I want to learn piano, is it too late for me?

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YakiSOBA

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Alrighty, the story is... (like most kids) I took piano lessons when I was in elementary school, hated it because none of the cool kids had to do it, so I begged my parents till they let me quit. (Quit at level 1 :lol )

I'm now 21 years old. About 2 years ago I started realizing how much I wish I knew how to play the piano well, and that quitting was definitely one of the biggest regrets I've had thus far in life.

On and off I've been wanting to pick it up again, but never did anything about it. My friend recently started learning classical guitar and suggested that I go with him because the place he learns at has piano teachers too. It's 20$ (Canadian) for 1 "session" a week, 30 minutes each.

What I want to know is, will it be a big waste of money? One 30minute session a week sounds really short -- I figure they expect you to practice all week everyday, but still.. 30minutes?

Help me GAF!

(oh -- and i'm not really interested in the examination/royal conservatory of music stuff unless it's the only way to learn these days. I just wanna do what it takes so that I can one day play cool final fantasy piano songs and similar things like that)
 
It's never too late to start. Of course, youy won't be the next Chopin or anything, but you can still learn how to play. It's unfortunate that people shy away from learning new things (Instruments, languages, etc.) because they are constantly told of how "hard"/"impossible" it is when you're older.
 
It isn't too late for you. Those Final Fantasy songs are actually pretty easy. In one year of solid practice, you'll be able to play most of them. If you're actually serious about improving very quickly, work a lot on of your technique. I would highly suggest getting a teacher. 30 minutes a week isn't much, but a good teacher will keep you focused and point out mistakes you otherwise won't notice. Don't worry about the Royal Conservatory thing -- it seems like most teachers only do that with the younger kids or with adults who express their desire to do that specifically. Make sure you discuss your goals with your teacher thoroughly, so they'll be able to provide adequate instruction.
 
Piano is easy to learn, I picked it up last summer. I wouldn't spend $20 a week on 30min lessons. You can teach yourself easily, and there's plenty of info online to make sure you have the right fingering for chords and stuff.
 
I'm sorry, but the cut-off was last week.
It's too late.

Try a lesson or two.
Why would it ever be too late? ;)
 
1 30 minute lesson a week really isn't too bad I guess. I would see if you can find a teacher that offers a 45 minute lesson at the keyboard with a 30 minute technic lesson or at least technic homework you are expected to do on your own time.

Of course the most important thing is practice. You should count on practicing for at least an hour a day...maybe not quite so long when you are first starting out and the tunes are pretty simple but if you really want to learn you need to be willing to put in the time.

You should also have good access to your own instrument. While it's true that it's never too late to learn to play the piano, the reality is it's an expensive instrument that takes up a lot of space - and generates a lot of noise that might cause problems for your neighbors if you live in an apartment. If you are a student that lives in a school with a music department it might be possible for you to reserve an hour a day in a private room to practice, but sometimes this is only available to music majors. If you don't have that option - or any option - you will have to research buying a piano for your home. If you decide to buy a used piano, make sure you have it appraised by a professional or someone who at least knows what they are talking about before you buy it. You may buy a used instrument on the cheap thinking you can just have it fixed up when you can afford it, only to discover it is beyond repair - there is all kinds of damage that can occur in a piano that cannot be fixed.

The other option is keyboards. If you are learning piano for the first time I strongly, strongly recommend learning on an acoustic instrument but sometimes there's just no other choice. Some people will tell you to get something crappy on the cheap to practice on, and honestly for the first six months this isn't a bad idea. That will give you time to decide if this is something you REALLY want to do. But keep in mind that eventually you will be severely limited by this option...eventually you will need to upgrade to an acoustic instrument or a full length keyboard with weighted keys to advance your training, and neither of these options are inexpensive.

Finally, make sure your teacher can teach you the kind of piano you want to learn. Some piano teachers are able to teach you -very quickly I might add - how to understand chords, how to read music, to play improvisationally and to pick up a tune quick. Others will teach you 'classically-' so that you can sit down with a complicated piece of music and learn it slowly over a long period of time. Some will do both. I recommend the latter; in my opinion it is much more rewarding and will serve you better in the long term. Just make sure that you go into your first lesson with a clear set of goals for what you want out of the experience.

Best of luck to you! Learning an instrument is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have at any point in your life. :) Don't let anyone tell you you're too old.
 
No, it's never too late, although it is like learning a language-- the earlier the better.

I have played trumpet for...9 years now and I wanted to learn the piano five years ago. I signed up for lessons and I have loved the instrument. It is a beautiful, versatile instrument and I love looking at music theory and the math behind it. I love to see where music meets math-- on the piano keys.

It's a wonderful sound.
 
It's never too late. You just have to have the dedication to do it.

I taught my sister who is older than me (later 20s) how to play in a few months, now she can play some basic stuff from sheet music. She's happy that she understands the 'language' on sheet music, something before she thought was impossible for her to learn. All you basically have to know is translate the note picture on the page to a key on the keyboard. Plus learning faster finger movement in scales and some theory, and you've got the basics.

I've had a piano teacher when I was younger for about 3 years, but for the last 13 yrs, I've been learning on and off by myself. And since there's no one else pushing me to do it, I keep on getting better on my own when I feel like it. I'm currently finishing up learning/memorizing the Maple Leaf Rag, which took a few hours/wk for a few months.
 
Thanks for all the information and support guys! I'm gonna go in next thursday with my friend and see what we can do.

If my long-term goal is playing songs similar to the FF games, or really just "pretty" sounding songs, I should let the instructor know that I want a classical-style approach then? I don't really wanna tell him/her "I want to play Final Fantasy on the piano!" :)

As for access to an instrument, yeah we have a baby grand piano in our family room downstairs -- no one uses it anymore though. My sister used to play, but she stopped after moving to Denver.

When I go back to school in September, there are piano rooms that you can book for 1-2hrs on-campus, so I should be fine so long as I find an instructor there who can continue my lessons from where I leave off here at home.
 
Crow said:
I'm 21 and want to learn Violin. GAF, is it too late?
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Never too late. However, you'll have a harder time of it than YakiSoba will at the piano. Still though, music is a really great thing in my life. I could never say no to anyone that is interested in music. But I've known a few that picked up the violin around the same time you want to, the beginning was hard but after that they really progressed nicely.
 
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