Too late to start learning piano at 7yrs old?

[pirate]

George Gershwin first displayed interest in music at the age of 10.

[fatbeary]

Dreamaurora:

yernying:

I am a piano teacher.seven years old is slightly late but of cos still not v late.before u start to invest,u must think properly,cos it is long journey,u need a lot of money n energy to invest.answer,this is a good invest.

So what is your opinion on adult starter who pick up piano ahove 16 years old? Hopeless since it's super late?

It's never too late to learn anything. I have an adult student who's learning piano with me at the age of 71. There are many people who pick up new skills at a later age.

[taz]

My girl pick up piano at end P4, same time as her P1 bro. Just passed G1 piano this yr March.

Because of her age, the fingers are stiffer and need more practise.
There is never too late, only want to learn or no.

[phtthp]

It all boils down to whether you want to learn or not, & to practise piano diligently.

If you seriously want to learn a skill, nothing can stop you.
Those people who start early, what happen to them ?
Some lose interest in piano halfway, drop out.

Is just that if you start late, then you end late.
But still, you will reach the finishing line, one day.
Does it matter that you end late ? No.
Because at the end of the day, you can still play the piano.

Remember :-
It is not when you start that is important.
Rather, it is how you end the race (in this case, learning how to play piano fr grade 1 to grade 8), that is important.

Have you seen in a race, how people run?
When the pistol is fired into the air, everybody run fast.
Then what happen ?
Halfway through, some people too tired to run.
Some stop to take a rest, then continue running, after the rest.
Yet, there are others, who totally give up, dont run anymore.
Either lost interest in running the race, or lost will power.

Likewise, same thing apply in learning piano.
There are kids who start early, at nursery or k1.
But when reach primary school level, some lost interest, gave up.
Yet, there are others who persisted, slowly but surely, bit by bit, to grade 8.
Some may take a break, rest a while when Psle come.
But after that, they continue, back to the race again, till they pouch the finishing line, ie. eventually, reach grade 8.

[taz]

phtthp:

It all boils down to whether you want to learn or not, & to practise piano diligently.

If you seriously want to learn a skill, nothing can stop you.
Those people who start early, what happen to them ?
Some lose interest in piano halfway, drop out.

Is just that if you start late, then you end late.
But still, you will reach the finishing line, one day.
Does it matter that you end late ? No.
Because at the end of the day, you can still play the piano.

:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

Yes, at least now my girl and boy can play piano for dh and me while we are eating dinner :).
No matter what they play, it is music to our ear.

[Dreamaurora]

taz:

My girl pick up piano at end P4, same time as her P1 bro. Just passed G1 piano this yr March.

Because of her age, the fingers are stiffer and need more practise.
There is never too late, only want to learn or no.

Fingers stiffer are not exactly the right words to describe. There is definitely a tendency to have more tension in the hands and arms when picking up piano at older age. I know because I started learning piano when I was 17. Only years later when I pursued music full time that I realised that this is the main culprit that significantly slows down my technical development.

It's not that more practice is needed. It's just that the way the technique is taught will be different as compared to children who start earlier. Most notably, there needs to be a much more conscious effort by the teacher to identify causes of tension and specific exercises will need to be assigned to solve these issues first.

[taz]

The teacher did not explain that and we are layman to piano and music :oops:

[Dreamaurora]

taz:

The teacher did not explain that and we are layman to piano and music :oops:

Not many teachers will understand unless they themselves started late, so can't really fault them. The finger stiff is really a big myth perpetuated by teachers and layman alike; fortunately modern piano pedagogy has delved into the subject of tension in much more detail. Thus it is very much possible now to acquire very good technique even if starting late.

It is really advisable to start as early as possible to acquire technique and repertoire more easily. Really, the main issue when starting late will be juggling work/study/family commitment with piano practice.

[waiyean]

phtthp:

Likewise, same thing apply in learning piano.
There are kids who start early, at nursery or k1.
But when reach primary school level, some lost interest, gave up.
Yet, there are others who persisted, slowly but surely, bit by bit, to grade 8.
Some may take a break, rest a while when Psle come.
But after that, they continue, back to the race again, till they pouch the finishing line, ie. eventually, reach grade 8.

Yes, some who start early may lose interest. However, there are lots who start late and eventually lose interest too. Comparison of people who start early and lose interest versus people who start late and persist is microscopic and does not mean anything much. They are different individuals. It is as good as comparing early starters who persist versus late starters who gives up after a while.... Meaningless.

It is not late to start learning. If a person wants to learn piano, then she should just go for it. However if a parent is thinking whether to start lessons for child now versus later, then it's better to start now.

[sleepy]

The issue is school workload is very heavy when child gets older. To progress in music at a reasonable pace, consistent practice is a must.


However, spare time is a luxury by upper primary. So for that reason, better start asap otherwise may end up on hold due to time constraint.