12yo wants violin lessons. Too old?

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He has guitar and keyboards lessons, but lost interest. What do I do?

Hmm, find a better teacher? Teachers I know love teaching older or adult beginners. Much more focus. We have people who started as adults in our amateur g8+ orchestra. The oldest I know of someone starting an instrument and ending up at music college was 16, summer after gcses. (Tho that person was advanced on an unrelated instrument first.) Anyway the point of hobbies isn't to be brilliant it's to have fun.
That's so cool he finds violin cooler than guitar actually. Our primary school have about 3 violinists and 20 guitarrists as they all think it's cooler. I agree with your son :)
As others have said, hire or borrow an instrument and see what happens. Something you can do at home and have lessons over zoom could be just the challenge over the next 6 months:/

My dad wanted to play the sax 🎷. At 30 he decided he was to old. At 60 he changed his mind. He'd probably be playing at a higher standard now if he had started at 30 but how is 12 too old? I'd be bothered if he wasn't going to practise, but I understand you can usually hire instruments so no massive initial outlay.

I taught a lad who started playing piano at 15, total beginner. He's now in his early twenties with a degree from a prestigious conservatoire and numerous awards for composition under his belt. He's becoming very highly regarded as both a player and composer. Of course twelve isn't too old, even to be a professional!

Music teacher here . Definitely not too old and absolutely no reason why he can’t excel. Some children never get past the beginning, some excel and are at grade 5 within 3 years, some get to be professional , others just a hobby. But you’ll never know unless he gets lessons. I certainly wouldn’t be turning him away , nor do I ever judge how well people will do based on age. Just go for it!

Not to old to learn the violin. I started learning when I was 27. (35 now).

Not too old to lern and having knowledge of otheer instruments will def coe in handy. If he can plink the tune out on a piano or keyboard t would help him to learn. However why did he stop the other instruments. I wouldn,t say no but I would be cautious. Saying that my daughter has stopped the guitar and is now doing fuit I think the main issue was the teacher of the guitar.

Nope - I started at 42 !

I could already read music and had played other instruments to a decent standard as a child. I progressed quite fast as a result. It took me 6 months to reach where my daughter aged 7 ad total music novice reached in 3 years.

Any teacher that declares someone is too old to learn an instrument should be avoided at all costs.

You are never too old to learn an instrument.

There's likely an age limit for being able to make a career of it - but to learn is ageless

I learned the violin from 12 - it was painful for the family! My brother on the trumpet was worse!

The teacher is at best short-sighted. I have a friend who started learning at 11. At 16 she went to conservatoire and now leads orchestras in London and holds professorships at London conservatoires.

My own DD was a cellist from 4 but at 11 decided to start the alto saxophone. By 16 she had grade 8 with distinction on sax. She didn't even seem to practise particularly hard or regularly.

If your son is keen, go for it, Maybe rent an instrument for the first term to see how he gets on.

Definitely not too old. I learnt in my 20's

Echoing all the others who have said he's not too old - I started violin in y7 and by the end of school was nearing grade 8 standard, and went off to uni to do music. Continued having lessons and doing lots of playing, then did an MA and now teach and play professionally.

In my experience as a teacher, a lot of older children (y5+) tend to pick things up much more quickly than younger kids, and their motor skills are far more advanced, which is an advantage on the violin. As lots of others have said, most kids aren't going to end up being pro players, and the main thing is that it's something fun and enjoyable. However, it depends so so much on the kid, and being at a lower standard compared to peers can sometimes either be totally demoralising or inspire lots of hard work! Probably worth unpicking why he dropped the two previous instruments, and I'd definitely suggest finding a teacher who's a really good fit for him, don't just automatically go with the school teacher.

I was one asked to play continuo for an orchestra made up entirely of string players that had taken up their instruments as adults. They weren't the RPO but they were pretty good. (And boy did they know how to throw a post concert party...)

Def not too old. My DD plays violin. Be prepared for the first months to sound pretty awful.... but it's worth it!!! Violin is such a fab instrument.

Having a great teacher and a decent instrument are a must.

I started clarinet at 13 and ended up studying it at uni.

I know someone who didn’t start learning his instrument until he was 18. He ended up playing for the royal opera for 30 years!

Agree with all the others who say you are never too old. 2 of my kids play violin. Their teacher had one pupil take it up at age 70, and she got a lot of enjoyment out of it for the next 10 years.

You experience music differently through different instruments - they’re not just interchangeable. With the violin you feel the music through your bones, with a keyboard it’s spread out before you in a visual way like the sheet music.
It’s great that he wants to try another instrument rather than just give up altogether.

I started at the end of year 7, and got to roughly grade 8 standard by the time I finished school (didn't actually take grade 8 exam). That included switching from violin to viola (I would have got into the area schools orchestra at the same time regardless of switching, but I probably wouldn't have got into my current orchestra on violin).

It's worth asking lots of questions when looking for a teacher. My mum found a teacher with a reputation for moving students on fast, and combined with the fact that I already played piano and read music, I got to grade 4 in four terms (not taking any of the earlier grades). You probably need to reject the people saying "too old" unless they're willing to change their mindset, and also anyone who thinks you need to take every grade.

The problem for a youngster is that if you start late you can find yourself in youth ensembles with younger kids, which can feel awkward. However there may be community orchestras/folk groups around where age doesn't matter.

Rent an instrument, and try lessons for three months. 12 is not too old to learn if he has a good ear and reads music. In normal times, many American schools can lend a limited selection of instruments to students who can't afford one, or who are just starting.
On the other hand, 80 is far too old to learn skiing. An instructor at Stowe claims he has taught several octogenarians to intermediate level. As I said to my seventy five year old mother after reading this article, "If you wanted to break a hip, I'd push you down the cellar stairs for free."

I have no music ability nor does DS have any interest in music BUT I would say you are never too old to do something you want to do

Never too old

An acquaintance’s son started at 14, having never played an instrument before. He’s now a violinist with a famous orchestra, ten years later.

I started violin lessons at 12 and though I wasn't a natural musician, I did manage to achieve up to my grade 4 certificate and attend lots of orchestras which helped me make friends and become more confident. It's easier to learn the techniques when you're younger for holding the bow, etc but as a lot of other PPs have said, you're never too old to pick up an instrument.

I played violin between the ages of 7 and 16.

Looking back, it's the transferable skills that mean the most to me. The ability to read music has served me well in choir (my true musical love), the discipline to practice to get better, the social skills of group playing etc etc.

Did I enjoy every minute? No.
But do I look back on the experience fondly? Yes.

Even now, 20 years later, when looking at sheet music, my fingers still spontaneously move along with the notes, as if I was playing the violin!