I’m at a social gathering. I’m speaking to someone who discovers my work involves music. The person in question has no ‘official’ background in music (i.e. never took lessons) but expresses huge interest in it. No matter how many times I have found myself in this situation, it’s always the same: ‘I wish I had learned an instrument growing up’. And in return, I ask, ‘so, what’s stopping you now?’
In a recent blog post I referred to my taking up the cello four years ago. I took it up because I wanted to and I take exams because I want to. When I tell people about my playing the cello though, I am always amazed at their reaction: inspirational, fascinating, infectious, admirable, motivational, etc. It’s such a pleasant response but it always surprises me because from my perspective I’m just learning an instrument that I want to be able to play and about which I am curious.
Of course, the subtext to all of this is that I am an adult learning the cello; learning an instrument is not particularly unusual, but an adult learning one seems to be noteworthy. Fortunately, my age to date (I’m 35) has never deterred me from doing anything, even outside of music (I took up the Russian language as an adult too), but people’s responses to my learning an instrument as an adult (and even Russian, and let me be clear, I’m far from a gifted linguist, I’m just interested in languages) has made it evident to me that age is a deterrent to others. Let’s change this perception.
You must be joking, at my age?
Recently, at a friend’s party, I was talking to a most fascinating person who may have been over 50. His knowledge about and interest in music (and most topics actually) were impressive. And so, I asked him did he play an instrument: ‘no, but I think if I were to play one it would be the clarinet’. We then talked a little about the clarinet. Wow! Not only does he listen to so much music, is clearly moved by music, loves learning and thinking about the context of music, he also knows exactly what instrument he would play and why he likes it. And enter Majella: ‘so, what’s stopping you?’
I think he is taken aback but he quickly finds his feet: ‘well, at my age…’ the sentence petering off, the implication being that his age as a reason was self-explanatory. Nope, I’m not letting this go. We talk some more and he seems to be relieved, or might it be too strong to say that it feels as though he has been given permission to entertain the idea? (he’s a friend of a friend and he mentioned that he had had similar conversations with her; now that I was saying the same thing, maybe it wasn’t out of the question). When I was leaving the party, I said: ‘please learn the clarinet, you’ll get so much enjoyment from it’. I really believe he will.
His reaction was not new to me and it was hardly surprising: reference to age when learning an instrument seems to be everywhere, with the general consensus being that you need to learn it when you are young. While I understand how this perception may have emerged (you’re less malleable after a certain age say) its pervasiveness has escalated to the point that it appears to be assumed that unless you learn to play an instrument while you are a child, teenager at most, then forget about it. Okay, you may not become professional or win professional competitions (this is where taking it up when you’re younger comes in, and then again you never know), but people take up running at 40, and don’t seem to be concerned about their age or looking to run in the Olympics. So why not take up an instrument (or a language for that matter) when you’re 40+ too?
Yet, there are adults who do learn instruments. What about them? Well, from my experience many seem to be fighting an internal battle. I want to share my experience as an onlooker of such battles to show how common they are, how unnecessary they are, and how you’re not the only one. I want to tease out perceptions about both music and taking up an instrument as an adult, or even just learning as an adult in general. In doing so, it is my hope that as an adult learner, you will be easier on yourself and cherish the journey, or if you have always wanted to learn an instrument, you’ll feel empowered to do so.
The apology
Most of the adult learners I have met have been in an exam room. Overall, it’s a mixed category: there are adults who have taken up an instrument in their retirement; adults who have an extremely stressful job with a lot of responsibility where learning an instrument is their distraction; adults who never got around to it when they were younger and don’t want any regrets; and adults who take lessons alongside their children as an opportunity to play and to share the learning experience, as well as to motivate each other.
Seeing an adult walk into my exam room warms my heart so much for two reasons: first, I am learning as an adult too and take exams; second, I have encountered so many adults who wish they had learned an instrument (like the guy at the party) but feel it is too late. As an examiner, what I’m thinking is, ‘yes! someone learning an instrument because they want to and nothing is going to get in their way’, but unfortunately, my enthusiasm is frequently shrouded by a sense of uncertainty and anxiety from the adult candidate; they have already set the exam up to be a harrowing experience.
It is not unusual for the candidate’s first words to be words of apology and to some extent, it would seem, embarrassment: ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m doing this’, ‘I’m the only adult in the waiting room, I feel so silly’; ‘I’m really nervous, I’m sorry for what you are going to have to listen to’, ‘I decided to take up an instrument and I’m not sure what possessed me’, ‘I used to play when I was younger, I just wanted to go back to it’, ‘I can’t wait until the exam is over’. In some ways, it has an air of confession about it: ‘dear examiner, it’s been twenty years since my last exam’, ‘dear examiner, I feel like an impostor’. From my perspective however, there is no difference between a child, teenager, or adult in my exam room: age is irrelevant to my assessment.
This is not a story about exams; it is a story about how people perceive themselves as adults learning an instrument, the exam itself possibly acting as a stimulus to their insecurities. Interestingly, I have observed that adults who take exams with their children seem to be less conscious. Is this because they have a ‘legitimate’ reason for being in the exam room? Or is it that their ‘apology’ is presented in a different guise, wrapped up in ‘I’m taking lessons to motivate my child’. Either way, where do all these insecurities when learning an instrument as an adult come from?
To put this into perspective, consider the following: you are in a class or at a talk where the teacher/speaker encourages you to ask a question, reassuring you that if you are thinking it the chances are so are the other people. Silence! Rarely do people ask a question, or at least very few, afraid that they might sound ridiculous, or that the information really is so obvious. I certainly have experienced this and when it happens in my lectures, it’s not that there are no questions, but rather, many wait until after the lecture to ask me something, or they choose to email their query instead.
When I do receive an email or a visit from a student, it is not unusual for it to be linked to some sort of concern regarding their performance on their degree programme. Yet, the students who are worrying the most about how they are doing are often the students who are generally doing well. They look around and see that everyone else seems to be getting on with life with such ease; college seems to be a breeze to these people, but why is this not the case for them? The thing is, everyone else is not necessarily getting on better or doing better than the students who come to me worrying; they just seem to have a different strategy, different expectations, or perhaps they worry as the deadline approaches. Moreover, from my experience, it is not unusual for mature students to be among those who email me, concerned and doubting themselves.
It’s the same with instruments. People who are younger might be getting lessons and seem to be taking it in their stride, but youth doesn’t always ensure that they are learning more, or that there isn’t a flurry of activity coming up to the exam. In the context of university, students generally go directly from 2nd-level to 3rd-level, whereas mature students have taken time out between and therefore are not in the majority. Similarly, adults taking up an instrument are not in the majority and because they haven’t followed the usual route, doubts start to creep in.
The other possibility is that we all suffer a little bit from imposter syndrome; we never imagined ourselves in that situation, but somehow have found ourselves in it, and wonder at what point will we be ‘found out’. Is this because we all have different expectations and definitions of what doing well is? Or different levels of confidence? Or did we somehow just expect the experience to be different? More difficult perhaps? As an adult learner of an instrument, consider what is it that you want from lessons; forget about what everyone else is doing, including exams. For adults who are thinking of doing exams, do them if you want to, not because you feel you have to. The Irish education system is exam focused and while it is one way of measuring progress, including in music, exams reveal only part of the picture; a snapshot in time.
What becomes a social norm is based on popularity. Inevitably, this can start a cycle that is often difficult to break. Popularity doesn’t mean it’s correct, or better, or even relevant, but when we see people taking a certain route, it starts to become an automatic response . . . ‘oh, so that’s how you do it’. In music this translates as the following: you take up an instrument when you are a child and you will probably do exams; you’re now an adult, you’ve missed the boat.
Last week I was listening to RTÉ lyric FM when another listener texted in to say how important the radio station was to him because he hadn’t had the chance to learn an instrument growing up; the station therefore acting as an educational tool for him. The story continued about how he made sure his children had learned an instrument. Although his text was to champion RTÉ lyric FM at a time when its future was being questioned, and how it can serve as an educational resource (he’s not wrong), what I was more tuned into was: ‘I didn’t get to learn an instrument growing up, I gave my children the chance though’ (a point of caution I raised in my last blog post about the reasons behind why your child might be getting lessons). There I heard it again: age was the deterrent. He didn’t do it when he was younger, so now he never will? Even though he really wishes he had learned an instrument, notwithstanding his evident passion for music.
I do acknowledge of course, that you don’t have to learn an instrument to appreciate music, or just because you appreciate music that you should be learning an instrument. And perhaps when people say, ‘I wish I had learned an instrument growing up’, it’s just a stock phrase or a romantic image of what learning an instrument must be like. Of course, it is important to note that there is a lot of music-making happening among adults that doesn’t require buying an instrument or taking conventional lessons; as last week was ‘Sing Ireland National Singing Week’ choirs immediately spring to mind.
There is an increasing number of choirs emerging on the Irish music scene that adults of all ages are joining. The opportunity afforded to these choir members is great and the benefits wonderful; a parent of a child I teach tells me that they are completely rejuvenated after their weekly choir session, while friends of mine who take choir as for a musical challenge, can’t wait to get home to go through their music and learn their parts. So why is it that people don’t shy away from choirs? Is it because it’s not the traditional way of learning an instrument? Even though it may be an individual pursuit, is there safety in numbers? Or is it that choirs (unless specified as a children’s choir) are mostly for adults? In which case there isn’t the same feeling of having ‘missed the boat’ that comes with individually learning an instrument, or the same self-consciousness. Or does the social aspect of the choir appeal more to people? Does it enhance the educational experience while meeting social needs?
Whether you are an avid concertgoer, love listening to music, are a member of a choir, it is clear that there is a lot of engagement with music among adults. So, let’s think a little about what it is like to learn music as an adult. Learning as an adult is obviously going to be different to learning as a child. My personal experience is that it is much more rewarding, or at least this is how I am comparing the memories; admittedly, maybe not having to learn the rudiments of music helps this time around. Yet, because of my background, I now truly realise and appreciate the benefits of learning an instrument(voice included) and the challenge that comes with it: I need patience, I need focus, I need persistence, I need discipline, dedication, commitment. It’s like constantly doing a puzzle and figuring out the hidden meanings, not to mention the abundance of music literature to explore. It’s just so rewarding.
At the same time, it’s not all plain sailing: learning as an adult can also be difficult if only because you may be trying to balance life, work, family, and finances. Adults also tend to jump ahead theoretically but find it difficult when their hands/voice need to complete a different task, which can lead to frustration if they’re not as quick. Overall though, the positives outweigh the negatives and you are more likely to do something as an adult because you want to, not because your classmate is doing it; similarly, mature students choose a degree programme they know they want to do rather than going to university because that is the usual progression from secondary school. As an adult, you may even be more committed, more engaged, more enthusiastic about your new hobby, while meeting your own personal goals. There are no guarantees about the outcome of a hobby even if you are an adult, but generally, there is a lot in your favour.
Thankfully there has been more and more discussion about every child having an opportunity to learn music, while similar discussion has yet to be had about every adult have the same opportunity. Of course these situations are completely different and in many ways are not comparable. I mention it here only because it raises a few questions about adult education: Do we just assume that adults will always do something if they want to? Or that they already have had the opportunity? And why is there such a push for children to take up lessons instead of adults, in particular when it would seem that a lot of children do not continue their instrument into adulthood. Or, put another way, what is going wrong that so many children do give up their instrument especially when this blog post has been about adults who wish they had had the opportunity growing up? And why do they wish they had the opportunity, because they imagine that they would still be playing it? Or is learning an instrument mostly a childhood pursuit and what adults are really referring to is that they wish they had it as part of their childhood memory? Yet, in my last blog post, I noted how common it was to hear adults refer to music lessons growing up in a negative manner. Why is there such disparity between the two perspectives? What are we missing?
Personally, I don’t see it as a childhood pursuit, but there are a lot of myths about music-making and when the best time to learn an instrument is, even these arguments are generally about learning to become a professional musician or music to serve another function e.g. help children perform better in school. For this reason, let’s now put them aside and if you have read this far, remember: if you have always wanted to play an instrument, ask yourself what’s stopping you now? If it is something you’d like to have done as a child, but you don’t really want the effort of learning one at the moment, that’s okay. If age is the only thing stopping you, park it because it really doesn’t matter. Explore your options, who knows, you may love it, or you may not. If you feel it isn’t for you, then at least you won’t have to regret not having tried. If it’s not as great as you expected, it’s doubtful that this is only because of your age.
You still want to learn an instrument, what steps should you take? Try out an instrument in your local music school; ask if they do one-off lessons, or open days. Visit the Music Network Instrument Hub directory on the many ways to access a musical instrument, including the possibility of hiring or purchasing one. Ask a friend or family member who might play an instrument if they would mind letting you have a feel for it or talk to them about what is involved. Talk to a music teacher and see what your options are and explain your expectations to them. If you are not choosy about which instrument you want to play, you can buy a variety of beginner instruments for around 50e; ukulele is very popular now and it’s not difficult to find groups of people meeting up regularly to play it. If you are interested in traditional Irish music, there are sessions around the country and local Comhaltas groups would be able to advise you best. Perhaps there is a marching band in your area that might be able to open up an avenue for you to learn music. See if there is a choir in the locality or use social media to find out if there are other adults who would like to start learning with you. Remember, learning an instrument does not have to mean taking exams or being under 18.
As this blog post was written pre-Covid-19, there will be restrictions on some of the options listed above. Despite this, new options have emerged as a result of these restrictions where teachers and students alike have adapted to online teaching. It’s not exactly the same, but being able to log in to a lesson from you home may remove one of the common barriers for adults: lack of time.
‘I wish I had learned an instrument’, so what’s stopping you? Hopefully not your age.
Dr Majella Boland is an experienced music educator with knowledge across all sectors of the music education system. This blog first appeared on musicliteracy.ie in October 2019.