Is 25 too old to be learning to play the violin?

Question: Is 25 too old to be learning to play the violin!?

I keep being told that the violin is one of the instruments you need to start with when you're still little, otherwise, you won't be able to learn to play it that well!. Is this true!? Am I too old to start!?

The only instrument I can play is the piano, and even that was self taught so I never learned to play it well or to read sheet music!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

It's conceivable that if you want an international concert career, one should start at three or six, or something like that, but for everyone else, you can start at any time with good results!. See:

VIOLIN/VIOLA FAQ

(3) Am I too old to learn the violin, which has always been my dream!?
http://beststudentviolins!.com/PedagogyTe!.!.!.

and

(29) How long will it take me to get really good at the violin!?
http://beststudentviolins!.com/PedagogyTe!.!.!.

This question is one of the most "frequently asked" of any!. It takes about five years to get into the violin, and that is with a good teacher and a great deal of work!. Ten years, however, seems to be the normative time that it takes to master any skill!. See the materials, below, borrowed, (waiting to get permission), from Peter Norvig's Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

Researchers Bloom (1985), Bryan & Harter (1899)*, Hayes (1989), Simmon & Chase (1973)** have shown it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition, telegraph operation, painting, piano playing, swimming, tennis, and research in neuropsychology and topology!. There appear to be no real shortcuts: even Mozart, who was a musical prodigy at age 4, took 13 more years before he began to produce world-class music!.

In another genre, the Beatles seemed to burst onto the scene with a string of #1 hits and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964!. But they had been playing small clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg since 1957, and while they had mass appeal early on, their first great critical success, Sgt!. Peppers, was released in 1967!.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) thought it took longer than ten years: "Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price!." And Chaucer (1340-1400) complained "the lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne!." Hippocrates (c!. 400BC) is known for the excerpt "ars longa, vita brevis", which is part of the longer quotation "Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile", which in English renders as "Life is short, [the] craft long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult!." Although in Latin, ars can mean either art or craft, in the original Greek the word "techne" can only mean "skill", not "art"!.

* Bryan, W!.L!. & Harter, N!. "Studies on the telegraphic language: The acquisition of a hierarchy of habits!. Psychology Review, 1899, 8, 345-375
** Chase, William G!. & Simon, Herbert A!. "Perception in Chess", Cognitive Psychology, 1973, 4, 55-81!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Although it might be a little hard to learn at first (it's a fact that children have an easier time learning new things) you'll do fine! Because your mature (I'm guessing :P) you'll be listening to the teacher and practicing more than 4 minutes a day like most children!.
There is no age limit to music~

I hope you start, violin is a wonderful instrument~

-racerxaznWww@QuestionHome@Com

No, 25 is not too old!. My daughter is 14, learning the viola!. Her instructor has students ranging in age from 4 to 68!. And the 68-year-old is doing just fine! It might have been easier to learn to play when you were younger, but 25 is certainly not old!.

I began playing the clarinet at age 10, stopped at 17, and didn't pick it back up until I was 33!. I've learned so much more in th last 14 years!.!.!.

Good luck, and God Bless!
Www@QuestionHome@Com

Instruments are VERY easy to learn!. If anything the violin might be easier when you are at 25 then at the age of 5!.

People always say you can't do ____ and _____ when you are older!. They are all lies!. Kids simply have more time to waste, therefore; more time to practice!.

You can learn it just as well!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

u r right that it will be dificult but with a little determination and dedication u can make it!.
Plus u have learnt the piano before so u will nt have a problem understanding the concepts that u need to know to learn any musical instrument!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

NO, not at all!. I started teaching myself to play the fiddle by ear when I was 33, after having played guitar, mandolin and banjo!.

Now I play fiddle in a bluegrass band, and regularly with friends in jam sessions, and I love it!. :-)Www@QuestionHome@Com

any age is appropriate when you're learning to play an instrument - who can live w/out music anyway!? as long as you're not 25 years of age learning how to play a kazoo or a napkin or something like that, lol!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I learnt to listen to my wife at 49 so anything is possible!

What have you got to lose except the dead weight of other's negativity!?

Tell you what, practise in the nude just for the hell of it!Www@QuestionHome@Com

You are not going to be any younger if you wait!. Go for it!. If you hate it or fail miserably, what have you lost!?
Don't end up asking: Is 30 to old to learn the violinWww@QuestionHome@Com

Go for it!! Never too old to learn something new, and if you believe your too old for something, then you are old!! New things keep us young no matter what age you are!! Just have fun with it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No matter how old you are, it's still going to take the same amount of time to learn it so I wouldn't worry just keep learning and you'll learn it just as good as anyone else will! Www@QuestionHome@Com

OMG! Don't listen to them! Just learn it you can be good at it if you PRACTICE! Www@QuestionHome@Com

its never to old to play anything!.!. if you really want to learn you will learn!.!. words shouldnt stop you!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com