Don’t Fret: Aspiring musicians prove it’s never too late to learn an instrument

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 8:20 a.m.

Kim Schaefer had not touched a piano in more than 20 years when her parents offered her the very instrument she once played as a child.

"They moved in 2001, and they gave me their piano," Schaefer, a 32-year-old Las Vegas resident, said. "That was impetus for me to start playing again. I played for two years as a kid, but as a little girl you don't want to be inside practicing. I've always regretted giving it up."

Local music instructors say Schaefer is one of many adults turning to musical instruments. They say most of those newcomers have either never played before or haven't played since their childhood years.

"It's been a trend," said Carol Trump, a piano instructor at Family Music Center on West Sahara Avenue who teaches classes for the University of Nevada Las Vegas' continuing education program. "A lot of adults have picked up instruments in the last 10 years.

"People have a lot more free time now, and they also need a mental break when they're not thinking about their jobs. It's very healthy."

Similarly, Lance Golding, a guitar instructor at Pat's Desert Music on South Rainbow Boulevard, has witnessed a recent influx of adults hoping to learn to play an instrument.

"What I'm finding is a kind of resurgence of an energy that has been dormant for a long time in people," Golding said. "Maybe they went to an Eric Clapton concert and they decided, 'I need this in my life.' They want something to bring them some kind of joy and make them feel younger."

Michael Greener, a Las Vegas iron worker, began playing piano last year for the first time, following in his children's footsteps.

"I'd been taking my kids in for lessons my son plays bass and my daughter plays electric guitar so I thought I would give it a shot," Greener, 39, said. "I want to become proficient at it so I can sit down and play anything, from classical music to Jerry Lee Lewis."

Music instructors are quick to point out, however, that learning music can be quite different for adults than for young children.

Family Music Center piano teacher Justin Vogel said he finds adults are generally less committed to the idea of practice than younger students, who are more accustomed to homework and assignments.

"Adults have a lot more responsibilities than children, and less time to practice," Vogel said. "As a kid, if your parents pay for your music lessons, that becomes your job."

But Carol Stivers, director of piano studies at UNLV, points out that children can also lose interest fairly quickly.

"Children are pulled in different directions, depending on how many other outside activities they want to do or their parents want them to do, and it's hard to do anything well if they are pulled in too many different directions," Stivers said. "Adults are doing it because they want to, so that's a big plus. They're anxious to learn."

While most children are introduced to their instruments through a series of beginners' books, instructors tend to tailor their adult lessons toward their students' already formed musical interests.

"My approach is to find out what kind of music they're interested in and try to make the lessons applicable to the type of music they listen to," Vogel said.

Trump said that as adults grow, they also develop mental and physical learning advantages that may help them with new instruments.

"Adults have learned to interrelate more ideas than kids have, which helps," Stiver said. "And a lot of times their hands are a lot more coordinated, so they can play chords with the left hand a little more fluently than the younger kids."

Of course, as adults get older, they may find also themselves with physical restrictions to overcome if they hope to become proficient on a new instrument.

Las Vegan Mike Wrzesinski began taking guitar lessons while in his mid-50s. Despite an athritic condition, he is progressing steadily under Golding's watchful eye.

"I don't harbor aspirations of being in a band or anything like that, but I've always wanted to do it, more for my own pleasure," Wrzesinski said. "Sometimes my arthritis interferes -- some days I can't spread my fingers out as well on the strings -- but it's not a great hindrance.

"If it's bad one day, you can always just practice some other time."

Stivers said adults who haven't played piano before frequently experience more muscle stiffness than children. And Trump said several of her older students rely on large-print sheet music to overcome poor eyesight.

"Most restrictions can be overcome," Trump said. "My oldest students are in their 70s, so anyone can do it."

Instructors and students agree that learning an instrument can also be healthy for the body, particularly in aiding relaxation.

"I find that it's very therapeutic, very relaxing after a day of work," said Schaefer, a training and development coordinator at the Stratosphere. "It takes your mind off everything else, and it's a creative outlet, a place where you can do things you can't do in other parts of your life."

Schaefer, who is expecting her first child in July, said she hopes someday to share her newfound love of the piano with that child.

"I really look forward to being able to, instead of telling my child to play, being able to set an example for them," Schaeffer said.

So just how much can an adult accomplish on a new instrument? According to local instructors, anything is possible, though tempered expectations are generally the best approach.

"One lady called me and said, 'People have told me I have a good voice, so I'm ready to quit my job, learn piano and do this for a living,' " Vogel said. "I had to be straight with her. I said, 'I'm not saying you can't do it, but it's a difficult business to break into.' "

Professional aspirations aside, there is still plenty to be gained from picking up a new instrument, provided you pick the right one.

"You have to make sure that you pick the instrument that you're interested in," Golding said. "If you want to sound like Carlos Santana, you're probably not going to sound like him on a clarinet."

Wrzesinski, a newspaper copy editor, chose guitar because of his interest in classic rock, particularly Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. He works on learning one song at a time, with Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy" his current project.

Schaefer, meanwhile, approaches her piano instruction as a course of study. She has re-learned how to read music, and recently completed her first adult beginners book.

"The most important thing is to set some realistic goals," Trump said. "As an adult, you're not necessarily going to become a professional musician. But you can enjoy music at your own level."