Can You Learn To Play An Instrument After Childhood?

I've always been quite taken with music, but my family never put me in band or signed me up for lessons or anything of the sort, so I missed that prime opportunity to learn to read and play music in childhood (where, unless I'm mistaken, is when you're supposed to since that's when it's easiest for your brain to learn such a task).

I started to fiddle with the piano when I was just turning 16, I was capable of memorizing some songs to play, mostly simple, but I never learned the concept of "cords" nor do I have any idea how to read music. It's been about two years and I'm curious if it's still viable for me to try and learn to play piano seriously. I love piano, and when I actually manage to play something the feeling is amazing. I honestly want to learn how to play bigger, better pieces and actually not sit there for five hours copying a tutorial on youtube. I would think the first step in my quest would be to learn to read music by looking at it. I know the concept of notes and names, and can manage to read music one note at a time if I sit there for awhile, but not nearly as easy as simply glancing at the page and reading it as if it were a book.

So I ask, is it still possible for me to learn to play piano well? Is there anything I could take in college that wouldn't expect me to already be versed in music?

I began when I was 14. Entirely self taught until now, and I was just accepted into conservatory. I learnt solfege and how to read music independently, so yes, it can be done.

http://www.practicesightreading.com
http://www.musictheory.net

Some sites you should find useful.

Yes, it's quite easy to understand music. I'm quite adept at it, so if you need assistance, please, message me!

Of course you can! It's never too late, really. You might want to look into getting lessons, as a teacher can help you with technique and spot problems that you would otherwise be unaware of. A teacher can also help you out with whatever you might not find on youtube and can give you a more structured learning experience.

That's not to say a teacher is necessary - there are many great musicians who are self taught. I'd still recommend one though

I began playing guitar when I was 13(went 2 and a half years to a professor and then self-taugth) and turned to bass when I was 17 I consider myself quite good at bass and decent at guitar.

Music is like learning maths, you can learn it anytime, but it always needs hard work.

Originally Posted by hellheaven1987

Music is like learning maths, you can learn it anytime, but it always needs hard work.

Originally Posted by hellheaven1987

Music is like learning maths, you can learn it anytime, but it always needs hard work.

QFT

In the "Yes Man" Truman learned to play the guitar and saved a man's life, so no, it can't be that difficult. With strong motivation and lots of hard work and dedication.

Originally Posted by John F. Kennedy

I've always been quite taken with music, but my family never put me in band or signed me up for lessons or anything of the sort, so I missed that prime opportunity to learn to read and play music in childhood (where, unless I'm mistaken, is when you're supposed to since that's when it's easiest for your brain to learn such a task).

I started to fiddle with the piano when I was just turning 16, I was capable of memorizing some songs to play, mostly simple, but I never learned the concept of "cords" nor do I have any idea how to read music. It's been about two years and I'm curious if it's still viable for me to try and learn to play piano seriously. I love piano, and when I actually manage to play something the feeling is amazing. I honestly want to learn how to play bigger, better pieces and actually not sit there for five hours copying a tutorial on youtube. I would think the first step in my quest would be to learn to read music by looking at it. I know the concept of notes and names, and can manage to read music one note at a time if I sit there for awhile, but not nearly as easy as simply glancing at the page and reading it as if it were a book.

So I ask, is it still possible for me to learn to play piano well? Is there anything I could take in college that wouldn't expect me to already be versed in music?

Heck yes. I have a good friend who started to teach himself piano at 14, and two years later he's almost better than me, and I started at age 9.
Getting a teacher will be a huge help, especially in learning how to read music and mastering technique. A teacher will know what books and methods to use to get you reading sheet music. I don't know anyone who learned how to read sheet music by themselves, so a teacher may well be essential.
Next: learning bigger and better pieces. Once you learn to read music "fluently," things will get interesting. If you end up getting a teacher, then they'll lead you on a well-paced march up the difficulty levels, and you should feel comfortable learning the pieces they give you-challenged, but comfortable. If you are on your own, DO NOT expect to be able to play the most insane Chopin nocturnes or Beethoven sonatas. It is very likely you will never be able to play those kinds of things, no matter how much you practice-those are for virtuosos, let them be. Take on what you're capable of playing-once you can read sheet music, you'll be able to tell if you can play a piece just by looking and listening to it.
Youtube tutorial videos are useless-if you really want to learn one of those pieces, you can probably find its sheet music for free online with a bit of digging.
Chords are just three or more notes played at the same time, and knowing much beyond that isn't necessary if you just want to play music by the notes. If you ever want to do jazz, improvisation, or write music, then you'll have to know advanced chord theory-but that stuff scares the crap out of me, so I'll leave that to someone else .
I don't know much about college music, but I'm under the impression most places don't have classes or ensembles for "beginners," especially for piano players. I'm fairly sure most college music programs are only for instruments that play in an ensemble, like a trumpet in a concert band or viola in an orchestra.
All this stuff about having to learn music when you're young doesn't seem to hold up too well to me. In my experience, most children learn music very slowly and then quit after a few years. Only a few stick with it. I think this is because most children are forced into music and never develop any love for playing their instrument.
I have friends who started taking piano when they were young, and are at my skill level now. I have other friends who started out much later and are at my skill level now. Starting young is not necessary-all you need is a passion for music. I used to be atrocious at the piano-then I got into high school band, and suddenly I started to understand and love music, and within months I was twice as good as I was before (still not that good, but certainly getting somewhere.) Similarly, you may not know much about music right now, but you want to know more and become better, so if you put in the time, it's certain you will.
EDIT: What kind of music are you currently playing? Post a youtube video of it or something, along with videos of music you'd like to play at some point.

Originally Posted by John F. Kennedy

I've always been quite taken with music, but my family never put me in band or signed me up for lessons or anything of the sort, so I missed that prime opportunity to learn to read and play music in childhood (where, unless I'm mistaken, is when you're supposed to since that's when it's easiest for your brain to learn such a task).

I hear that it's easier for children to learn music etc a lot in my profession (piano teacher), and I can assure you that if anything it's the opposite. I teach lots of both, and the only advantage that children have over adults in learning piano is that they have both potentially much more time to devote to practice, and bizarrely have more patience as well. Patience is necessary because repetition is intrinsic to learning piano, and while adults play for instance a passage of music once or twice then decide that they just can't play it properly, children will happily play something over and over as long as they like the piece.

I started to fiddle with the piano when I was just turning 16, I was capable of memorizing some songs to play, mostly simple, but I never learned the concept of "cords" nor do I have any idea how to read music. It's been about two years and I'm curious if it's still viable for me to try and learn to play piano seriously. I love piano, and when I actually manage to play something the feeling is amazing. I honestly want to learn how to play bigger, better pieces and actually not sit there for five hours copying a tutorial on youtube. I would think the first step in my quest would be to learn to read music by looking at it. I know the concept of notes and names, and can manage to read music one note at a time if I sit there for awhile, but not nearly as easy as simply glancing at the page and reading it as if it were a book.

So I ask, is it still possible for me to learn to play piano well? Is there anything I could take in college that wouldn't expect me to already be versed in music?

I'd recommend you learn to read music. It's very daunting at first, but it's such a brilliantly concise and precise notation that you will quickly appreciate just how incredibly effective it is. There are numerous resources online I'm sure for reading music, you could even look at first principles and reason out yourself how to do it, which would likely be very satisfying.

Just remember that when you are learning to read music, you are trying to form associations between the note on the page and the key on the piano, so as to be able to cut out the middle man of identifying the note as a letter then translating to the piano keys. The next tip is huge: when you have music in front of you on the piano, you should have your eyes on the music only, just as if you are touch-typing. Learn to play without looking at your fingers. When you play from memory, look at your fingers, but get in the habit of keeping your eyes on the music when it is in front of you. I have taken on so many pupils from other teachers whose playing is almost crippled by the habit of looking up and down constantly.

As far as basic courses, maybe there is some sort of music appreciation course where you can learn a bit more about some of the theory, chords, etc. For most courses with that name you need no prior musical experience.

Good luck!

edit: oh yes, about getting a teacher. A good teacher will not only help to keep you motivated, if that is ever a problem, they will most importantly help you gain a solid, relaxed technique. This is "key"! I have seen many decent self-taught players who are good pianists but have hit a 'ceiling' in their playing because of technical issues. Why not take advantage of the centuries of accumulated knowledge of piano teachers and get tips from someone who has been playing all their life

Many great musicians got by without reading music, but then many great businessmen got by without higher education.

It is a huge benefit to be able to read music, and you'll be surprised by how simple it is. Once you know how many notes there are, and on what space/line they occur on, and a few symbols - thats it.

As for chords they are a little bit more complicated but honestly it is just a case of getting them ingrained into thought and muscle memory.

I've always wanted to play guitar.

I know how to read notes, I might teach myself.

I want a Flying V.

Time to time human mind learn things easier...Take chess as an example,there are people starting chess at the age of 19-25 and in 3 years they play well.On the other hang many kids started chess at 12-15 and in 5 years they may not make an impressive progress at all.

Well of course a music instument is more complicated and difficult but I think you can start it in any age.

One of the most famous metal frontmen learned to play guitar when he was 14.

It shouldn't be that much harder to play as x age than 14.

I started learning guitar at 24.
In 3 days I learned to play the famous bit from the Smoke On The Water.
Slowly and poorly.
And then I gave up because my hand and fingers coordination is non existing and it would take me years of daily practice to call myself bad guitarist at best.

Ok, maybe not really an inspiring example. But it's got nothing to do with years.

I started playing electric guitar a year ago (I'm 16 now), and so far I don't see how I would've fared significantly better if I had started out at a younger age. And piano is a good mainstream instrument, with tons of easy songs and tunes to start out with (it's not like you're learning to play the harp or something)

Learning music is really like learning a language. Because music is a language.

I started playing an Acoustic and I'm 18 if that says anything, the one thing I'm having trouble are where to put my right hand at "I'm playing a Left Handed Guitar" and where to put my fingers at. So far other than that I like it!

Originally Posted by Vaskill

I started playing an Acoustic and I'm 18 if that says anything, the one thing I'm having trouble are where to put my right hand at "I'm playing a Left Handed Guitar" and where to put my fingers at. So far other than that I like it!

That's what I bet I'll have a problem with.

But I do have a left handed guitar in the basement.