights are very helpful. Keep it up!!

'Age is just a number' - It doesn't matter when you start, so long as you do actually start.......Great Video, Love what you do here Allysia.........Liam

lol at the thumbnail! I was like, “I know I haven’t watched a Piano TV episode in a while but surely it hasn’t been THAT long!”

U r awesome.

... I’m 13 and I thought I was too old😂 I started when I was 5 and quit at 9 and now I completely forgot everything😭. I want to start again now🙃 thanks for this video!!😁

I started playing last year in September at age 46. My teacher said I have doing amazing, she could be just being nice :)

5:10 Yes. It can. I also used to play croquet and some of the really good players told me that they played it because gripping a mallet and swinging made their arthritis go away. Various hand activities can all help arthritis a lot. As counter intuitive as that seems. Note that this is a different discussion from injuries caused by playing too much piano; in that case rest and changing technique are recommended.

This is unbelievable... I asked myself this question all day yesterday and today and then pulled the trigger on buying a starter electronic piano. It will be delivered tomorrow. I had a lot of second thoughts. Then I stumbled on this upload?! Right now. I haven't even watched the video yet (so I hope the answer isn't a firm "yes, you are too old") but the serendipity of it is fascinating.

I am 71 and I started piano when I was in my late 20's and took lessons in college. After college I did not have a piano for quite a few years and in the last few years purchased a used piano from a friend and now I practice every day--I would suppose I am at the intermediate level but am determined to learn--Will I become a Mozart or a Bach--I rather doubt, it but I do want to be able to sit down and play pieces that I love. I also play the violin.

Great Job. You really hit the main issues: adults do not fail well. Learning to play a keyboard is a matter of continuous failure. We just fail at harder stuff as we get better. You did not mention the elephant. That is performance. The really excellent players make that look easy....because they have been working on that piece for months. When they weren't playing it, they listened to somebody else playing it. However if live note-perfect performance accolades are not the reason you are learning, the fix is easy. Forget performance. And it's probably better even if you do want to perform, because "self-monitoring" is apparently switched off when we play anyway. That sort of fretting is a negative distraction from the real business of improvement: practice. Now I will get back to mine :)

Learning in my 50's and it is the first time things were right for me to dive in. Mainly, my schedule. Learning to play is the main goal, but watching my own learning process is even more interesting. Shock of all shocks: if I practice - are you sitting down for this? - I get better. Yeah, I do. Also, I have fun on the piano for 4-5 hours at a time and get the feel of the piano - also, you have to "own" the piano. I got an instructor although I paid for a couple of online instruction sites, which are, themselves, good. But in two lessons I had a load of blind spots fixed about playing. Well worth the money. For things like Hanon, you have to gamify it - can i play it *perfectly*.

I have been trying on and off to learn to play piano for more than 20 years (I am now 53). I loved classical music as a kid. Unfortunately I couldn't learn an instrument because my mom thought I'd have no patience. Then at about 13-14 I got into rock and blues instead, eventually managed to get a guitar, taught myself to play and kept on for many years. At 30 I suddenly felt the urge to take up piano. I took (classical) lessons for about a year, progressed to a certain point, but then somehow got sidetracked and went back to guitar, at least I played in various bands. Eventually I added other instruments such as pedal and lap steel, and even (electronic) organ. A few months ago I returned to my old home after 20 years of absence and my old digital piano was still around, so I thought, why not take it up again. I bought some sheet music, particularly fell in love with Czerny's pieces because they are not only boring exercises but really beautiful little melodies. Right now I divide my practice time between organ and piano. The biggest problem is this: My hands are just fine but my brain is too slow. Even though by now I am quite familiar with sight-reading and even don't have to look at the keys much, transferring a tune from sheet music to keyboard often takes a few seconds longer than it should, I frequently stumble at chord changes and my sense of rhythm is really bad. A metronome doesn't help much either. I think, if I had kept playing all those years maybe I wouldn't have those issues now. But, I really want to stick to it this time and overcome those obstacles.

Hello Allysia, I want to first thank you for all the encouragements that you shared. I want to ask for your advice about how to practice when we are on vacation? For a few days, we can cover once we back home but for 1-2 weeks vacation what can we do keep the fire up and not be so desperate once we sit at the piano?

So true, i'm 65 and have both hands affected by Dupytrons with the resultant scars and fingers curled. Adapt i did, the truism she states stands today, you're never to old. Thank you young lady for your encouragement. Kia Kaha Wahine Toa.Te Toka O Te Moewai, Trish

thankyou reassuring for a sixty year old beginner!

the best time to start is now! I am 44 and have been self learning with piano marvel for the last 4 months on a toy piano I bought on shopgoodwill for 35 dolalrs believe it or not. I live on a disability pension and I am going to finally be able to afford a digital piano next year. If I can do it then you can do it!

Can you do a video on some composers "favorite" keys? For example Beethoven felt C minor was most "emotionly stormy", JS Bach found D minor to be the saddest key, Mozart rarely used minor keys but the ones he did he used G minor etc.

I'm 14 and I honestly feel like I'm too old to be successful in anything you have to start a lot of things early but this gives me hope

I am 46 and im learning piano. I am a mom of 2 teens, it helps my sanity :) So absolutely true !!! Its driving me INSANE to not play well !!! I can read a piece in my mind, I can invision my fingers going through the pieces, but then I sit down and AHHHH I cant figure it out !!!

It's NEVER too late to learn how to play a musical instrument.

I am 45 and I started last month. What can I say? It wasn't even a question for me. Just do it! It will change your life!

This is a very well thought and thought-provoking essay. Thank you. Also, the way you speak is very gentle and familiar, just like friends are supposed to sound like.

This is good to hear. Most feedback I have gotten has been negative. No one has said that I can't learn to play piano as an adult. BUT they have said that it will take a really, really long time before I'd be able to play easy pieces moderately well. Like one person told me, "If you practice every day for 10 years then maybe you can play Row Row Row Your Boat."

I started with 23 after i played electric guitar in my youth already. Mainly for the sake of composing stuff. But you are never too old to learn ANYthing. And i like the idea of being reincarnated after you die and have a large pool of knowledge available that serves as your "gifts"!

Wow nice hair!! Love it!

I started practicing keys with Melodics a year or so ago at 41, and just do 5 minutes a day. I’ve made progress just keeping up with that. I find it a lot easier to build musical skills in theory than it was when I was learning guitar because of the way the keys are laid out. It takes practice to get good at it, but you don’t have to build up callouses on your fingers at least.

I've had so many life experiences that I burst into tears playing twinkle twinkle little star.

You can learn at any age, but you'll need to practice :) I started at the age of 43.

Okay, the question when you grown up is "how do I put practicing into my schedule?", when you're a kid you basically have a lot more free time than when you get older. I believe that an adult is able to learn faster as he knows how to use his brain compared to a kid, it's just that most of the time, people don't take the time to learn new stuffs. Throughout a deeper understanding of the methods, why practicing this way and not this way etc... an adult can outspeed a kid if he puts the same amount of hour than a kid. SO, the biggest question is not "why do kids learn faster", but "where do you find the time to practice?"

I'm 23 and I started almost 3 years ago and at first I used to feel a lot of pressure because I was expected to play classical pieces and that was not what I wanted to play, so eventually I just play things that I like, jazz, blues , and other stuff , but I thing the hardest was to find my path (it took me like a year) and stop paying attention to people who wanted me to play things that I don't enjoy, Sorry if my grammar is bad ,I'm still learning english

I am the opposite. As a kid I was a terrible beginner because I never practiced and I just wanted to play songs and got frustrated and bored very quickly. Starting again at 22 I was a great beginner and practiced every day, played for fun and played what I wanted to play as an adult I found a real love for the instrument more and more as I get older.

I'm 67. I've wanted to learn to play the piano since I was 5. I took a beginning piano class in college, but even then I felt like I was too old, that a lot of the other students had been taking lessons since they were kids. I've tried off and on throughout the years but always gave up. Last year I decided to try again. I bought a digital piano and the Alfred's All in One Book. I breezed through the first half and then it got a lot harder and I almost gave up again. But I persevered and now I'm almost to the end of Book 1 and am starting on Book 2. I think one advantage you have with age is realizing what's important to you. This is something I've always wanted to do and I'm determined to do it.

I am in late 40s. I stopped lessons after passing ABRSM grade 5 when I was 16. I resumed my lessons 2 months ago and now I have mastered some Mendelssohn pieces, and now I am working on a Chopin nocturne. For sure I would not sit for an exam, ever again!

I started when I was in junior year and now I'm in college doing getting a degree in music ed

I began piano at age 12 on a 2 octave Casio keyboard, practicing 6-8 hrs a day I managed to reach grade 8 by 16yr. Also discovered that I have perfect pitch. Anyone can learn so long as they dedicate themselves and put their mind to it.

Everytime i learn a new piece: "Can i memorize this" Being doubtful of my ability to learn on literally everything.

Oh, I'm sure that I'm too old for this kind of thing but fortunately for me I have been playing acoustic pianos for over 65 years. One of these days I with move into the real world and purchase one of your recommended digital models for my living room and move into this century. The videos are encouraging, all of us are too old but don't let that stop you!

I started learning 2 years ago and I’ll be 65 soon. It’s hard not being able to play like I “think” I should be able to. I have a great young teacher who is really supportive of me. I’m about half-way through Alfred book 3, and it’s extremely challenging. I’m not really into classical music, but my teacher illustrated for me that if I can play some classical music, all other music, ie, jazz standards, will be so much easier. He really encourages me to think outside the box, and try whatever music I want to. I get frustrated but am also having a great time.

I'm an adult beginner with one finger that got destroyed for life years ago during a rough rugby session, and I don't give a shit I will still play learn and improve at the piano (am 26, started 8 months ago)

I started in February and I'm 29. It's all pattern recognition and muscle memory.

You look sooooo young

I love your hair 😍

I started learning piano as a kid.

Been playing seriously for 2 months now at the age of 38. Been a bass guitarist since 15 but the big stumbling block was not bothering to learn to read music! My understanding of theory is good but note reading nope! It's getting better as almost finishing faber book 2.

My family didn't support my music aspiration when I graduated from high school, so I spent 5 years at university to become a industrial designer. Now im 28 years old, i don't like being a designer, but pursuit a music career sounds very risky (In México, industrial design and music aren't a well paid professions). Some of you share this kind of struggle?

I'm 34!!! Just starting!!!

You are not the first and probably not the last to discuss the topic. Josh Wright already got a video on adult learning piano. And last year Robert Estrin uploaded a video as well. Years ago, I was taught that you need talent to get into piano and you have to start young to get somewhere. Everybody agrees that after a certain age you won't be performing professionally but doesn't stop adults (including myself) from getting into playing for personal interest. If I listened to my mother, I wouldn't get into piano because I'm already too old. People have different priorities in life. Some people quit school many years ago because of the War and started university after they retired in their 60s & 70s. Whether you start early or late may have to do with preconceived ideas of talent but also choices you make in life. I've attended adult group classes where people play for fun. Nobody is expected to take a conservatory exam at the end of a course although the choice is open. There are people in the family who passed conservatory grades for piano before age 20 but they haven't played for the last decade. I started as an adult after 30 and I'm still playing today. Don't judge people by the same standard. Playing piano is not a competition and never compare yourself to other people. Not everybody gets into Beethoven, Mozart or Chopin but doesn't mean they don't enjoy playing piano. I get into a lot of Baroque pieces like Bach & Handel. I don't expect my neighbors to like my music.

Regarding this question: i myself started playing piano mid january at age 34. Just because i wanted to. I didn't care if i was to old for it, i just loved the sound of this instrument and wanted to play it. Now, after 3 months, (alongside a couple easier pieces) i finished Petzolds Minuet in Gmaj, Chopin Prelude no 4 and i'm almost done with Für Elise. I don't know if that's good progress in 3 months, but i'm really enjoying it so far. Also my teacher is great too. So for anyone wondering if they show start learning piano: Just do it. It's tremendous fun!

All those diagrams and 'science' just to say muscle memory 😂. I enjoyed this video...great work.

I'm 52. One thing that I've found is that there is a barrier to skill level based on the work that an adult does. I drive for a living and this affects the hands as they can become stiff after time. Also using construction and mechanics tools has the same affect, for me anyway. I have found that there is another barrier that I have which is what school teachers may have told to us as children in music classes. This one is extremely important as it affects the adults ability to learn to read music if there was a narcissistic teacher in a child's music classes at school. Just thought I'd put up these points in case others are having the same or similar issues.

Generally, after having played a piece a certain number of times, I memorize it, but there a piece I could never memorize which is the gnossienne N°6 of Satie.

I am only 12 and I actually feel better when I'm tired and play the piano!

Today I tried to record the performance of a small jazz piece I've worked on every day since before Christmas. Twenty takes, could not get through it without major stumbles. As much as I want to learn to play, I'm starting to believe I just don't have it in me.

I’m 46. Started lessons last week. I have been playing guitar for 32 years and all of a sudden decided to take up piano.

I wish I had had someone like you as a teacher when I was a kid instead of the mean old chain-smoking lady with the equally mean, asthmatic, ankle-biting dog. I think that dog hated me even more than my teacher did! Now I'm starting over as an adult. Fortunately I've played bass and guitar for many years so I've got a bit of a head start on theory (though not as much as I should have).

Just wondering but did you ever redo your level 10 exam?

I'm 70 and started learned to play piano a few months ago, BUT I have played guitar and bass for over 50 years, so not new to music just new to piano. So developing the mechanical skills of playing is taking longer than I hoped along with learning the scale fingerings. Actually what I have to watch out for is working on scales my ear and theory knowledge kick in and I play the right notes, just not with the finger(s) I'm suppose to. I tried lessons but that didn't work for me they were too much of the lets work thru this book and being my background is Jazz and R&B musician playing Jingle Bells just wasn't too boring. Also I learn best by learn concepts not just learn to play this scale fingering or that tune in the book so I had a zillion "why" is this done this way or that. Also I don't think the teacher liked when I'd make a mistake playing a scale or chord I was naming what my mistakes were turning something into theory wise. So hardest part but also the fun part of learning at my age is I already have a head full of musical ideas I want to play or try, but my mechanical skills good enough yet to play them at even slow tempos. At same time I have having a ball pulling up a leadsheet and taking a tune and work on chord voicings and voicing leading idea and that doing reharmazations. Trying to improv though is a problem because I want to use chromatism and don't yet understand how to adjust the traditional scale fingers to get the chromatic notes. But I keep experimenting and I'll find something that will work eventually. Side note I used to teach computer skills back in the early days and had to deal with teaching adult versus kids. The big difference I saw was kids want to do something they are willing to try it a thousand times till they get it, then move on. Adults feel they shouldn't be making mistakes and will give up after a handful of tries. Adults also think about what a computer cost or a piano and get scared we can't just bang away trying something over and over till they get it. Again kids could care less they have given themselves a target to hit and will do what ever they need to, to get to the target. So what keeps me going back as an older person changing careers going into computer and later back with music and studying Jazz was to keep telling myself... "i'm not stupid, I can do this" and like a kid just keep bang on the target till I get it. So I might wear out a keyboard trying to learn piano, but I will learn!!!

Regarding the discredited theory that people have a lot of trouble learning after age 25, I remember hearing that a lot in the 1970s, and it certainly doesn't fit my experience. (I'm better at mathematics in my 60s than I was in my 20s.) But in the 1980s I *did* meet people whose brains seemed to have hardened and shut down before age 30. (I was involved in getting a lot of them to use computers for the first time!) I wonder if it's connected with the older tradition of ending one's education too early -- I met people who had absolutely assumed they wouldn't need to learn anything systematic after high school, or maybe after a rather shallow four years in college. It may also be that overall health is better taken care of nowadays. After a few piano lessons in high school and a 50-year lapse, I'm returning to the piano (or electronic keyboard) in order to better appreciate the music I enjoy listening to. It's for my own enjoyment, not to perform. I could well become a music theory geek but do not aim to perform challenging pieces, but on the other hand also don't want to play chords to accompany a singer. I want to get into the baroque music I've been enjoying all these years (whether it's written for piano or something else) and learn more about how it works.

Allysia, for the adult learners who are reluctant for being in the beginner mindset, please introduce or remind them of these two poems from both William Wordsworth and Gerard Manley Hopkins talking about the theme of the child being the father of the man. I hope this helps, because it shows how foundational youth governs what will be with man for his entire life. You shant lose your youth as losing it will relinquish yourself. MY HEART LEAPS UP when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety. -William Wordsworth 'THE CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN.' How can he be? The words are wild. Suck any sense from that who can: 'The child is father to the man.' No; what the poet did write ran, 'The man is father to the child.' 'The child is father to the man!' How can he be? The words are wild! -Gerard Manley Hopkins