How old is too old?

[DCrom]

Maybe, someday, I'll be the terror of the sessions, but not yet......

You have to start picking up your whistle for that. Later on, they may come to like you if they let you live.

I thought the "pick up your whistle" rule only applied if it's a Susato?

Even at C & F gatherings, I listen much more than I play. Spoil too many tunes and I'd be the one terrorized - Jack might glare at me, or Aldon might break out HIS Susato of Doom.

[Ridseard]

If you didn't pick it up by age 4, you stand no real chance of ever becoming good. Sorry to break the bad news.

I'm 66 and only started whistle a couple of years ago, so obviously I'll never be very good, but at least I can tell the difference between a whistle (Susato) and a recorder.

[Bloomfield]

I'm 66 and only started whistle a couple of years ago, so obviously I'll never be very good, but at least I can tell the difference between a whistle (Susato) and a recorder.

Oh, so can I, so can I, both differences: "Susato" doesn't have a single "r" and that other word has three. Susatos don't come in wood.

[Redwolf]

I agree with all the never-too-old posts. However, I do believe that it is more difficult to develop the native proficiency with an instrument that one can acquire at a young age. .

I started taking piano lessons when I was 40 or so. The teacher was an odd fellow who taught only adults. His theory about kids and music is that they learn so easily because they have no fear of failure, embaressment etc. As most of us know we get really go at all this stuff as we get older. Our fingers stumble because of fear.

I'm convinced there's real truth in that, especially when it comes to language. I watch my daughter chattering happily in her school Spanish to any Spanish-speaker she encounters, without worrying about "will I make a mistake? Will they laugh at me?" I have no doubt she'll acheive fluency. I, on the other hand, actually KNOW a bit more Spanish than she does, but I'd never use it...too afraid of making a mistake!

I think, in many ways, music is the same way. We hear so many adults, upon complimenting our choir, say "I can't carry a tune in a bucket." Well, for the most part, that's not true...they may not understand the mechanics of singing, and they may not read music, but very few people actually have a physical problem that would make it impossible for them to sing. They're just scared to death of looking bad. I can relate, actually

Redwolf

[jkrazy52]

Age is not so much a determining factor in whistledom -- if you can be satisfied knowing you may never play Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center. My goal when I picked up the TW in my late 40's was .... hmmm ... well, it was probably to "outplay" my niece originally. Stupid idea, she played flute in high school and was almost 30 years younger. BUT, I'm 51 now, can play TW enough to please myself -- outplay the darling niece on low D --- trying to pick-up flute and fife, and having a blast indulging in low-end WhOA. (The one with the most whistles wins, right?)

So, how old is too old? I'm 51, basically look 41 (thanks to some really nice genes), sometimes act 11. If you think you're too old to learn, you'll be right. Lee Marsh has the right quote ... "Enjoy Your Music!"

May all your aches & pains be minor ones...

~Judy

[Berti66]

why should you let age keep you from having FUN????
GO FOR IT!!!

berti

[chas]

His theory about kids and music is that they learn so easily because they have no fear of failure, embaressment etc. As most of us know we get really go at all this stuff as we get older. Our fingers stumble because of fear.

That's brilliant!! I find that I'll learn a piece inside and out, but when it comes time to play it before my teacher, I get all tense, forget breathing spots, and the moment I make one flub, everything goes to hell -- mechanics, phrasing, everything that makes it music.

[starman]

Hi Folks,

Lots of interesting and encouraging comments here. I have noticed that many of you are quite young (well under 60 is quite young) but many of us are geezerly and that's good. I found the comments about learning new skills (instruments, languages, etc) interesting. I think as you get older it's a matter of focus more than anything. I find it harder to concentrate intensely on something for an extended period. Maybe there is just too much junk floating around in my mind by now to distract me. That makes it more difficult to remember the notes to tunes. Fingering seems to come easier.

Anyhow, my philosophy is summed up quite simply by a quote I remember from long ago:

"It's better to wear out than rust out." - don't remember who said that.

As you may gather from my avatar (me just before my 61st birthday), my other passion is cycling and I'm still going strong at that. So, let's keep on whistling and cranking (not necessarily simultaneously)!

Mike

[emmline]

I may be annoyingly persistent, but I think there's more to it than fear and mental clutter.
Brain scans show that up to a certain age...about 12, brain circuitry can be readily built through the study of music and language, in such a way as to make the playing or speaking native and efficient.
Older folks can build the neural pathways, and learn to perform the same tasks but whereas the young brain may grow a direct link from point A to point Z, the older brain will require more neural steps to accomplish the same task. Somewhat like the way a dyslexic brain learns to read.

Maybe I'm just harping on this as an excuse for my poor digital coordination...I dunno. I'm not much good at whack-a-mole either.

[starman]

Older folks can build the neural pathways, and learn to perform the same tasks but whereas the young brain may grow a direct link from point A to point Z, the older brain will require more neural steps to accomplish the same task. Somewhat like the way a dyslexic brain learns to read.

That's kind of like mental clutter though- the older brain takes a round about way around brain cells already being used for something else maybe? Learning is a fascinating subject for sure.

If you'd like to whack some moles, my back yard could use your help!

Mike

[jim stone]

It's obvious that children have an extraordinary facility
to learn languages, and the hypothesis that
there is something of a commensurate ability
to learn music is interesting. Obviously something
is changing in the brain that makes it harder
to learn language, but it isn't so clear that
anything like this happens with music.

In addition, surely most of us played a lot of music
as children. The voice is an
instrument. We sang a lot. If musicianship is needed to get
musical neural pathways in place, we did it; what's left
is coordinating the hands. But it's awfully hard to see
why that ability diminishes substantially
after 12. We know that many of the best guitarists
learned guitar in their later teens and early 20s.

Maybe there are neural studies that show a deficit
about music, but I must confess a certain
skepticism, at least until I read the studies.
In my experience what we know of the
brain neurologically is still too primitive
to show such a thing--not yet, anyhow.
Of course that doesn't mean that nobody
has made the claim.

My own feeling is that the absence of musical
training as a child doesn't create a ceiling.
Even supposing that it will take me longer
to achieve the same level of technical proficiency,
I can get there. I will never play in Carnegie Hall,
but neither would I if I had started at five.

Often one finds that people in an art
who have natural virtuosity are not the
most creative. It's the people with a good
talent who have some problems who often achieve
the most, who get most deeply into
the art. Enormous natural facility can
be an impediment. One learns a lot in struggling.
In the activities I really value, I've learned to
welcome confusion and difficulty, because I
see that this is when I'm most likely to
learn something new.

Consider, too, how much more we oldies know about
phrasing and the emotions that music
expresses.

If there is the passion for music, I think what matters
most is steady practice, not one's age. In many valuable
endeavours, the race isn't always to the swift. Best

[Wombat]

I think that for those of us who've learnt a lot about self-discipline while young and had a variety of interests that call for different skills might have certain advantages as we grow older. It isn't just a matter of emotional depth although that is surely part of it.

As I've grown older the time it takes me to prepare a lecture on a new topic has grown shorter. This isn't something that comes automatically with age—some of my colleagues have the opposite experience and would run a mile from a new topic. It isn't about having learnt so many new things because of the extra time I've had to read since I've probably forgotten as much old detail as I've picked up new detail. Rather it's about essential connections having been made which direct me straight to the things I need to decide, the things I need to research and the things I can do on the basis of material already known. I sort of know what my subject is about and how to find out efficiently what I don't know, I'm not scrambling about in the dark so much.

It's the same with music, especially learning new instruments. I see connections between the new things I'm learning and everything I've learnt before which helps a lot. I don't think this is just a product of having played music since childhood. All the things you've learnt will be potentially helpful. For example, if you type quickly and accurately that must give you a head start with finger control.

[BrassBlower]

Consider, too, how much more we oldies know about
phrasing and the emotions that music
expresses.

That must be true. Look at the wealth of insipid, one-dimensional music heard on many "pop" radio stations.

Slan,
Jim (age 44)

[lyndamic]

I'm early 30s', and I seem to have an EASIER time learning than when I was young. I started college at age 28, and achieved better grades than I ever had in elementary or high school. I think improved ability to focus and interest in subject matter (music or what have you) goes a long way. Maybe we as adult learners won't be the fastest or best, but we can sure appreciate and enjoy what we have!

[Guest]

An interesting point. Most older folks with good tuition can learn to play Irtrad on TW because it does not require that much effort or wind to do it.

BTW if you cannot make a soft high note, then learn to 'blow by' the end of the mouthpiece which increases the SPEED but not the VOLUME of air going through the whistle.