5. Study music theory

One of the best reasons to learn to play an instrument as an adult is that you can more easily understand music theory. A friend of mine is a talented pianist who took a college music class and said she learned more in 1 semester as an adult than she had in 3 years as a child, thanks in large part to her improved ability to understand music theory. Music theory is everything that makes music possible-from notation to instrumentation to tuning-and can provide adults with a better understanding of what they are playing and why. Music theory can give you much more than trivia: it will directly benefit your playing! When I began learning chords, progressions and scales, I was better able to identify patterns in the songs I was playing. This allowed me to learn more quickly and retain more of what I was learning.

本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛for "Never Too..", yes, it maybe be true from the standpoint of neuroscience, theoretically speaking, but have you thought about the kinesiology? a child ' s fine motor ability does increase as s/he grows up, but when people are in their adulthood, it is a different story. one will just feel one's fingers cannot match one's brain.....honestly.

also, it depends on the person's "talent", i mean real "potential". some adults are easier to "learn" an instrument than others, just like, something is built inside their minds/bodies already, and then on day, some environment factors just trigger this potential. but they can never play/perform as good as professionals. but still, there is someone is an exception ;-)

or at least, someone has been immersed into the musical world from very young age. like, you started to listen to classical from you were born, something like that, ....then , the person can pick it up more easier.

for "One of the best reasons to learn to play an instrument as an adult is that you can more easily understand music theory.....". one thing here should be paid attention to is that, for music theory, (the higher the level goes , the clearer you will see this)-- like level > R2 (RCM) , it is meant to be understood by adults (well, > 18?)-- for adults' cognitive ability. when you are young, of course, you still can learn and get good mark in these exams, but few kids fully understand the content, most of them just "know" how to get good mark in the exam. when you are adult, means that, your intelligence already good enough to understand these contents. (well, some very super smart kids do really understand the whole theory)

also, adults' hearing ability greatly differs form young age (means not sharp). one important part in learning musical instrument (especially strings), is the player has to have good (excellent, delicate ) hearing to identify the notes, but , even the adult player does have good hearing (from gene, or from the "listening from very young age", whatever), the kinetic ability (adults') still posts question mark. the examples in those articles are learning piano and trumpet, these instruments have "fix" keys (notes)--means that, learning/playing is much easier comparing to strings (well, not to offend anybody). but, still, these instruments do require the hearing sensitivity.

everyone's expectations/experiences are different, so, if you really learn/try different instruments, you will know what i mean at the end.

i admire your courage;-) and have fun in learning/playing!更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net

两年前跟女儿一起开始学小提琴，三天打鱼两天晒网地练，现在女儿在学五级曲子，我自己估计也就三级水平吧。以我的体会，如果有条件，最好每天练习，有时间就练个一，两小时，没时间就摸个10分钟也好。练得太苦，太枯燥，不容易坚持。对孩子也一样。咱就只享受练习过程，不问结果了 ：)