You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks…
Whether you're in the middle of a busy adult life, juggling work and family, newly retired with time to finally pursue that dream of learning a musical instrument, or in a different place in your life altogether, it’s never too late.
Or can you? Having taught music to adult learners for over twenty years, I beg to differ. While some of these students had prior exposure to musical education, Once Upon a Time, a large number of them are what the French would call grand débutants –complete beginners. People come to me when they finally find themselves with a little more time on their hands, perhaps after having retired. And while there are perhaps a few among them for whom learning music is just something that has come up Out of the Blue, for the vast majority, it's something that they've been thinking about for a while (if not wanting to do their entire adult life).
When I was starting out as a teacher, I never stopped to consider what was at stake for some, perhaps most, of these adult learners. It's only as I've journeyed on in my own life that I've come to see how vulnerable we can feel when we're coming to learn something new as an adult. (This has certainly been my experience learning French as an adult learner.)
When you were a child, learning was something that was expected of you. Sure, maybe you weren't the best student at school, but that was what you “did.” However, at some point in life, society unfortunately decides that the time for learning new skills is over; all you can do is develop existing ones. Common wisdom and compelling “pop-science” conspire to reinforce this idea. We read about how quickly children learn (and see it for ourselves, with our own eyes) and decide that perhaps it's too late for us. Perhaps it's for the best to give up on that dream…
But something nags away at us—that creative spirit within. We tell ourselves that even if we turn out to be “no good,” at any rate we will have “given it a go.” As soon as we even consider enquiring after a teacher; however, the pendulum swings back: the doubt, the anxiety…
"I CAN'T DO THIS; who am I kidding?" We tell ourselves.
As a music teacher who's helped adult learners of all ages learn the guitar, I'm here to tell you that it is possible. You can learn to play the guitar (or whatever instrument you have always wanted to learn). Whether you're in the middle of a busy adult life, juggling work and family, newly retired with time to finally pursue that dream of learning a musical instrument, or in a different place in your life altogether, it’s never too late. In the end, your own personal desire to learn is far more influential a measure of your potential to succeed learning an instrument than any other external factor!
Watch this space for helpful information on how to go about learning music as an adult learner. Though I draw from my own experience in music (guitar, piano, and music composition) the concepts can be successfully applied to other instruments. Along the way, I throw in other titbits, anecdotes, and observations from my perspective as an Australian studying musicology in Paris, France.