is 14 too old to start the piano?

[brimfull]

dd already working towards grade 7 flute.She's keen to learn the piano.

She has self taught herself quite a lot of stuff on her keyboard also with help from her friends who play piano.

It's on my mind that it may be too time consuming,considering the school work she gets.

Never too late IMO.

She'll find it a lot easier having already got the music reading skills from the flute - although she'll have the bass clef to learn to read as well, she'll already know how to do that from the theory she will have done to be able to get past Grade 5 Flute.

Nooooooo

She obviously has talent. Our friend has grade 8 flute, 7 sax + others. Started piano last year at 14 and doing well. Go for it.

Never too late to learn an instrument, I started clarinet at 14 and was grade 8 by 18, so it's definitely possible to learn an instrument and get school work done as well!

It can't hurt to give it a trial run and see how she gets on with juggling her music around her school work.

As she can read music already, then it should be fine! She's obviously talented if she's working towards Grade 7 at the age of 14.

My sister took up the flute when she was 16 and passed Grade 7 by the time she left school at 18 (she had previously played the piano and the violin/viola but didn't really enjoy it - loved the flute though!!!)

No. My friend's son started at 13 and is a wonderul pianist. He's 17 now.

never too late to learn anything.

i am going to learn the drums............one day

oh..thanks for the encouragement,now to persuade dh to buy a piano!

No. I have started learning piano at the age of 28. She has 14 years on me!

I learnt the violin as a child and find this time round that its more enjoyable, I understand what I'm doing far more.

A good book for older learners is "Never Too Late" by John Holt.

Never too late to learn. I've been playing piano/keyboards since I was 7, learned to play the guitar when when I was 11 but always wanted to play the flute but was reluctant to buy one in case I lost interest and it ended up getting stuffed in a cupboard. But my parents bought me a flute for my 21st birthday and I learned to play. I am mostly self taught but learned all the instruments never the less, I am also giving piano lessons to a friend of my mum's who is .. um, somewhere in her 50s, never asked her exact age tbh.

Rather than buying an upright piano, you might want to consider buying a digital piano, they take up less space than an upright and also do not need tuning etc on a regular basis. Plus you can pick up a second hand digital piano for a lot less than an upright one as if you buy a cheap upright it's likely to need restoration work doing to it.

good luck

I'd say most uprights that are over about £100-150 are going to be pretty much ok. I got mine 2 1/2yrs ago - and despite it being moved TWICE since it was given to me (for a very cut price) I haven't had it tuned - doesn't actually sound that bad.

I personally wouldn't splash out on a digital one (not even a 2nd hand one) until she's decided whether she wants to continue or not. Try your local music shop for a cheap (small) upright.

does a digital piano take up much less room then?

how much more expensive are they/

Long shot, but where are you ggirl? I have a piano to sell. No point expecting my boys to rekindle their interest now and no one else plays.

It is a modern piano so quite compact, and quite a good one. No candelabras though

Near bournemouth .hants/dorset border.

so where are you Leftoverturkey?

14 isn't too old, and she only needs to find a 20-30 minute spot each day to practise the piano.

Possible problems

1. Initial decline (temporary) of interest in flute.
2. Frustration that some of the stuff she has taught herself will need correcting.
3. It will take a few lessons for her teacher to find her level - in some areas she will be very advanced and in other (pedalling probably) she will need to go back to the beginning. She needs to be prepared for this.

If her keyboard has a full size keyboard and weighted keys she could probably initially practise on that while she has her first few lessons.

yes her keyboard has full size keys,not sure if they're weighted though.

Couldn't be much further, ggirl, I am at the other end of the country, approx 350 miles away. I used to live in Southampton 20 years ago but I don't suppose that helps.
Well, never mind, it was a long shot. I just can't be ar*sed to advertise it. Suppose I'll just have to get my a. into g. Anyone else want a piano?

thanks anyway leftoverturkey

Absolutely not too late and if she wants to take her flute/music further she will piano a very useful skill. When I did A level music we all had to take up a 2nd instrument and when dh was at music college all non pianists had to do 2nd study piano.

Dh actually only began piano at around this age. Although his first instrument is voice he plays to a very high standard and also teaches.

I started at 13 and within a year was playing things that I look at now and wonder how the heck I played it. If the interest is there, definitely go for it. All the work a child has to do between studies and music all eventually sort themselves out...