This might seem like a strange article to have for a blog, where the aim is to encourage and give information to retirees who want to play the piano in their retirement, but I think it can be quite useful to discuss.
There is actually two types of quitting I want to discuss. The first is when is it the right time to quit formal piano lessons? The simple answer is when you have achieved the level you wish to get to and you feel confident enough to learn to play a new piece of music without any help from anyone.
I don’t recommend quitting because of your current piano teacher – if this is the case, find a new piano teacher that you can work with. There are plenty of piano teachers out there, even if you live in a rural or remote area where there may not be many choices, remember you can have piano lessons with a teacher over skype or zoom. If your current piano teacher is just not the right fit for you, find someone who is a good fit because if you quit under these circumstances, you will probably come to regret your decision.
If you are finding learning to play the piano harder than you originally thought, or you are returning to lessons after a hiatus of some years (or decades), please persist rather than quitting. Sometimes learning or re-learning can be hard at times and definitely frustrating. What you really need to do is push through, because you can get to the point where it starts getting easier. I’ve helped and encouraged so many students through them finding learning the piano a huge challenge and all that persisted came out the other side where it was no longer really tough or frustrating and as a bonus they ended up achieving a higher skill level.
The other question that needs to be covered is when is it time to quit playing the piano and never go back. I must admit that my first instinct is to say ‘never’, but that is my biased reaction! Rationally speaking, I think the time to give up is when your body may be deteriorating and you don’t enjoy playing the piano because it’s either too frustrating or too painful to keep going , both figuratively and literally.
I know that quitting can sometimes be a difficult subject to discuss, but it is important to know when it’s okay to quit and when it’s better to just keep going and keep trying. My hope for you is that quitting is something that isn’t necessary for you and that you will have many years of enjoyment playing the piano.