I know that I often talk about the difficulties and frustrations that go along with learning to play the piano baecause I see my students experience them. I also remember what it was like all those years ago when I was little – I still vividly remember the annoyances and frustrations that I had to endure.
I think the main frustration that adult piano students have is that they doubt their ability to actually learn to play the piano. It is not one or two, but every single adult student I have taught over the years that has doubted their ability to be able to learn to play the piano. Sadly, there are many other adults that I have met, that have lived with the frustration of wanting to learn to play the piano but don’t even get started because they think they will never be good enough.
Adult students often have the frustration of wanting to practice the piano but never seem to have enough time to do their piano practice. This is why I think retirement is a great opportunity for people to take up piano lessons because they finally have enough spare time on their hands.
What is not unique to adult piano students and is common to all piano students regardless of age, is that sometimes you will learn pieces of music that are frustrating to learn. This frustration happens quite regularly to everyone. When I say everyone, I literally do mean everyone. Sometimes it will be a section of the music, sometimes it will be the timing and rhythm of the piece of music and sometimes it could be playing the correct notes is tricky. All of these things can be frustrating.
What can also happen, particularly for older adults is stiffness and/or pain that make it physically difficult to play the piano. Having said this, I have had young students deal with the aftermath of sprains, strains and broken bones and trying to play the piano after they have the medical all clear. I myself have had to deal with strains, sprains, a broken bone, and tendonitis at times since I was 10 and now I deal with arthritis. I understand how frustrating that these situations can be.
Unfortunately, everyone who learns to play the piano has to deal with some sort of difficulty and frustration. No-one is immune to this. The ones that do end up learning to play the piano to the level that they want to play, find a way through all of their frustrations. The question before you now is: Are you going to allow stupid frustrations to prevent you from knowing they pure joy that comes from playing the piano?