HI

I'm starting out in the task of learning piano at the ripe old age of 39 (no, really!). I've been sucked into this as my 5 year old daughter has been playing for 18 months now and is making good progress. She has just been told to start working on her first exam We've been having a great time playing together. She's enjoying it - but now I have to keep up

I don't mean to make it sound like I'm doing it all for her though. I'm quite enjoying it and I think it's good to learn new skills. I'm a huge Ben Folds fan too. I only played music at school to dodge real work so I'm starting from scratch.

On the hardware side we have a new Kawai K3. After much deliberation this seemed like the best call for us. We are learning with the Hal Leonard piano books. My daughter and I are doing fortnightly lessons with a local piano teacher at this stage. I've only had one lesson so far.

Anyway I just thought I'd un-lurk.

Yeah, those 5-year-olds will out perform us old duds every time! Sounds like you're having a ball. Welcome to the ABF.

Cathy

Welcome to the forum, erutangis! And congratulations on your new Kawai!

Interestingly, while children seem to pick up on the coordination a bit quicker than adults, they are slower on the concepts. So when the body begins to respond in the adult, they really start to take off...as long as they have the time to practice consistently. One is not better than the other, it's just different.

Congrats on starting lessons! I'm sure you and your daughter will be doing some fine duets soon!

Hi Erutangis. I'm new too and have feel rude I have not introduced myself. Hey I'm 40 something and took up piano at the beginning of the year. So one is never too old.

I spoke to the teacher and he thought that I should be able to catch her. How long I can stay in front for will be interesting though. We've already done a few little duets. It's all great Daddy - Daughter time.

I thought it would be a good thing to learn too as there is any amount of research that shows that pushing the brain as we age is a good thing.

Yeah..need to build more brain cells that I can destroy with wine!

Welcome Erutangis! How fun to be able to play with your daughter. I do believe you'll have a hard time keeping up , but it's an excellent and fun way to help you practise consistently.

Imagine to have a supporter and duet partner in your home; I need to start a family I think. I look forward to hear more about your piano adventures.

Hi erutangis,

I'll unlurk too .. I'm pretty much in the same boat. My son and daughter started learning the piano a couple of years ago and whe my son gave up, I took over his lesson. I'm 40 now and it sometimes seems like I'm never going to improve, and I wonder why I'm bothering 'at my age', but then I have some daddy-daughter time at the piano or finally play the piece I'm working on and forget all the frustration!

To show my support for my daughter I took grade 1 exam the other month - I was so nervous it was silly. It was the ABRSM exam and having to 'sing' was ... interesting!

We also bought a Kawai upright, but I'm now looking for a cheap digital so I can practice in silence later on in the evenings.

My daughter will not take up an instrument. I keep telling her that she will regret it for the rest of her life. Especially since I'm doing the keyboard thing. My son plays the guitar and he's really good. I've bounced the odd idea off him re theory and it's good to have another ear in the house.