Learning a new instrument as an adult?

[Strychnine]

Commence nerd alert. General quarters.


I played violin for 8 years or so. Was decent. Spent most of the latter part of that first chair second violin in HS. I understand music, though I quit right about the time a person would have started diving much deeper into music theory.

That was 10 years ago though.

Even then I wished that my parents had gotten me into classical piano lessons as a young child. Now as an adult I still have the desire to learn to play.


If I were to start now, teaching myself in the beginning, do I have any chance of success or am I fighting an uphill battle? Anyone else learned a new instrument as an adult and actually had success? I'm not talking about learning Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" from some guitar tabs. One day I want to be able to walk up to any piano and jam some Chopin.




End nerd alert. Stand down.

[racrguy]

You can still do that with a piano (guitar tab type deal) I find myself in the same position with my bass playing, I can play a myriad of songs from different artists, but I know nothing of the mechanics behind playing bass, so I've recently started diving into theory and playing styles. There's so much I don't know. The song in my sig I hope to one day be able to play and understand the mechanics behind it.

In short, absolutely, if you're willing to put in the time and energy.

[BradM]

I'm about to start learning the piano too. We can nerd jam together.

[Sleeper]

Id like to learn as well. I tried for a couple years to teach myself and never got anywhere. It was hard for me for some reason playing the rythem with my left hand.

[BradM]

By the way, pianos are heavy as fuck! I moved one with my brother last weekend.

[Geor!]

By the way, pianos are heavy as fuck! I moved one with my brother last weekend.

J'git drunk afterward?

[BradM]

J'git drunk afterward?

I don't drink.

[motoman]

It really depends on your determination to learn. I played Violin in orchestra in junior high and high school and even though I haven't picked up a violin in years, I'm still surprised at how much knowledge I retained.

[Vertnut]

Have fun with it! Get on Youtube and set the laptop on the piano and LEARN. I'm a 40 year guitar player. I should be a HELLUVA lot better than I am, but I have FUN with it. We're not making a living doing it, so it needs to be fun.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Sure you can ol dog. I will at some point learn to read music and play the guitar.

[Geor!]

I've thought about taking up the trumpet again. Kinda miss it.

Oh and Paul plays a mean skin flute.

[86silverbullett]

You can read and understand music, that's going to help a shitload..I started on the piano when i was 5 or 6 and ended up playing the drums in high school. Once you learn to read music it's not always easy but not as big of a struggle to pick it up. I can still bullshit on the piano when I try..

[slow55]

Sounds like a bunch of Liberace wanna be's up in here.

[exlude]

I played viola, piano, and trumpet as a youngin'. Drums as I was a little older. I can read music very well and have taken several music theory classes in college (much harder than I expected). I got so frustrated trying to (re)learn to play the piano in my early-mid 20s that I quit about 4-5 months in.

I really want to get into guitar though. But the piano pisses me off. I was too stuck playing elementary shit.

[Damnittsteve]

ive been trying to learn guitar for years, but keep going back to drums and percussion. its just to easy when you have to study to do one and only listen to do the other.