Kath Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Hello, I am interested in to know is here anyone who has started violin playing as adult? I started violin playing a bit over year ago, I was then 22 years old. I have learned quite quickly and I am able to play quite well simple pieces. I have played piano 18 years now and been familiar with music always. What do you think, do I have any kind of possibilities to join orchestras some day although I have started violin playing this old. Kath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Hi Kath and welcome. You will find loads of "old dogs" here (try the archives!) and 22 is very young in my opinion (I started 3 years ago aged 44, twice your age, and had no experience of music previously) Go for it, I am enjoying it so much and am now a member of my local community orchestra. It can be done Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Violet Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 21 year old beginning viola player here. Our musical backgrounds are similar: we've both played the piano from a young age and are very familiar with written music. The difference is, I've had to start learning how to read alto clef! I have previous experience playing in a group (high-school band-clarinet), and hope to someday be good enough on viola to at least join a community orchestra of some kind..right now, unless they happened to be playing "Camptown Races", I don't think I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger_1 Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 I started this year at age 33. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toc Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 If fiddling counts, I started at 22. That was 25 wonderful years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINPROF Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Staring the violin at 22 is not late, unless you want a career as a soloist. I started playing piano at 44 and violin at 50. There are lots of people on the board who started even later. As a related aside, one of my classmates in the Ph.D. program, a retired Army general, was in his 70's when he started and 80's when he finished. He had been a major at the time of the D-day invasion. It is never too late for a lot of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasja Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Hi Kath, I started when I was 42, now two years ago. The year before that I sat "in" on my son's first year's lessons. I enjoy it very much! Natasja. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecology Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 Hey! I started the violin 5 months ago at the age of 33. I am almost halfway thru the peices in Suzuki two and am just starting to learn third position. I had no musical background prior to this. So, I think as long as you are motivated, practice daily, and have a good teacher, you will progress as far as you wish! As far as opportunities to play, I am sure you will find a community orchestra or small amatuer chamber ensemble to play with when you are ready! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theresa Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 I started two years ago when I was 49. It's a lot more productive working with a teacher and I've been without one for six months now, so I'm reviewing what we covered and trying to clean up some problem areas on my own, such as straightening up my bow. I hope to return to a teacher in the fall, hopefully with one of the players with local civic orchestra. 22 is young! Lucky you! Best regards, Theresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iupviolin Posted March 12, 2001 Report Share Posted March 12, 2001 I started playing the violin (about 5 1/2 years ago) when I was 18. A year later I was accepted into a university as a music major. Last Fall I studied at the Akademy of Music in Zagreb and this Fall I'll be heading to grad school for Violin Performance. Just want you to know that its never to late to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecology Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Theresa: I started two years ago when I was 49. I'm reviewing what we covered and trying to clean up some problem areas on my own, such as straightening up my bow. Theresa, it is so nice to hear that someone else has problems with bow wandering! This is my big problem area, and I was starting to think there was something wrong with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony L. Wilson Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 I started 3 years ago when I was 52. There are quite a few here who have gotten the calling at an age other than three. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 Kath, at the ripe old age of 23 you're best advised to stick to nonexertive "activities" and soft foods. You should be enjoying your golden years and not fussing with a fiddle or vexing over a violin. May your twilight be a peaceful time. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shantinik Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 I started at age 47. No Western musical experience (other than singing in a college choir.) I am quite adept at a South Indian stringed instrument called the veena, and know quite a bit about "Carnatic" (south Indian) music theory. So it has been interesting to translate terms into Western musical notation. When my teacher says play a major scale, I think "Raga Shankabharam" with a slightly less sharp 6th. When she'd ask for a pentatonic, I'd ask "which one?" (I then figured out she wanted Raga Mohanam.) In South Indian music, what we consider the major scale, they consider "sad" (the opposite of what teachers often tell little kids here.) Of course, in Carnatic music there are 72 major scales, and 92,108 minor ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeHyunAh Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 Hey Kath - I'm older than you (I'm 24) and started taking violin lessons 3 months ago. I've never even been close to a violin before that. I love my violin and really enjoy playing on it, there's only one thing I regret - that I didn't start earlier! But better late than never... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHair Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTH Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 I started at the age of 18, and through 20 years of dedicated learning and practice I am able to play solo sonatas and violin concertos (Bach and Mozart, but not Paganini and Ernst). Keep in mind that the best music is not necessarily the most beautiful music. One caveat: do not fall into the trap of going to an unqualified teacher. That really delayed my development. A qualified teacher can make you advance five times faster than a mediocre one, and will correct your bad habits. I learned late, but the experience has been very rewarding. RTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuangKaiVun Posted March 13, 2001 Report Share Posted March 13, 2001 I have a student who's 38, started last July. Fabulously talented. Y'all will be meeting her at the Maestronet Reunion on June 23 - it will nearly be her full year mark. [This message has been edited by HuangKaiVun (edited 03-13-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyfiddler Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 I wonder what age 12 would be considered, since most violinists start between the ages of 3 and 7? Young adult, old child...you decide. [This message has been edited by gypsyfiddler (edited 03-13-2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowHawk Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 I truly believe there are some things that many of us simply cannot appreciate until we reach an age which yields the patience required to actually see, feel, taste or hear the intrinsic value being offered. it is very unusual to see children spend hours, absorbed by a painting in an art museum. As for starting violin at 22...well, I've got socks older than that! I started at 45... a particularly young age to begin something I intend to enjoy for the rest of my life. Best Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mu0n Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 I started at 21. July of this year will mark my 2nd year, minus the 7-month pause I took. I'm looking forward to see how incredibly more advanced this 38-year old student of yours compared to me - I feel crushed under my gaping flaws, increasingly so day after day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrswong Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 I studied violin for 2 years from 8 to 10 years old. The first time I auditioned for orchestra I made second chair. Then my father made me switch to piano because he couldn't stand the sound of my practice (I took lessons at school and you didn't learn vibrato until the third year). I had no natural talent at piano and found recitals excrutiating. Although I did go on to have a career as a vocalist, I always pined for my violin. So at 41 I'm starting over from scratch. My daughter is great at the piano, so we're going to see how she does on violin. Our teacher has us "coach" each other in our practices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hope Posted March 14, 2001 Report Share Posted March 14, 2001 25, been playing for just about a year. Better late than never!! The great thing about being an adult beginner is that you play for yourself -not because your parents told you to "go to your room and practice." Enjoy yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb Posted March 21, 2001 Report Share Posted March 21, 2001 Although I'm not new to music, I am new to the violin. This is my third month of lessons. Let me calculate how old I am ... Good grief, how did I get to be 47?! -deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANDALL MONTGOMERY Posted March 22, 2001 Report Share Posted March 22, 2001 Howdy folks, 39, Now I'm 40. Although I have been blowing air through my harmonicas for quite some time. Thinkin' about keying a tin whistle, so I can play it one handed in my work truck (too much time on the freeway). Someone told me that the average person spends two hours a night watching TV. Figured I should spend that time learning a new instrument. Randy; 80 degrees today in L.A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.