Learning an instrument as an adult

[synodalhaj]

My 5-year old son has been playing piano for about 10 weeks now and (admittedly, everyone thinks their kids are special and unique snowflakes) he seems to definitely be showing some aptitude for it.  He's a bright little fellow who is good at symbol translation of any sort--reading, math, and now it seems music too

Comments

[synodalhaj]

To be fair to Subby, I would imagine there are a fair number of people who buy an axe and want to learn how to shred up some Nickelback RIGHT NOW, DEWD. In doing intro lessons you probably see a lot of kids, some of them disinterested, and a lot of people with unrealistic expectations, and lots you'll never see after the loss-leader lesson 8 ends, and get a little jaded. The 30-something guys like me who bring in "I just bott an electric gitar teach me to playz" electric guitars probably do not make up the most serious candidates, nor the most promising ones. And so his laissez-faire style probably works well at keeping the interest of people who might brook at rules and theory and all that, and spread a little music (or facsimile thereof) where there would be none otherwise. It just was a terrible fit for me

[cesarsalad]

oh yeah, dipnets

[cesarsalad]

I've been playing guitar since I was about 15. I'm pretty terrible, but played in a couple bands in college. I was also lucky to take a couple music theory / classical guitar classes and it definitely helped me improve. Stick with it! Guitar is awesome. If I only could sing I would play more.

[jmallick]

Good story. I've been doing a few new things in life myself, and I could see myself playing an instrument some day. I think the instructor makes all the difference in the world, no matter what it is you're trying to learn. If your real teacher was like the substitute, this might have ended up going nowhere.

Also, what were your favorite games for the Apple II+? I loved Lode Runner, Mastertype, Spin Dizzy, and The Decathlon.

[synodalhaj]

Yeah, I just was not a match with the sub, though I suppose some people might be. There is definitely a quality of instruction issue (and maybe sub was having a bad day or whatever), but compatibility seems important too.

I think you'd be a really good fit for a musical instrument. You're analytical, smart, and if you got interested in it, probably able to pick it up very quickly. Perfect pitch certainly would be useful--not everything, of course, but I can't think of too many musicians who'd turn that down if you just offered it in a pill form to them.

I played a lot of Lode Runner and a bit of Decathlon. I remember quite a bit of Sneakers, a bit of Oregon Trail, Phoenix, and Ultima III, IV, and V, Wasteland, along with some BBSing via a 300 baud modem and no lower case. I got into RPGs on the computer for sure on this platform.

I was a little disappointed not to get any bite from you on my response to Geoff's comment above :)

[jmallick]

I did play piano for a while, but I felt too nervous in front of crowds for my recitals, and I didn't enjoy it enough on my own. I also don't have room for a piano in my condo, and I'd prefer a less expensive instrument anyway.

I was too focused on replying to your original post that I hadn't read your reply to Geoff yet. All was well for the bingo misser* in both cases. Maybe I should miss more bingos....

[synodalhaj]

It's like music is a scrabble bag with an unconventional tile distribution: an unlimited number of As through Gs, and zero of each tile from H through Z.

[sharya]

Hey, I'm behind in my lj reading and I'm just seeing this post now!

This is pretty exciting :) I've always thought it would be great to play guitar - it will be fun to hear about your progress :)