In the music world (especially in classical music) there’s this sort of dogma that if you don’t start playing an instrument early in your childhood that you’ll never be as good as someone who did. Is this really true? I know that children are good at learning stuff quickly but other than that, what physiological and neurological reasons are there for this dogma to supposedly be true?
Hope I didn’t explain it to vaguely.
In: 7
I don’t play any instruments but I’m an artist and I view it the same way as I view music.
Learning an instrument takes a lot of time and practice. Same as art.
When we are younger we have a lot of free time. Some people were forced into a instrument at a young age and had their free time spent practicing their instruments. If they continue practicing and playing they can become very successful in their practice.
Now say if you just started playing the piano at 30 years of age you will sound just like a child did when they first started. Same as someone who picks up a paint brush at 30 for the first time. They can’t create a masterpiece unless they were a hidden savant or something like that.
Music is a skill just like art. It takes time and patience and a lot of grueling work that nobody else will see. A lot of mental exhaustion and stress. Not considering the constant feel of failure a lot of creative people feel. As a hobby though it’s a lot more laid back and relaxing.
There’s nothing inherently given to those who learn a skill early other than being able to apply that skill in life earlier (in the arts).
It will be a great way for you to learn something new and motivate yourself from that accomplishment. It beats boredom and lets you express yourself in ways you never thought possible before.
I truly believe that everyone is an artist but they don’t have the time or effort into expressing that side of themselves. We all don’t need to be Picasso or Beethoven, we just need to understand each other better and that’s what art is all about.
While it’s true that in general children are better/faster “learners” than adults (which seems to be due to greater plasticity in the pre-frontal cortex), this is generally not true when it comes to learning to play a musical instrument. Adults introduced to a new instrument tend to progress more rapidly than children. This is because adults tend to practice more. However, over time children who stick with an instrument tend to accumulate far more hours of practice (simply because they started a few decades earlier). Take a 30 year old and a 5 year old and introduce them to a new instrument. A year later, the 31 year old will be better than the 6 year old, and this pattern will continue for a while. But if you later compare how they each play when they’re each 40 years old, the one who started as a 5 year old will likely be better. And it’s little wonder why – 35 years of practice v. 10 years of practice.
Music and speaking foreign languages (and perhaps art as well?) require practice, the main purpose of which is to develop muscle memory. The earlier that starts, the more engrained the muscle memory…
Regardless of ANYTHING else, you can never catch up on time. Someone who started 25 years ago, and practises exactly as often as you, will ALWAYS have had more time with their instrument. At some point you might see fimi wishing returns, but even so, you can’t catch up. It’s like being a little brother. While the difference in age percentage to your older brother gets smaller and smaller, you will never ever catch up.
I’ve been playing piano for 30 years and I feel like I can’t play as well as when I was younger.
It’s actually frustrating repeatedly practicing a section or something I did well/easily as a young adult and takes more effort to do again now.
The only thing that did stick (and improved) was the ability to read music, know chords/arpeggios, and familiarity of notes. I can come up with improvisation or covers better than before.
But that’s something an adult can pick up with practice, experience/interest, and exposure.
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