# Can An Adult Learn to Play A Musical Instrument? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746 "2004-04-24T02:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/41 "2011-12-22T04:15:10Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Of course. I took up the banjo last year. I’m 51. Had you played any guitar before picking up the banjo? I’ve been taking guitar lessons (started in my 40s) and I’m thinking of switching to banjo. I wonder how the playing is different physically? Fewer strings, and more finger picking I’d guess. You don’t strum a banjo right? > [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > Are people mainly referring to learning how to reproduce existing compositions, or learning how to create your own unique music? Are these two aspects of learning music differently affected by the age of the learner? I’ve been told that improvisation is very difficult to learn as an adult. And to the OP-I hope you took the plunge! If there’s one thing my practicing has taught me it’s that you can’t fret about your problems while you’re focused on learning a new song. heh…fret. Learning an instrument is a great way to step away from the hassles of the day. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/42 "2011-12-22T04:56:01Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > I’ve been told that improvisation is very difficult to learn as an adult. Is it easier or harder to learn if you’ve never learned how to play anyone else’s songs? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/43 "2011-12-22T05:09:00Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > I’ve been told that improvisation is very difficult to learn as an adult. Not in my experience. It can be hard for someone to open up and _allow_ the improve to come through, but I have yet to spend time with anyone (classically trained or otherwise) who wasn’t able to open up. Given the, uh, ‘circles’ I travel in, I’ve introduced improv to a lot of people. Note that ‘spending time’ means more than five minutes and the person was already interested in playing. It can be hard to get over, but it’s a primarily a mental block of the ‘teacher always said to colour within the lines and in the same direction’, not a difficulty in learning per se. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/44 "2011-12-23T02:10:28Z")
Let’s move this over to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator Please note the original thread was started in 2004. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/45 "2011-12-23T03:20:48Z")
Get an electric, have it strung with 008 or 009 (light) gauge strings. If you can afford to, get it set up by a pro. Make it as easy on yourself as possible in the beginning and you will be more likely to stick with it. Don’t worry about an amp until you’ve been at it a while. An unamplified electric is plenty loud to hear yourself when you’re starting out. I started in my late twenties, had a good job and minimal other responsibilities so I bought a really nice first guitar. That worked out well for me because it played easily, sounded good and I loved spending time with it. I’m not a “good” player but 20+ years later I’m still at it. Swapped guitars many times over the years though. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/46 "2011-12-23T14:22:39Z")
When a similar question was asked on a mandolin website, several posters picked up the instrument after age 50, some having never played any other instrument. I was almost 50 with no experience when I started. Within in a few weeks I had taught myself both how to play and how to read music. Whether it was the time, age or inherent ability, I quickly progressed to a point of being able to play recongizable melodies and pretty much plateaued there. Maybe when I’m retired and can devote more practice time… ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/47 "2011-12-24T03:56:10Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > Is it easier or harder to learn if you’ve never learned how to play anyone else’s songs? Good question – never thought about that. I don’t know very many people personally who play completely free-improvisation, as their main thing, but those few people can certainly play other tunes as well. I’ll go with easier – if you don’t have pretty sharp ears, you won’t be able to improvise freely (at least with any intention), and without at least decent ears, you could never play anyone else’s music, except as a technical exercise. I’d guess if your ears can hear a “new direction” in an improvised line, they can hear just as well something dimly remembered from the past, and play it more or less however one wants. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/48 "2011-12-24T04:06:36Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Not sure if this is more IMHO or GQ so please feel free to move if in wrong forum. > > I was thinking of taking up a hobby and have always wanted to play the guitar. Problem is I’m already late twentysomethingorother. Is it possible for an adult who has never played a musical instrument to learn to play one with any degree of skill? Anyone here ever learn to play an instrument from scratch after their 25th birthday? My spouse used to specialize in teaching adults to play musical instruments. Several of them later joined bands and a couple wound up in international-level competitions. Of course, quite a few simply learned to play well enough to entertain themselves, if not always others. His oldest student started at 56. He’s still playing in his early 80’s. DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! You’re still young compared to a lot of my spouses’ former students. No reason you can’t pick it up. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/49 "2011-12-24T04:09:51Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > I’ll venture that nobody learns to play the bagpipes _except_ as an adult. Nope, I’ve known dozens of pipers that started as kids. (Yes, I’ve known _hundreds_ of pipers - used to be one myself) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746/50 "2011-12-24T04:45:11Z")
I picked up the guitar about 3 years ago, at age 44. I’ve become at least somewhat competent at it, though I know I’d be better if I practiced more. (Disclosure: I had actually played the guitar as a kid, for about 2 years, but I stopped playing when I was 10, and I consider myself to have re-started from “scratch”, as it were.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-adult-learn-to-play-a-musical-instrument/241746.md?page=2)