Last Updated on January 24, 2022 by Rebecca
Can adults learn piano? Can an older person learn to play piano? Is it ever too late to learn piano? Am I too old to learn piano? Find out how to be successful learning piano as an adult beginner!
Every year, there are an overwhelming number of adults who decide they are finally going to learn piano… only to give up a few months or years later.
And there is a super simple secret that will help you succeed where others failed!
Why Adult Piano Beginners Fail
I remember the first time an adult reached out to me for piano lessons.
I told her I had never taught an adult before, so it would be a learning experience for both of us, but that I was happy to take her on.
After the arrangements were made, I immediately hopped onto Google and started searching for tips about how to teach adult piano learners.
One of the posts I came across was the article by Nicola Cantan: A Practical Guide to Teaching Adult Piano Students. Before diving into her tips and all the reasons why she now loves teaching adult students, Nicola points out:
Many teachers complain about the drop-out rate, the lack of practice or the frequently cancelled lessons.
–Nicola Cantan, A Practical Guide to Teaching Adult Piano Students
And this thought was repeated on several other websites I visited. Apparently, adult piano learners have a reputation for signing up for lessons then quitting 2-3 months later.
And actually, that first adult student of mine did end up quitting after 2-3 months.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
Later, when I joined some Facebook piano groups, I got a bit more insight into the experience of the adult piano learner. Time and time again, I saw adults posting comments like “I've been learning piano for 2 months now, and I still can't play anything very well. What am I doing wrong?”
And that's when I realized why so many adult piano learners quit so soon.
It's because they value the final product over the process.
And in the world of piano, this attitude can very quickly spiral into feelings of pressure, anxiety, overwhelm, discouragement, frustration, and lack of confidence.
This is why piano learners quit.
Not just adult piano learners, but piano learners of all ages.
Because they don't love the process, they only want the final product.
How You Can Be Successful Learning Piano as an Adult Beginner
Fact: Being able to play your favourite songs is 100% possible for every piano learner… but it's going to take a lot more time and a lot more work than you may have initially thought.
So if you love the idea of being able to play your favourite songs, but you hate the work of actually learning piano… you're not going to make it.
You need to love the work of learning. You need to find joy in practicing.
Yes, we all want to master our favourite pieces. We all want to sit down and play, and hear beautiful music flowing from our fingertips. We want to enjoy the final product. We want to play music for our own enjoyment or for the enjoyment of our friends and family or ever for strangers.
But it's so incredibly important that we remember to enjoy learning our favourite pieces as much as we enjoy playing them.
I'm reminded of this video someone showed me a long time ago, of an excerpt from a speech by Alan Watts:
So make sure you remember to enjoy all the small steps along the way in your piano learning, not just the “end.”
Related Posts:
- How to Practice Rhythm for Piano Without Dying of Boredom
- Piano Chords 101: How to Build ANY Piano Triad in Seconds! [An Illustrated Guide]
- 4 Life-Changing Piano Mindset Shifts: How to Learn Piano with More Joy, Satisfaction, and Success
- How to Learn Hundreds of Pop Songs on Piano by Practicing Only One Song!