Am I too old to start learning a new instrument?

A question about : Am I too old to start learning a new instrument?

I'm in my mid 20's and for the best part of my life I have wanted to learn to play violin. I am wondering whether at my age whether it will be too steep a learning curve to start learning now. I have no knowledge on sheet music. With tuition I have learned to play the guitar with tab music which I imagine is totally different, but I did find this difficult.

At the end of the day it does cost money to start learning a new instrument but I'm worried that I will get despondent if I find that Im struggling with the sheet music etc and thus will have wasted a lot of money.

I have looked at private tuition, but I'm wondering if there are other avenues such as group tuition or music groups run by local communities which are willing to take on an adult student. And as a beginner would I need the full hour tuition?

Best answers:

• I am in a very similar situation as you. I've always wanted to play the piano, and I taught myself guitar / read tabs. I guess you are never too old to learn anything new, all you need is time and determination. You can find a lot of tutorials on youtube and it may also help to buy violin lessons on dvd. You'll find these on amazon or ebay or even your local music store. Enquire at your local music store, bet there's at least a dozen groups taking on new students.
• Wow, in your 20's eh....?? you'll love learning, not like when your at school, you'll have more patience, I'm well into my fourties and loved learning Spanish, whatever you decide to learn , you'll be doing it for all the right reasons, mostly being a sheer desire to learn.
• Hehe I know I'm still relatively young, but seeing child prodigies and people who have mastered their instruments when they were young (which seems to be most cases) makes me feel old lol.
  And thanks annasoper I never thought to enquire whether music shops did group tuitions.
• Yes far too old, anyone over 6 should just give up......
  Only joking, I'm 46 and contemplating guitar lessons, last time I played anything was a recorder when I was 8!!
• I understand that stringed instruments are the 'hardest' to learn. I'm not sure of the truth in that, as I have only ever played the violin and have nothing to compare it to. When I first started (aged 6) we learned with Suzuki - it was a really great method of learning, but it may have been more appropriate for a younger age group. It's probably worth you investigating though. Also, if you're near a university, you could consider getting tuition from an undergraduate studying music as they will be ultra knowledgeable, hopefully very enthusiastic and could well charge you a bit less, or be willing to take payment in kind - wine/beer/vegetables/pasta, whatever it is students are into.
  Once you know the basics, you would probably find a group willing to let you join them. I used to be a member of a 'returners' orchestra - basically people who were lapsed musicians got together to play, even doing performances for a paying audience on occasion. One bloke in the violins had only played until aged 18 and then took it up again aged 72ish!
  Best of luck with whatever you decide, but as they say.. nothing ventured, nothing gained.
• You are never too old to learn an instrument!
  I have been taking piano lessons for the last few weeks, and Im 28
  I get my lessons through a local recording/rehersal studio. They have a tutor in once a week, I pay Ј20 for a one hour lesson. You could see if you have a local studio in your area?
• I took up violin lessons at 24 - 6 years later I'm about to take Grade 7. So the world is your lobster! Lots of people say it's tough, but I found it fairly simple compared to piano - there's only one set of notes to play for a start! It's just mastering the sound that takes a lifetime..
  Find a tutor that inspires you, understands your abilities and goals, and will start right at the beginning. Sheet music seems overwhelming, but it's not so bad. If you can read tab, it's really not too different at first.
  Some teachers will offer flexible lesson times and durations - for instance, I have half hour lessons an evening every other week @ Ј13. Self learning or youtube videos are a fun start, but it's also important to hold the instrument correctly, know how to play with resonance, fluidity, accuracy .. every movement affects the sound produced. It's more like ballet than violin sometimes. Regular 1-on-1 lessons are the best way to make progress - I used to learn in a group as a child... and quit because I wasn't learning anything.
  And if you're worried about annoying the neighbours in those first few years (a violin is loud!) you can purchase a violin mute, which dampens the strings for a quieter sound but still allows you to practice full pelt.
  Good luck!! and if you need some inspiration... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6K7NfiL6II
• Im 33 and I have in the last 6 months started to learn the guitar ( although I did used to play the violin as a child) I wish id learned as a child but in saying that my hands are a lot bigger now which helps
  im not paying for lessons at the moment, but playing my boyfs cheap argos guitar and watching a LOT of you tube Its working though! I will be able to play something good pretty soon, the more I practice of course the better I get.
  Im even considering buying another violin and having a go with it.
  I think that guitar and violin are to an extent similar, you put your fingers in a certain place to get a certain sound. Like guitar there will be a pattern ( DDUD etc) in the same way you strike the strings on a violin.
  Reading music is not actually that hard ( says me) there are loads of online tuition, but nothing beats listening to a piece of music and hearing where the notes ( and gaps) fall.
  I would love to be able to afford tuition though and when I get some cash it will be among the first things I buy for myself!
• No no no! you are never too old to learn something new! Admittedly its easier as a child BUT as a child you get bored far too easily. I started learning Piano aged 25 and thought i was too old until my piano teacher told me he was teaching someone aged 65 who had just started piano and guitar lessons. Would recommend learning an instrument, its a lovely thing to be able to do and you are never bored! My teacher always said he preferred teaching the adults as they actually wanted to learn. I played the violin and guitar for a couple of years when i was in school but always wanted to play the piano.
  As others have said you can learn so much online, you tube is brilliant. I stopped having lessons a few years ago as it was too expensive but i could read music and i wasn't going to do exams or gradings. Since then i have just learnt using the internet. There are loads of free lessons online that are excellent. Good luck!!
• You are NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER too old for music!!
  Go for it.
• You're never too old.
  I played the drums for years before deciding to take up the guitar.
• My sister just started to learn piano at the same age of you. That is just for entertaining, not to be a great pianoist. So, if you like violin, just go for it, and never give up so easily.
• When Sting first formed Police, he was 27 never too late.
• Never too old for sure. I took the decision to take up full music production seriously about 5 years ago and have recently had a couple of trakcs signed, one to a big label - anything is possible. Had been losely dabling since my teens though.
  I love synthesizers and piano myself - can only play by ear though, just never got around to learning to read music. Synths have a spellbinding effect on me - from the very first time I heard one.
  Guitar seems incredibly hard to learn for me - I've only dabled but so far I have this feeling you are either born to play or not, and I deffo do not seem to posses the right orientation for guitar.
  If anyone ever has any production / mixing / technical studio type questions, always glad to answer.
• I don't think anyone is ever too old to learn anything. Sure it might take you longer to master an instrument as 60 year old versus a 10 year old, but it's not a competition or race. It's about patience, determination and enjoying your new hobby. I say go for it!
• Ive just retired at 62 and I'm seriously thinking about learning guitar, once I get rid of this feeling that Im still on holiday.
• I agree with all the encouragement, and I don't think you should worry about learning how to read music. Once you start using sheet music it all seems very natural.
  However: someone who starts learning the violin at a relatively advanced age is unlikely to reach the most advanced stages. This is because an enormous number of different little muscles are involved things like controlling the bow so that you make exactly the sound that you want to make, and the other ways in which a really advanced violinist expresses their feelings about the music they are playing. Training these little muscles is something that usually has to be done in childhood.
  Another point: you mentioned that you played the guitar. Doing so toughens your fingers and makes your finger-tips lose sensitivity, which would reduce your ability to play the violin to a high standard.
  These remarks apply equally to other string instruments (viola, 'cello, double bass). However, there is absolutely no reason why someone with sufficient talent could not start learning another instrument as an adult and achieve the very highest standards. The brass and woodwind instruments would be suitable for this, and I'm sure that there are others.