Is 16 too late..?

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Alright! Thanks for your help ^^

I live in the Edgware/Harrow area? I've searched gumtree but nothing in my area :frown:

Don't just check gumtree for teachers. They will be on council websites, in music shops, etc.

Reply 41

popnit

Better late than never!

Reply 42

Botakgi

Never too late for anything!

Reply 43

infernalcradle

Original post by jLou711

thats what she said..?

Ahh, I heard guitar is a lot harder than piano? So maybe it would be easier for you :smile:

but you learn from Youtube? or just by ear and sheets? and yeah I'll defo be having lessons :smile:

haha, good to see you got the pun :wink:

well...it's easier to learn as I can already move both hands independent of each other quite well which I understand is one of the most difficult parts of learning to play the piano well....

I personally had lessons for about 5yrs in the guitar and did GCSE music (I only say this as it helped with my piano skills A LOT)

in terms of how I self teach...I simply print off some sheet music and start teaching myself....or if you have a keyboard...most of them have pre-programmed tunes that you can teach yourself fairly easily.....but that said....I know that I have dreadful technique and do all sorts of diabolical fingering on the piano that no sane pianist would do....so deffo get lessons if you don't want to do crazy stuff :wink:

Reply 44

Jin3011

I started learning the piano at 16, so it's never too late :smile:

its never too late

Of course not, I started at 15 and I'm doing grade 8 :smile:

(I'm 19 now)

Reply 47

coolmushroom

Original post by jLou711

Is 16 too late to start learning piano?

I've been interested for few years now but I've just never got round to finding a piano teacher.

How easy would it be to skip grades too? Is it hard once you can read music and remember the keys?

How do the exams work? I've never really been musical but I enjoy classical music and I think I'd do reasonably well at learning it.

Yes the part of your brain used to learn instruments closes at around 12.

Reply 48

Poke

Nooo not at all, I started piano at 16 and did initial, grade 1, 2 and 3 before i went away away to uni. And my mum has recently started taking piano lessons for the first time and she's over 50 and doing really well!

Reply 49

hannahchan

I started playing piano and then quit. Sometimes its not the right thing for people and for others its great.

I didn't want it to be a career just a hobby however practising each week on top of homework wasn't the way I wanted to spend my time..

so if you happy to put the effort in and know you really want to do that as well as possibly use it for A Levels then go for it :biggrin:

Reply 50

curtis871

Original post by jLou711

So, It'd be fine for a beginner to use a keyboard? Just to learn the keys and practice? I also understand that many keyboards don't have pedals like a standard piano?

Ahh, any you can recommend for relatively cheap? I' dont think I have any local musical instrument shops. :L

I don't think anyone has mentioned this but keyboards can have pedals (not permanently attached, you plug them in). The main differences would be the weighting of the keys, the sensitivity, the portability, the sound quality (not always but normally). Being able to use headphones with a keyboard can be a big plus too if you want to be able to practise at 3am :tongue:

. Many keyboards wont be full size though so possibly worth checking that too. I can't really help with prices at the moment though as I've not bought a new piano/keyboard for a few years.

Reply 51

replica

late at 16? psh you're still a baby!

I've always wished I could play an instrument but I'm tonedeaf as hell, so no chance. :frown:

Reply 52

Panda88

Of course it isn't too late, it's a great time for you to start learning ( I began at 17 ), it's just about the time and effort you put in to be honest. You don't need to practice all that much to be honest, if you practice everyday and focus for that time you'll fly through it.
I brought the Yamaha PSRE423 when I started and it served me very well.
Learning how to play the piano can be such a rewarding thing. Good luck!

Reply 53

Nix-j-c

it's not too late, although you have to take all the grades one after another. if you've never played properly before you'll need to start on 1 anyway.

Reply 54

Emaemmaemily

Original post by Nix-j-c

it's not too late, although you have to take all the grades one after another. if you've never played properly before you'll need to start on 1 anyway.

You mean you don't have to take them one after the other right? A typo?

Go for it!

Original post by Emaemmaemily

You mean you don't have to take them one after the other right? A typo?

OOPS yeah what I said wasn't clear . . . meant that you have to do 1 before 2 before 3 before 4 . . . you can't skip to grade 3 or whatever. Although if you're already at that standard, after a lesson or two you shouldn't have any problems with taking the grade 1 then 2 tests . . .

Reply 57

Emaemmaemily

Original post by Nix-j-c

But actually, you definitely can skip the grades.
I started at 15. I only took grades 5 and 8, and am now finishing my final year studying music at uni and have been into diploma levels for a few years. Of course you can skip grades!