rogerch Wow, wow, wow! This is truly an inspiring post and it hits very close to home for me.
I'm further behind in the timeline you describe and so this is very illuminating. I've always had the thought at the back of my mind that I should learn improvisation and I've done little to move the bar on my sight reading skills... I think this is just the kick I needed!
Thank you for this!
--
Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
TIME
@rogerch I loved reading about your piano journey. My own journey has barely started, but so far I can say it sure feels like my brain is getting a good workout during my piano sessions, so hopefully that'll help extend my learning capability.
(I edited my OP on the other thread to add a link to this thread.)
rogerch that was a beautiful post, Roger. I think people on the whole are prone to fixating on their limitations, rather than their potential/possibilities, and this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps this is one thing the kiddos are better at than we are — not getting hung up on what we think we can’t do.
I also believe we can always learn and grow and aspire to be better versions of our current selves, in any number of domains of our lives.
So true! Never understood the angst and despair I have seen on occasion over (perceived) lack of progress. Embrace the challenge, enjoy the process, share the passion! My dad started guitar lessons when he was in his mid 70s despite knowing he had a debilitating terminal illness. Never once did he consider his efforts futile or a waste of his time, nor did his teacher.
This is us when I visited my parents - he was 75 at the time. He had never touched a guitar in his life before!
BartK Do you recommend this book Improvisation at the Piano? What approach does it take to teach improvisation?
The book was helpful to me when I was getting started and I do recommend it as a way to begin. The book consists of short chapters with explanations and exercises. It starts very basic but it does assume that you already know how to play classical music and gets somewhat advanced quickly.
I think the biggest benefits I got from the book were exercises in lots of keys that forced me to work on having what’s going on in one hand not distract from what’s going on in the other hand. That is still a work in progress for me but I think it got me going in a good direction. There were also helpful things to think about in terms of melodies and analyzing music.
I only got through about a third of the book before I ventured into my intense study of scales.
During one of the PW recitals an expert improviser reached out to me privately and gave me some tips that launched me in a new direction: improvising in both hands. That moved me from playing melodies on top of chord progressions to making it all up in both hands at the same time. Again it’s still a work in progress and I think it always will be no matter where inspiration comes from in the future. It’s all about the journey! 
rogerch Great post, and truly inspiring story!
I think it’s possible to both accept we may learn slower as we age and believe nothing is impossible until we give it a try and give it time. Also, when I was younger, I always wanted to learn new things in a hurry. Paradoxically, as I get older, I am more comfortable not rush the learning but let steady progress happen over longer term.
rogerch This is an inspiring post!
rogerch "The process of nerve growth slows down with age."
Sometimes, knowledge can be a dangerous thing based on how it's interpreted. This is one of those cases. "Having talent" is also one of those instances where it can be helpful not to think too much about it either way. (That said, I don't think it's wrong to discuss it if the topic arises.)
I echo what many stated here, that this thread is inspiring.
As someone who is more "innately" an improviser and cannot read music, I have focused this year on technique (so I don't sound like I'm smashing the keys). I also quested to be more proficient on all 12 keys, instead of just "jamming." I also for the first time decided to take playing piano seriously.
So whether we're sight readers, or improvisers or both, there is limitless amount of things to learn, which at first can seem daunting, but is actually exciting since you'll never be bored.
At the meta level, I also look at the "am I too old to do X," I think of it in very organic simplistic way: I either apply my brain towards something, or I'm just inert. The latter is never conducive, but is often a limiting thought we all have at times. The analysis paralysis can lead to inaction as we then feel discouraged, etc.
So to reiterate, in my own head: "I'm either going to get better, or I'm going to regress or be stagnant."
At my age playing music is less about making progress or competing with anybody. In the beginning it was for stress relief from having a nervous breakdown. Watching older people in the family suffer from dementia, music has become daily brain exercise like taking daily vitamins. You get engaged in your music and progress is part of the process of learning.
A lot of older people think they need to start playing at a young age. They need to complete conservatory levels. I get into playing for the personal enjoyment. Older adults don't usually pursue a career as a professional so we tend to get into difficult pieces more gradually.
Coming from a non-music family, piano didn't come naturally when I was young. At my age I think about how much I can get out of piano with the years I have left. I don't think about the "lost years" and the progress I would have made if I started piano at 5. It's a great inspiration to see older adults get into piano.
iternabe rogerch Great post, and truly inspiring story!
I think it’s possible to both accept we may learn slower as we age and believe nothing is impossible until we give it a try and give it time. Also, when I was younger, I always wanted to learn new things in a hurry. Paradoxically, as I get older, I am more comfortable not rush the learning but let steady progress happen over longer term.
Thanks iternabe! Taking time to learn instead of rushing sounds more effective and more enjoyable!
Regarding learning slower as we age: I choose to disregard any such notion. I don't see how worrying about learning slower helps me. Instead, I focus on the present and what I'm learning today. Fast, slow, it doesn't matter. I'm learning and improving and loving it!
rogerch
Thank you for your beautiful, warm and inspiring post!
All of us who started, restarted or continue, learning to play the piano as adults are a living proof that the old conviction that your ability to learn decreases with age is worth nothing. We just don’t let it happen.
I started to learn almost four years ago, when I was 59. I began by learning to read the notes, just using a paper keyboard, a month or two before the piano arrived. It was like learning a completely new language, and I love learning languages, so it was great. Since then, I have been sitting at the piano and learning something new almost every day (and there is always something new to learn, yay!
). I’m in no hurry, I don’t like racing or competing in anything, I can learn at my own pace – at a pace that gives me time to revel in the process, and be amazed. I could regret that I didn’t start as a child or later as a young independent adult, but what would be the point? And why should I, if every minute I spend now learning to play brings me so much happiness?
ranjit Sometimes, knowledge can be a dangerous thing based on how it's interpreted.
Yes, especially if the interpretation is only fragmentary or goes the easy way of confirming an already rooted belief. Look at the proverb “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. It’s neither true nor justified, but can keep people trapped in their conviction that at a certain age it is impossible to learn or change anything.
Gooseberry I could regret that I didn’t start as a child or later as a young independent adult, but what would be the point?
Yes, this! So much so! I too could spend my time wringing my hands that I didn't show enough interest as a child, forfeited all opportunity etc, but why would I? I'm learning now and having a great time with it. That's all that counts really!
Inspiring @rogerch - I love your improvs!
I'll be 71 in a few days. Restarted when I was 55 after not playing for decades. Went back to school when I was 62 to get a piano performance degree and graduated when I was 66. Learned to memorize during that time and am still at it. Just did a 90 day intensive at Tonebase and learned to play Grieg's "Wedding Day" - and memorized it.
Make practice a habit. Keep learning new things and challenging yourself.
Sam
