Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Is it possible to become an advance player at 30s?

hahah!

What I find more meaningful is ye ole goal setting. Beginning with the grand longterm goals everyone loves to dream about and then actually plugging it into a timeframe and then shorter term goals right down to what I can do today to get one step in that direction.

It's still a bit of a crapshoot to be honest, but I always felt like counting hours was too similar to punching a clock.

I think it's never too late, and if the OP never does it - for fear of never being able to reach an "advanced level" - he will forever live with regret.

I'd like to take a moment and pat all of the members of the ABF in the back. So many people go through life just *talking* about doing something. For example, my sister, a natural artist, recently said that "one day, I'll get a canvas and paint something." I asked her, "why not right now??!! What is stopping you? Go to the hobby store and pick up a canvas and some oil-based paint." Or...another common conversation that I have with people: "You play piano?" "Yes, I took it up again at age 38." "I'd like to learn piano one day." I think what sets *us* apart is that we actually pulled the trigger and did it.

The OP sounds like he's "on the fence" with totally ensconcing himself into piano, and again, because he's afraid he'll never play at "an advanced level" (<--- whatever that means...lol).. Not sure what defines that..."Fantasie Impromptu?" lol. Anyway, the moral of my story is...just do it!! Who cares how *far* you get or if it takes you 10,000 hours.

I’m so thankful for all the wonderful comments from the forum! When I stared the thread, I was thinking about the Chopin Etudes as the advanced level pieces. I’m seriously think about taking the plunge to upgrade my little upright (spend 1k last year on it) to a mid-size grand. However, I doubt myself that will develop sufficient technically to deserve a mid-size grand due to the practice time/age…etc. This is also a huge financial commitment…….

Just do it if you can. I am going to buy a grand next spring and I am not an advanced player at all. But I have realized that having a good instrument that suits you actually makes it easier to learn. I can do the difficult technical stuff much better on my teacher's two grands than my own upright, which makes the practicing frustrating sometimes...I tend to get bad habits when I practice at home that go away when at the lesson and then return after a week, because I just can't get a good sound from my own piano and I try to compensate for that.

BBM,

We are all here for a very brief period... if you want a grand get a grand. A car is a major investment too but the shine wears off, for most of us, very rapidly. A grand may inspire you to greater heights of achievement and will certainly beautify your home as well... for many, many years to come. Your "baby" will provide countless hours of enjoyment for you and for others, something a vehicle usually can't provide.

Compared to the annual upkeep for a vehicle semi annual tunings for a grand in good shape is a drop in the bucket. The only fuel needed for your grand is you.

Well said Outo and very true. I too have had a similar experience which has led me put a deposit on a Hailun 178 just this past weekend.

Do you think 15 min. sessions that equal to 1 to 2 hours per day is as good as solid time at the piano of an hour or two duration? Do you think that inconsistency in the length of time at the piano each day has an effect on progress. For instance, when I have a day off, I practice all throughout the day spending multiple 15 min sessions at the piano. On the days I work, I can only spend time at the piano in the evening for 30 min to an hour.

Thanks

In any complicated activity there's a limit of time that your brain can really work efficiently. This of course varies, but it is not very long in general. So it would be much more efficient to divide the practice time in shorter session.

But if you practice different things so that you kind of reset the brain in between, then you can have long practice session that still are effective. My maximum time with a short piece is not very long, maybe 5-10 minutes So I always have several pieces and alternate between them and also alternate between the sections of a piece and HT/HS practice.

On the other hand for some people (like me) it takes a bit of a time to really focus on what you are doing. Then it is useful to start the practice session with something easy or scales. I think of it as mental warm up, I don't think you really need physical warm up to play the piano (unless you are playing something really fast and difficult).

This is the way I work most often, and I've found significant improvement over the last year or so (and the folks in the ABF recital seem to agree ) So, yes, I think it works well. And I can really focus for that 15 - 30 minutes and don't get burnt out. So I think you're on track.

Cathy

I think any practice is better than no practice and daily practice of whatever duration is much more effective than sporadic practice. I'm afraid I'm one of those three or more hour a day serious amateurs. I didn't start out that way. I learned as a kid, practically lived on the bench as a teenager, then lived a piano deprived life from my 20's to my 40's. About fifteen years ago after my mother, in the process of redecorating her living room, finally relinquished my piano supposedly so that my daughter could take lessons - anyone else see the irony of that? The kid didn't take to it. The piano languished unplayed in my living room for years. Then my husband (the trumpet player) decided he wanted to learn to play and had it tuned. His interest waned after about a week, but I sat my very rusty self down the following October planning to make myself practice thirty minutes a day so I could play a few carols by Christmas. That was the innocent beginning of my readdiction. Soon I'd graduated to the hard stuff, Chopin and Bach and other reprobates. I tend to have two practice sessions, one very early in the morning (I keep milkman hours) before I go to work and I usually get in 1 1/2 - 2 hours spread out over about three hours. Then I have another session in the evening, usually after I've taken a bit of a nap (I get home around five) That would be another 1 - 2 hours spread over about three hours. I make myself a weekly schedule (schedule highly recommended) and try to adhere to it. That way I manage to keep my "repetoire" up and still work on new pieces. There are some pieces I work on every single day but for no more than 15 minutes at the time. Some I work on for 20 minutes a couple of times a weeks. I try to give new pieces and long pieces that I'm trying to polish get about 40 minutes every day.

What? I was probably 10 when I began studying English, I have no accent whatsoever and I can speak fluently without hesitation, I don't even think in my native language when I speak English. And the ears of a what? Are you serious? I am 24, a few nights ago I was having wine and dinner with some friends and they are from Czech. They were speaking and this was about my 10th time going out with them. Some of the time they spoke in Czech amongst them and at one point I understood a huge chunk of conversation. I stopped them and said I know what you just said and I translated everything. They were amazed and started trying to teach me a little bit of the language. Their language has bizarre pronunciations and double consonants. I was able to learn a lot of those by repeating phrases and words and I had NO ACCENT, and I repeated them with the same intonation and pronunciation they were given to me. Some took 3-4 tries but I got them. Don't believe this age crap at all. To be honest, I am just your average person when it comes to brain capacity. If I can do it, most people can too. You just need to listen, really listen and make sense of things. They just connect if you open your mind. I have major problems remembering things I learn (not music though) and I forget a lot of important things and I am abscent minded. So I'm not special but when I pull myself together and try, good things happen eventually

We are capable of SO MUCH more than we believe we are. And these limiting beliefs make our lives miserable. Get rid of them and start doing what you love.

There is definitely a critical period for accent-less language learning in humans, but it varies hugely from person to person. In addition to age being important, having a good ear also makes a difference.

The point is he can be as advanced as he wants to in piano and anything he sets his mind to. And honestly, you don't need an internet forum to confirm that. What if someone here said NO YOU CANT! Would you listen? I hope not. Just go for it, you'll be surprised after a while of what you can do.

Teodor is 24 and picking up Czech. I'm almost 60 and over the past ten years I've picked up a lot of Russian from a coworker just from listening to her talk to her husband on the phone. It's never too late to learn if you allow your mind to be receptive. My Russian friend didn't even begin learning English until she was 60. She's 73 now, holds a job and has passed her citizenship test five years ago. Yes, she speaks with a heavy Russian accent -she sounds just like Natasha on Rocky and Bullwinkle- but she speaks fluently and reads English almost as well as I do.

Teo,

I was merely picking up on the 10,000 rule and linking it to age, which I believe is the intent of the author.
I'm happy to hear that you can repeat sentences in a foreign language with "NO ACCENT". In my opinion, this is extraordinary.

Having said that, learning an instrument at any age, but especially as an adult, is one of the best things you can do to yourself. We see it time and time again on this forum, especially at the recital. Guys that have played 6 months and killing on the piano.

Frycek,
Thanks for posting about your readdiction! That's how I came back to the piano, too, after many years--trying out some Christmas carols, and I'm addicted again, too.

A weekly schedule is a good idea--I'll try that. I'm taking lessons and so I add new pieces now and then, but I need to add more practice time to keep up some of my older ones.

Do you play for anyone, or do you practice that much just for your own pleasure? I just wondered because sometimes I don't know why I'm working so hard but I keep wanting to get more skill, more technique, and more musical, but it's not easy for me to play in front of others, except very close family. My husband has said that I'm putting so much pressure on myself, but I think that's just the way I am when I want to learn anything. Having lessons helps me focus, too, and pushes me to work harder.

Thanks!
Kathy

+1 amen to that

Performing in some capacity is important to me. I think most people find music intrinsically rewarding, but I don't feel complete until there's also the extrinsic goal of sharing it with other ears. It's a social urge.

Thanks, 1RC,
I wonder if I'll ever get to that point. It would be nice to feel more confident to play in front of others and share music.
Kathy

"...I’m so thankful for all the wonderful comments from the forum! When I stared the thread, I was thinking about the Chopin Etudes as the advanced level pieces. I’m seriously think about taking the plunge to upgrade my little upright (spend 1k last year on it) to a mid-size grand. However, I doubt myself that will develop sufficient technically to deserve a mid-size grand due to the practice time/age…etc. This is also a huge financial commitment……."

It is a big financial commitment; you are doing well to think it over carefully. Besides the purchase, there are lessons (not cheap), tuning and maintenance, and the daily time commitment--- the most expensive item of the bunch.

"What do you deserve," is an interesting question. I think many of us can be very grateful that we do not get what we deserve! But as for getting a better piano that you can grow into (instead of outgrowing), those other questions are the more important ones... or anyway, the more answerable ones.

We may not have the perspective to know what we deserve, anyway. When a pack of tainted televangelists were going on TV happily announcing, "AIDS is God's punishment on the homosexuals," someone asked Reverend Billy Graham what he thought about it. After a moment's thought, he replied, "I don't believe these people are in a position to know God's intentions."

While you're thinking about those first questions, you could shop for pianos, and learn more about what's out there and what you might want. That's a commitment of time and effort, but it doesn't cost anything, at least, not immediately. In fact, doing some smart shopping can save you some cash AND help make you more deserving (for it is good deeds which give us this feeling). Going through the process may help you to clarify your thinking. Get the mid-size grand, or keep the upright--- it's possible to be happy either way, and it's also possible to progress as a musician. Chopin loved his little Pleyel upright, and I like to think he would be happy to see you attempting his Etudes on yours--- happier than he would be to see you wait until you were deserving enough to have a go at them. His life story makes a good case for not waiting too long.