It Is Never Too Late To Become Musical

by Mike
(United States)

If you always wanted to play an instrument and you have strong images associated with it (you as the rock star with all the girls at your feet, or you as the classical piano soloist playing at Carnegie Hall), then it is never too late. What is it worth to you to play the piano (or any other instrument for that purpose)? Maybe $5,000? Maybe $10,000? Take that money, set it aside, get a teacher, and spend that money in music lessons, starting immediately. Take lessons every day to progress at a fast pace. Otherwise you will hit a plateau very quickly and get frustrated. Eventually, you will be able to study on your own.

It takes an adult longer to learn a musical instrument than it takes a child. One of the reasons for the slower learning is the fact that the adult's brain is essentially "full"; all parts of the brain are already being used. To learn the new skill, the brain needs to make some "room" and reconnect synapses. Thanks to the brain's neuro-plasticity, it is nevertheless possible to learn a new skill as an adult. In fact, you should do just that to slow down the brain's decline as you age. What good is a healthy body when your mind is failing? Studying music is a great exercise for the brain, as it teaches you manual dexterity in both hands and uses a variety of areas in the brain. It also gives you one more small talk topic at any party, you won't have to talk about the weather or yesterday's TV program anymore.

To make the musical studies more enjoyable, there are a variety of short-cuts as long as you accept the fact that you probably won't be the next Paganini or Rachmaninoff. You don't need to, anyways. You only need to get good enough for the purpose that you have in mind. If you prefer the piano, there is a DVD series called "The Piano Guy with Scott Houston, Tips, Cheap Tricks & Professional Secrets" that teaches you precisely that. There are many similar study programs to make the process more enjoyable. I started playing the piano at an age when many people worry about their retirement, and my goal from the beginning was to become an entertainer. Thus, my focus has been on Blues and Rock n Roll, which follow a simple basic pattern of three chords that can be learned quickly, and on which one can expand as one progresses. For example, I started out with Kansas City, which uses a simple three-chord Blues pattern. Later I moved to Georgia on My Mind which roughly follows a Blues pattern but uses many more chords.

Finally, you are never too old to start. When I was in my teens, I played in a rock band. Our lead guitarist was in his early 20s and had only been playing for a year or so. He had been so fascinated by Rockabilly music that one day he went out, bought himself a $3,000 Gibson guitar, a fur jacket, and cowboy boots, and resolved to study the guitar. And boy, he did. His motivation was very strong because he had this vivid image of himself as the wild Rockabilly guitarist. He became the most incredible guitar player I know personally. Another acquaintance of my mine in his 40s became a professional Jazz pianist in the course of only one year (he had been playing the bass for years though). Finally, my piano teacher has a student who started in her early 80s.

Oh, you think your fingers are not nimble enough or somehow your body just won't let you do it? I have seen several musicians who overcame what other people consider handicaps. Guitarist and singer Jason "Lefty" Williams plays guitar even though he is missing his lower right arm. He created a strap with a metal ring attached to pick the guitar strings. See www.lefty-music.com. The Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, blind since birth, won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas in 2009. You can see him on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9MlN-ZudKo

This is an excerpt from "Are You There Where You Always Wanted to Be" By Anonymous & Mike Meier. For more information, see www.journeycalledlife.org. There is a video on this subject.