piano at age 21

let me start off by saying that im thinking of taking piano lessons. Mostly i have a interest on moving into playing a synthesizer. i would love to learn how to play like the singer of coldplay. Also if anyone has heard of the band "the killers" brandon flowers is the lead singer and also plays the keyboard. The sounds he produces is what i would like to learn. So my question is, is it a bad idea to try and learn how to play the piano at the age of 21. My vision is to get good enough to play in a band later on. Any feedback and suggestions would be great..thanks

Go for it. I took lessons in 3rd grade, but quit and didn't get back to playing until I was 18.

By all means. Some starting advice - be very methodical in your practicing, no matter how slow you have to go (at a regular tempo, if possible), make as little mistakes as possible. Also, do not neglect the classics, they provide a valuable technical foundation.

But doesn't this belong in another subforum?

Playing slow is harder than playing fast, Playing fast is just a matter of practice.

Also if anyone has heard of the band "the killers" brandon flowers is the lead singer and also plays the keyboard. The sounds he produces is what i would like to learn.

I'd say go for it. And really, the things he plays aren't that hard at all, you should be able to learn them quite quick, if that's what you want...;)

But yeah, don't neglect the classics...

There's no reason why you shouldn't start - but think of it like learning a language from a book rather than as a mother tongue. You'll have to be much more methodical and rigorous than most children are when they first practice!

My advice is try it out, and see how it's gone after a year. You can always stop having gained nothing, but if you don't start, there's not even a chance of success. That might seem obvious, but basically, you've nothing to lose.

I'd say go for it. WIth regular practice you could easily get up to the standard you aspire to in months.

Yes of course! You've got your whole life in front of you, it's not too late. I myself just started a few months ago for real (although I've taken some lessons when I was small, I was not very serious at the time though), and I'm 17 at the moment. I guess I'm not as "late" as you are, but really it's never too late. If you just practice regularly you will reach your goal someday. I recommend getting lessons from someone, because it will put you on the right track from the start and you will have an easier time learning. Good luck with your piano practice!

I took 3 months of lessons at age 9. Got back to playing at 45. Age doesn't matter.

Dont use a metronome 100% of the time when learning.

Use it at first then when you feel you can maintain a steady beat on your own put it away. Get it out again if you are having trouble keeping time again later.

Break up your practice with some basic study of theory, and try to understand what you are playing in terms of theory. This not only will make you a better musician but will make playing more enjoyable.

this is a good cheap beginner theory book:

Amazon.co.uk: The AB Guide to Music Theory Vol 1: Books: Eric Taylor

By all means. Some starting advice - be very methodical in your practicing, no matter how slow you have to go (at a regular tempo, if possible), make as little mistakes as possible. Also, do not neglect the classics, they provide a valuable technical foundation.

But doesn't this belong in another subforum?

Thanks for this little bit of advice. I myself have just returned to piano after three years of neglect. Even at just three years, it has been difficult to make a come back.

Anyway, yeah, definately do it. One bit of advice (that I'm not so much in a position to be giving advice) is just to approach it with the mind of a child. At 20, you're carrying some baggage, so that might hurt your attempts. But if you drop the baggage while you learn and practice, then you might make good progress.

"If you have a dream, go get it".

"The Persuit of Happiness"

If you truly love it, go for it, and never give up.

Better late than never? :)

There is a FANTASTIC book called "The Fundamentals of Piano Practice" which, if you read it, understand it and apply it, will work you toward virtuosi playing in about 2 years... Presuming you can squeeze in a lean 30minutes practice a day 5 days a week... It doesn't take two years to see results, but it takes a while for all the many many things it talks about to 'accumulate' and turn into automatic habits and techniques.

Basically, for now, play everything one hand at a time, as quietly and controlled as possible until you can either hands at least 1.5 times the final speed you are aiming for. Then go and put the hands together slow enough that you don't make a mistake lol You may only want to play for say 15-30 seconds with each hand before swapping. You hands should always feel fresh and ready to go this way...

And practice chords allowing your hands to just drop/sink into the chords rather than physically trying to push the keys down.

You might as well learn you chords while you do it, so spend a few minutes every day just allowing the hand to drop into different chords from say 2 inches above them. Relax and it should feel good :-)

This is just about teaching you to let gravity do 90% of your work and just creating relaxation.

Anyway, give the book a read - BECAUSE IT'S FREE !!! :-)

Fundamentals of Piano Pratice by Chuan C. Chang - PDF versions

hope this helps :-)

Chris

But if you drop the baggage while you learn and practice, then you might make good progress.

This as well...

Believe it or not, the best advice you can get given is 'to pretend you already can'... When you go to learn a new piece (One hand at a time) pretend that you are a really great site reader and player and try and think about it being easy...

It may not work at first but give it time and it'll actually become easy...

Everything starts and ends with out brain so it makes sense that what it believes it creates... (within reason)

by the way... I'm not a great pianist, but that i mainly because i don't have enough time to practice, but when i did have 30 minutes of dedicated time a night i amazed my piano teacher with how quickly i could learn to play pieces at full tempo. I got a B+ last year for a recital on piano after having been playing for only 3-4 months. Played the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight... Afterwards my teacher said something along the lines of "I don't think i would even be able to give a professional rendition an A+ for that movement".

So yeah... Don't think it is impossible. It comes down to playing smart, not hard and sticking with it... Like the author of that book i mentioned said: The main reason why kids normally quit piano is that they are smart enough to notice they aren't making much progress and just assume it is them...

Chris :-)

p.s most of all have fun!