Is it too late to start learning an instrument if you are not a kid anymore?
Saxophone for example
>>28303366
Not too late, just won't come as naturally. Follow your dreams anon
>>28303366
No. I'm 22, I started learning the guitar a month ago, and I learnt my first song a week ago. It's never too late, go start learning.
You wanna be like lisa simpson?
>>28303366
You can easily become proficient at any instrument in a few years playing, if you're consistent and smart with practicing. You might not be first chair in an orchestra, or the next Hendrix if you're playing guitar, but you can absolutely be good enough to make money from playing.
Thank you kind anons, here is a nice video I found recently which inspires me a lot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TdB3a0gBug
>>28303387
I'm curious, how did you start with the guitar? Do you actually take lessons?
it's not too late. you might never become a virtuoso but if you work at it you will definitely become reasonably good. of course it helps if you have other related skills ie reading music, sense of rhythm and timing, sense of pitch etc, and having learned one instrument before will make it easier to pick up another, especially if they're similar instruments (learning clarinet in school and going to saxophone, for example)
tl;dr go for it if you're committed to practising.
Just depends if you are willing to put in the time. You have to accept that you probably won't be able to play a song day 1, but if you keep at it you'll start to improve.
You have to create new neural pathways to learn anything new.
I'd learn the accordion if I could. I'd be a one man band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKj5h98QvBM
>>28303366
Not at all
It's never too late, becoming competent in an instrument to the extent of playing as a part of a band isn't that hard, is achievable to literally everyone who remotely gives a half ass effort
>>28303366
Nope
But there won't be any parents pushing you to do it, even if you don't like it.
>>28303366
I'm 21 and I started learning the piano about 3 months ago.
I'm now able to play much more advanced shit than my sister who did 6 years of formal lessons
Saxophone is... well, obviously gonna be harder instrument than guitar, drums or bass. Due to the physicality of it first and foremost, but also because it's going to be hard to get a band going.
Sax requires a bit more profficiency before you can start jamming with others, which is a bit of a set back because the best way to get more proficient is to play with other people, especially people who are better than you. Sax also requires musical theory, compared to those more conventional instruments. Playing with others is also important because it will make it less likely for you to drop/quit playing. You are more motivated when you have a practice scheduled.
With that being said - it's certainly not undoable. It's very doable, just comes down to whether you have the will and what are your expectations. Hell, most guitar players have a guitar that is just a room decoration, they have no bands and they basically pick it up once in 6 months to noodle while watching a tv show. Just saying - you should have some concise goals and expectations from the get go so that you don't get discouraged.
By all means do go for it.
no but your potential will never be as high as someone who started as a child
>>28306026
bullshit. its just gonna take you a bit longer.
>>28305704
What can you play, senpai?
>>28303809
Another anon here, I just went to ultimate guitar and practiced those tabs
I think the thing that really helped was listening to simple song once you've learned a few easy ones and trying to tab it yourself like easy bass lines or something
>>28306058
hot cross buns
>>28306041
If that were true, there would be more professionals who started as adults. These people literally have different areas of their brain associated with music physically different from an average person because they practised these skills so much when they were growing up
>>28303366
You're not late at all if you are just 22.
>>28306209
Dude it's clear as a day that you don't play jack shit so don't spread bullshit around.
Obviously you can't be a pro if you start playing at mid 20s, but that is for the sole reason of not going to music schools. You have to have proper education to be a pro sax player. Not because you cant learn on your own, but because that kind of high profile gig requires you to be a fucking educated professional.
>tfw you have dyspraxia
>tfw terribly poor motor skills
>learned to tie shoelaces at the age of 16
>still can't tie other knots, or catch a ball
>you will never be good at playing an instrument
>>28306453
>you can literally overcome physical limitations if you just believe in yourself!
Go ahead buddy, find me a world-class professional who started after the age of 16. It's only a decade of lost time, so surely there must be at least a few. Right?
>tfw you never tried learning anything as a kid when you had the chance
>>28306558
Hahaha how fucking deluded are you? Just go on fucking youtube, there are literally thousands of guitar players for an instance who can run circles around most professionals in terms of technique and performance.
It's all about the practice time you put in. It's not about how many years you've been playing, it's about how many hours per day.
In the end, it's not the best players that get the gig, it's the ones that are easiest to work with. It also comes down to what you define as a pro.
>>28303366
its never too late
i am always interested in learning any instrument, once you learn one it becomes natural to want more i think
why does age matter? for me that says that your motivation for wanting to play music is in the wrong place, do it because you want to, it's not like you'll be making something out of it anytime soon, it is meant to be enjoyed
>>28306628
>It's not about how many years you've been playing, it's about how many hours per day.
I was thinking of piano, because it's what I play and for it this is so obviously not true. If number of hours was all that mattered, why are there no concert pianists who started after the age of 16? In fact the guy in his mid-30s who started late should be even better than the 20 year old virtuoso, because he had better practice habits, and yet we never see any of them.
>>28306790
Harold Bauer was 20 when he started to play piano.
Literally the first link when googling, now kill yourself you fucking idiot.
>>28306950
>Harold Bauer
>literally a touring violinist at age 10
>19 is only the age he began formal study full time under an accomplished composer, having taught himself for years beforehand
wow if he did it then I surely can!
>now kill yourself you fucking idiot.
No need for such hostility buddy. Touch a nerve did I? You should have discovered this dreamcrushing thing for yourself after graduating high school
Why the fuck would you learn how to play an instrument when computers exist?
Fucking retards
>>28307144
why are you even responding
And plus, you're both wrong
It doesn't matter if you start off as a kid or not. The only thing that matters is the natural aptitude and talent that you were born with. Most good players find this out young. hard work doesn't mean shit, and playing something for several years will not make you good at it, like some cucks here like to believe
OP, try it out, and if you're still shit within two months, give up
t. Music comp grad
Does 17 count as a kid? I'm 19 now and I started learning guitar from scratch at nearly two years ago and I've gotten fairly decent if I do say so myself fampai. I've never even had lessons either.
Saying that it is objectively better to start a really young age, that's how people become virtuoso tier like that Sunga Jung asian kid or whatever he's called on YouTube.
However that's just guitar though it might be different with other instruments. I'm sure you could be a great tier harmonica player in a few short years regardless of how old you are, same goes with similar instruments.
>>28307301
except if you pit two people with equal natural aptitude against eachother the advantage is going to go to the one who nurtured that talent when his brain was not yet fully developed
>>28307525
Isn't the brain developing until the age of 25?
>>28303809
It depends how dedicated you are, I started at about 14 then dropped it from 17-20. Bought myself a new guitar and just sat down with some really easy songs. Like early Blink-182/Wheatus/Bowling for Soup I enjoyed listening too and playing along with. Then moved onto the music i'm more into now, solos can still be tricky. Currently working on this solo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prB72Ww4VKs
>>28307540
yes. It's pretty depressing how the top minds in almost all fields tend to peak around their mid to late 20s.
i'd love to learn to play the piano.
>>28307647
Me too anon, I look on youtube and there are some nice songs and full tutorials on how to play them, it does not look at all once you memorise it, but too poor for a piano.
>>28303366
Learn to read music and play piano first. Amazing, now you can learn to play anything with enough time.
>>28305704
What is your method?
As a musician who had formal training for ~7 years, self taught musicians tend to make my autism flare up.
If you can afford it get a teacher, it's never to late to learn for fun.
>>28309164
In what sense? As it that they are very good, on your level, by self teaching?
>>28309237
No, in that they have poor technique, poor fundamentals if any, and if it's an instrument like guitar which is really commonly self taught, absolutely no musical knowledge.
>>28309237
In that he's butthurt that he wasted $50 a week for 7 years (literally $17,500 [seventeen thousand five hundred dollars]) on a shitty teacher when other people are doing just fine learning on their own
>>28309344
>implying any of those things are necessary to be a good musician
>>28309164
>7 years
>"""""""musician"""""""
You're at that level where you know enough to think you're good, but not enough to realize that you know nothing
>>28309690
For playing in your bedroom sure, but trying to play or compose with most self taught musicians is very frustrating.
>>28309817
Well not a professional musician, I'm a year away from my degree still
>>28303366
>Is it too late to start learning an instrument if you are not a kid anymore?
As long as it's not violin or a woodwind, you're fine.
Violins and woodwind not only take forever to master, you sound absolutely horrible right up to the moment you finally learn them.
Compare that to something like a guitar...you learn two chords and people can sing along to a song without making faces. Brass sounds OK as long you don't try anything fancy, percussion, too, and even larger strings (you can pluck a bass string and people will groove to it even if you can't do anything else).
Violins and woodwinds, especially like an alto or tenor sax, they sound like kittens having their guts pulled out for *years* after someone starts learning them. That's why the only decent players start at like 3 or 4, and you need Asian (or Asian-like) tiger moms to force them to practice for 6+ hours a day.
The worst is the oboe, it takes years just to get that to sound like anything other than some kid making a piece grass squeal.
So, can you learn an instrument? Sure. Sax or violin? Go ahead, just be prepared for 15+ years of massive suck because no adult can devote hours and hours a day to practice.
Protip: No one ever asks someone to pull out their sax and play a song at a party. Even violinists get asked to play fiddle. Sax ranks below accordion for party-time fun...and you know why? Because everyone knows saxophone players are going to be unbearable 99.9999% of the time.
>tfw played alto sax for a little while
>trumpet players got the girls
>sax players got overbite
I've been drumming for about a month (pushed in about 30 hours, busy schedule), got the basics down, and since today I can play this whole thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7nyHHUWv94
I think it's good progress
>>28303366
Yes OP. Absolutely. Just go buy an instrument, it's not much more complicated than that.
The sercret is to put the instrument as close as possible to your computer or wherever you usually sit.
>>28305986
Saxophone is much easier than guitar and piano
>>28303366
If you have nothing to do, then no, it isn't too late, and don't let yourself be demotivated by people who say otherwise. Go and achieve.
nope. you can learn anything you want.
the sax is awesome, but really expensive.
i'd try out the piano first. they are practically free, all sheet music is made with the piano in mind and there are plenty of resources on the net to read up on.
>>28303366
I learned guitar entirely through the internet at age 15
And harmonica at 16
Im barely 18 now
Some guitar songs I can play
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR6dW91e55A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS8i1U8JiRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tb3j0Tf318
And for harmonica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dtMTbSTZ9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_SxPYhB_Bw
and a few more I cant find on youtube
I never really took it seriously, it was just something i did for 30 minutes pr day 3-4 days per week and when I went camping. I would say youre fine to learn easy instruments alone such as guitar and brass, strings may require a teacher
>>28309572
>$50 bucks a week
private lessons usually run more than that.
>people are doing just fine learning on their own
there's a huge difference between a retard who plays a couple songs on the guitar to impress his friends and a musician who studies at conservatories and plays his instrument for a living, my obtuse friend.
>>28309966
>overbite
poor form, friend
>15+ years
you can definitely sound decent after a few years of solid practice on the saxophone
>>28310529
Learning [anything] music theory on your own will make you understand it better because you'll have to make sense of it and recognise the patterns that there are within it yourself, rather than have them forced on you by a teacher, imho.
>>28310529
>and a musician who studies at conservatories and plays his instrument for a living
as if most students taking scam lessons are doing that. If that is you then fair enough. If you're paying out tens of thousands of dollars to learn grade 1 to grade 8 material from the neighbourhood piano lady who never even made it as a professional, then you are a retard who's getting ripped off
>>28310612
you can make the same argument for calculus, or anything.
Yea if you're a lazy genius then self-teach yourself. For most people it helps having someone show them the ropes.
I'm willing to bet real money if you have two guitar players and give one private lessons, he will accelerate in growth much faster than the one who is "self-taught."
>>28303809
depends what type of music you're into but like that other guy said, ultimate guitar tabs, play shitloads of metallica/megadeth and you'll be golden
>>28310668
>you're a retard for learning how to play the piano seriously
nope
usually whenever someone who is self-taught plays the piano in front of me, I can't help but grimace at their flat fingers, poor timing, and general incompetency
but hey at least he can play "River flows in You," the national anthem of self-taught pianists everywhere!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhN7SG-H-3k
>>28310677
I say that because going through material myself before learning it in class made me understand it much better, including calculus. I found lessons were forcing information down your throat without really letting you make all the links yourself.
>>28310763
you are literally shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to some unqualified nobody to learn beginner material. Piano pedagogy is a fucking joke, the fact that two piano teachers can be so dogmatic and yet hold contradicting views is proof of that. Don't try to convince beginners to waste their money because you suffer from buyer's remorse
Leaving the highly technical/professional stuff aside,
Is it possible for someone above the age of 18, who is completely untrained in music but has been listening to it most of the day for years, to become proficient enough at guitar to join a rock band and go and play gigs and have fun?
I'm completely uninterested in being a virtuoso or playing any kind of traditional/classical music. I just want to be good enough that I can perform on a shitty local stage with a band and let off steam.
>>28310986
yes, rock music is not very challenging at all
>>28310986
Yes, you won't be the next big thing, but you'll be decent enough to play a local bar or club.
Stevie Ray Vaughn was 25 when he got his first guitar.
>>28303388
dental plan
*original comment *
>>28310986
Yeah and that's a pretty good milestone. Just buy a cheap fender squier and learn to play bon jovi songs or whatever you're into.
Don't underestimate what your human body is capable of.
>>28310986
This >>28311042
I think you don't hear about them because media companies don't want to take up old people as they're harder to sell
>>28311307
I think people just like dancing to EDM more than listening to 10 minute drum solos
>>28309966
>Violins and woodwinds, especially like an alto or tenor sax, they sound like kittens having their guts pulled out for *years* after someone starts learning them. That's why the only decent players start at like 3 or 4, and you need Asian (or Asian-like) tiger moms to force them to practice for 6+ hours a day.
>The worst is the oboe, it takes years just to get that to sound like anything other than some kid making a piece grass squeal.
>played oboe in middle school because parents
>sounded like total shit
>wanted to play trombone because dat cool slide
>"no no, you are learning the oboe, mastering it will teach you skills that will help you in life" (imagine hearing that shit at 12)
I was allowed to stop when I was 14, but only if I agreed it meant I couldn't play another instrument.
>get full ride to uni
>learn guitar
>parents find out and freak
>against their explicit orders
>"remember what we agreed when you stopped the oboe?"
>bite me mom & dad
Oh, my sister studied violin. She was fucking awesome, though, and loved playing it. So of course, my parents told her she had to either give up the violin or give up college.
>tfw they made her sell her violin to help pay for college
>we had the money
>they just wanted to make her feel like shit for some 'lesson'
>she won't even listen to classical music now they made her hate the violin so much
>>28303366
Yes it is.
'It's all about practice, you just need to give more effort' is a plebeian, tautological claim. By all practical, non-useless means, you're never going to get good or decent, because you just won't have the time required to see any visible effects at this point.
>>28311967
What do you think was the cause of their attitude?
>>28311967
Why would they be against you playing a different instrument though?
Wouldn't it teach you those skills regardless of the instrument itself?
>>28312020
(In other words, 99% of posters in threads like this just want to convince you to try and couldn't give less of a fuck about actually judging the feasibility of it. They would reply YES YOU CAN even if they didn't read at all what you're asking about.)
>>28307301
Next level shitposting, blew up my bullshit-o-meter after a single post.
>>28312129
Wanting to motivate others doesn't justify 'dude hard work lmao' shitposting.
>>28312020
>What is being a NEET?
kek stupid wagey.
>>28308851
Obviously buy a midi keyboard like 90% of the people out there.
>>28312178
Well good point, but you're still not even going to get average.
>>28311967
>I was allowed to stop when I was 14, but only if I agreed it meant I couldn't play another instrument.
what the fuck
>get full ride to uni
>learn guitar
>parents find out and freak
what the fuck
>my parents told her she had to either give up the violin or give up college.
seriously your parents are awful people
>>28312205
>implying
I started learning piano when I was 18 and now I'm 23 and I'm pretty fucking good. Sure I'll never be a prodigy that's been honing their skill since they were fucking 3, like all those asian pianists, but I'm way above an average piano player. Keep trying though senpai.
>>28312270
>Sure I'll never be a prodigy
Nice strawman.
No actually, it's not nice, it's fucking awful.
>>28312286
(Incidentally, literally everyone commits it after I point out that 'you just need to give more effort' is a tautology.)
>>28312205
Is your point that there is no longer enough time to become good, or that it simply won't work as an adult?
Because there are plenty of kids who started guitar at 12 or 13, and became famous and respected guitarists by their 20s.
Now, the fame/respect might not be possible for a 20-something any more, but surely if a 12 year old can get to guitar proficiency in 10 years, a 22 year old, say, can be very good by the time he's 32?
Unless your point is that these things are only possible to learn as a kid, in which case you didn't make yourself clear.
>>28312320
>the fame/respect might not be possible for a 20-something any more
>>28312307 here -- see, here's another.
Motivating idiots just never change.
>>28312320
>Is your point that there is no longer enough time to become good, or that it simply won't work as an adult?
Also, both. There both is not enough time and your progress will be too slow for you to want to continue. The brain just stops being as easy to fascinate. Learning an instrument past 20 is, under a certain IQ, like learning to watch paint dry. Tedious and soulless. Even if you had the time, you would find it mechanical.
>>28312286
What? It's true senpai. The academy I go to has kids as young as 3 that are forced by their parents(usually Asians) to practice over 5 hours a day. It's only natural these kids will grow to become superb piano players. If you do some research you'll see pretty much 90 percent of all top notch piano players start honing their skills since they are children, and the ones who don't just have natural talent for music.
>>28312020
You're a moron
>>28312089
You're a moron too.
It's not exactly practice like it's a workout that you hate, but more like keep playing an instrument you enjoy and you'll get better. Learning to play songs or melodies you like is fun (and it counts as practice).
So what is the actual point of learning an instrument if everyone says
>Yeah of course you can do it
>But you'll never be super good/famous/in a respected band
Literally the only reasons people learn instruments are either to become a master of the craft or to be very famous/successful/rich. If both of these things are denied for anyone starting post-16, what's the point?
Learning music theory is always the first step to learning any instrument. The better you understand how it works the faster your skills will improve on any instrument. I suggest learning percussion first to get your rhythm down pat. All it requires is a pair of drum sticks and a practice pad.
>>28312503
'B-but EFFORT, and, uh... HARD-- h-hard... ...you just need to keep practi-- um, what were you saying? Either way, you just need to give some effort and I'm sure it will work out, even though that's not even what you asked about.'
At age 21 I recently learned to play the Violin, mostly by myself and some lessons from my grandfather. I find myself able to learn quickly and in 2-3 months I'm quite decent for a beginner and I know several songs already. I didn't find learning it very difficult, but I've been told I was always very musical since my childhood, because I tried keyboard when I was a child, though I did not continue with that. So I think having a certain ear for music, as they say, will help you a lot.
Go for it OP. The most important thing is to always pick up the instrument every other day, even if its just for 10 minutes, but try not to pick it up when you feel bad or don't feel like playing, because that isn't going to help you.
>>28312570
Saying 'the most important thing in learning an instrument is diligence' is like saying 'the most important thing with respect to road safety is to ensure that there are no traffic accidents'.
Fucking idiots.
>>28312570
you write like a retard, and were someone to read your post out loud to you, with that fucking musical ear of yours, you'd sound like a retard too
>but try not to pick it up when you feel bad or don't feel like playing, because that isn't going to help you.
Literally what is music? Literally what is practice?
You think those sad songs we're composed when people were happy as fuck? You think those prodigies didn't train that one day because they didn't feel like it?
If I picked up a guitar right now and started practicing diligently, how long would it be until I could play in a shitty band with my friends?
>>28312627
shitty band? Right away
Just fucking practice you mong, more practice, faster results and vice versa jfc
>>28303366
You'll know within a few minutes if you're good at an instrument or not. People who are prodgies know how to play as soon as they pick up something & other people can practice and practice and never will get anywhere. Its like anything else.
>>28312624
You're all so offensive about me sharing my perspective on it. I don't get why, but It's quite hilarious.
I'm happy I don't get this mad over literally nothing, lack the ability to appreciate anything, and feel the need to criticise everything.
>>28312627
>>28312672
not the same guy but, equally, how good must your voice be to be a vocalist in a semi-shitty band teenage/20-somethings band?
>>28312714
Go hug a tree you fucking hippy
>>28312022
>>28312061
>>28312269
I was supposed to learn responsibility and that my actions had consequences.
In their fucked up way, I think they were trying to be good parents, but I really hated them for doing that to my sister.
>>28303366
>Is it too late to start learning an instrument if you are not a kid anymore?
No.
There are people that start learning after their retirement or otherwise old as fuck all the time.
Only time it is too late is if you get something that physically stops you, like arthritis or in the case of a saxophone, fucked up lungs.
>>28312503
Because it's FUN. And people play instruments much more than they learn them.
Becoming a master is hardly my goal whenever i sit down at the piano or guitar. Getting better is always a goal in the back of my mind however, and i like improving.
Getting famous is a tricky one, because you need to be great and fit a niche. There's thousands of metal bands with amazing, virtuosic players that nobody knows of, why? Because the genre is oversaturated and generic.
There's also celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus and One Direction who are considered successful, but they're hardly musicians and definitely not masters of their craft. They're attractive people backed up by their marketers and songwriters, all they have to do is look pretty and sing. You need to ask yourself if that is success for you, it certainly isn't for me.
>>28312560
What do you want? Do you want us to say it's okay for you to not try? Okay then be lazy, but don't be a cunt too by telling others to give up. Lazy cunt.
tl;dr
just buy an instrument
>>28312526
i didn't learn much music theory until 5 years in playing guitar, when i started making music on fruity loops.
don't give advice you haven't followed.
>>28303366
A good first instrument is the meat whistle, or skin flute. Many children learn to play it at a very young age.
>>28312624
What if he doesn't want to become a prodigy?
I'll never be a prodigy either but I'm quite happy with knowing how to play moderate and semi-advanced songs on the piano(which I started learning when I was 18). It's also quite fun playing piano covers of songs I discover in my video games or Chinese cartoons, it's a hobby, I do it for fun. Unless you're literally trying to become a prodigy there's no point in slaving yourself doing it for hours on end, everyday even when you don't feel like doing it. You can still become an above average player as long as you enjoy doing it and invest enough time honing your skills, and it doesn't mean you have to aim to become a famous player. I also lift but I'm not trying to become a professional body builder either.
help me out guitarbros
how the fuck do I get that tone that makes power chords sound so... powerful? Even the low string open sounds fat and heavy with that kind of tone.
is it a distortion pedal?
overdrive pedal?
My amp has a gain setting, but that's it.
pls respond
>>28313262
Lots of gain
bass 6/10
middle 0/10
treble 8/10
high volume
Idk Greg Ginn from black flag was like 23 when he started playing and hes great and makes money now
>>28313143
I've been playing the meat flute since I was 12. I'm pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. It's probably one of the easier instruments to learn.
>>28313327
thanks guitarfriend I had no idea it was that simple
>>28313052
I'm a composer and I have followed my own advice. Guaranteed you didn't make any music that hasn't already been done before.
