I would be interested to hear what motivates us adult learners and how many are/were complete beginners or were restarters. For me, I started from absolutely nothing. I had never seen music written down nor come anywhere close to an instrument. However, since childhood I had a burning ambition to play piano - don't really know why, can't explain it. Now, 5 years on I am delighted I took the plunge and invested so much time, not to mention money, on this hobby. It has opened up a whole new world for me and enriched my life no end, so much that I cannot imagine ever not playing my piano. What about everyone else?

that one day I will sound like Eric Dolphy, Herbie Mann, Nicola Stilo, or any of the great Cuban jazz flautists...

One day I would like to be able to play a substantial classical piece well, maybe a complete beethoven sonata, or chopin fantasy, something that will stop people in their tracks.The trouble is you can't see how your are improving when it takes so long to learn a piece well and how you sound to the layman ear. When I play a grade 6 or my current grade 7 pieces, I think they sound mechanical and plain, due to the amount of time and effort I have put into them. Others find them wonderful,.I may achieve my goal without realising it.

Andy

I want to be able to play the piano well for sheer self-satisfaction.

The only thing which stands between me and being able to play the piano better than I do now is practice time. As motivation, I am now starting to adopt the mindset that I shouldn't let something as easy-to-address as practice stop me. I have plenty of time, and am in good health, so there's no reason I can't do more practice; thus, I will, and every day I will become a bit better at playing the piano .

In my case, an extremely strong emotional reaction to not being allowed to learn an instrument when I was a child, even though I loved music. Parents were totally uninterested. Music lessons at school were a complete joke - no Ofsted in those days- and we learned nothing.

First holiday job at 18, I bought a guitar and taught myself to read music. Then dabbled in cello, piano, clarinet etc.

Many, many years later, and our house is full of music. Trumpet, flugelhorn, clarinets, piano, classical and electric guitar, saxophone and recorders. You name it, I'll find a good deal on Ebay!

I'm dead jealous of my kids! The music dept in their school is incredibly dynamic and the standard of their concerts is breathtaking!

So I guess, deep down, I'm re-living my 'lost youth'.

What's your excuse?

Steve

I've always enjoyed listening to different types of music. I was fortunate to have been exposed to the piano as a child. I had piano lessons from ages 7 to 13. Unfortunately my experience with piano lessons especially with my second piano teacher left a very sour taste in my mouth. As a result I was not too eager to continue piano lessons especially considering that both piano teachers suffered strokes and ultimately died. Maybe the next piano teacher would suffer a stroke and ultimately pass away... Nevertheless somewhere in the back of my mind, there was always the desire to be a better piano player and throughout the years I would play on and off on the piano but unfortunately I wouldn't make much progess. I even went as far as to purchase a new piano about 16 years ago.

Serious interest in the piano was rekindled over four years ago but life got in the way with the birth of my two children. Nearly two years ago I started reading a music theory book which I had purchased ten years earlier. It was a Eureka moment. From starting to read that book, everything just started making sense to me. I finally understood that music has to be learnt in the same way as language because it is a language. Just as in English or any language for that matter there are rules of grammar, sentence constructs, etc. the same holds true for music. Making that discovery has made learning the piano a lot easier and more logical. I therefore decided to improve both my knowledge of theory and actual piano playing. I have since completed Grades 3 and 4 theory and Grade 3 practical. I am currently preparing for Grade 5 theory. Sometime later in the year I am planning on sitting for Grade 4 practical.

Unfortunately my progress in both the theory and practical have not been as quick as I would have liked them to be because of work and family commitments. However, I really enjoy learning all things music and piano.

So to answer your question - what really keeps me going is my love and passion for music especially for the piano. I may never be a concert pianist but even if I were there would never come a point where I could say I've mastered it all. I believe that no matter how proficient we become on our respective instruments there is always room for growth. That belief also keeps me going.

Regards

Musictuary

I had lessons when I was young, I have no idea how old I was or even how long they went on for. My next door neighbour offered to teach me for a mere £5 an hour. My parents paid and every monday I would hop a fence, push through some bushes, walk through a garden and have my lesson. I really enjoyed them, I didn't practice much but I didn't seem to need it. I know that sounds really stupid, but every lesson I improved and my teacher constantly said I had a flair for it. Eventually he moved to go to university, I started secondary school and I never really looked for another teacher. Lessons in school never appealed. The usual school stuff got in the way - new friends, new interests the typical teenage lack of motivation and quickly I forgot all about it.

Fast forward - I've finished school, university and got a job. Suddenly from nowhere the dormant motivation wakes up a burning desire to resume the Piano overwhelms me. I kicked myself for not keeping it up - I could be a genius already! Ha, well not really.

Already over a year has flashed by since I restarted and I'm actually getting more enthusiastic and motivated every day. Nothing can stop me now!

Something that hit me immediatly after I began again, was that during my first set of lessons, I was told what I was doing, what the notes and time signatures meant and all the theory surrounding it - but it didn't make any sense. I just played. As an adult I am understanding exactly what I'm looking at and doing. The only difference is my mind isn't as spongelike. So, although progress and skill development seems slower, I totally comprehend what I'm doing. If that makes sense ??

I restarted music - began with choir and guitar - a few months ago. I quickly realised that I only feel like half myself when I'm not making music of some kind. I play music because it makes me happy.

Music has been part of my life for a very long time. I love it. I enjoy playing it well. I practice so that I can play more music and play it better.

I have always had music in my life - I am of an age where as a child we still had family gatherings where people sang and played instruments, usually piano and violin. I had music lessons as a child, changing teachers and having gaps every so often as my father's job meant moving every three years. I played piano until I was eighteen, when I passed grade 8, then various factors combined and I just didn't want to play the piano seriously any more. However, forty years on the dormant bug bit again and I was determined to reach that standard again. I passed grade 8 for the second time, but didn't feel that my standard was as good as it should have been, so I'm now enjoying a varied but less demanding repertoire which I am enjoying much more. I decided to do piano teaching (I was a trained primary school teacher, so that made it easier) as a post-retirement career, and I really enjoy that. I get real satisfaction from seeing pupils progress. I have played the recorder for many years, having taught myself as a child, and I love the opportunities that this gives to play with other people. My decision to learn the cello 18 months ago, having never played a stringed instrument, was another milestone. It is such a satisfying instrument to play. Taking part in the adult learners concerts has added another dimension to my musical life as it has led to new friendships as well as the opportunity to perform.

So, as far as motivation goes it is the personal satisfaction, enjoyment and growth that comes from making music and sharing it with others that keeps me going.

I bought my husband a digital piano to help him relax, as he liked to play piano as a teenager.
But so far, he hasn't had a chance to get near it! I pulled out some music from the piano stool
we inherited and just started from the first piece. This was Book 1 of Step by Step to the classics
by Felix Swinstead, so not exactly beginner but I worked it out bar by bar and then kept playing
it over and over until it started to flow. Somehow the genius of some of these pieces shined through this process
and lured me on. I then bought the current grade 1 book because I realised that I needed to
learn the various skills in the right order. I got about 5 of them up and running so I then bought the
grade 2 book...I did not want a teacher because I have a professional life in which everything
you do is assessed and I wanted a corner of my life which was not assessed (and if my rendition
was a little "unusual", who cares?). Eventually
I worked up the courage to phone around for a teacher..... I stumbled on a wonderful one I think!
but it's still the genius of the pieces shining through my learning process that lures me on,
by this I mean that it conjures up an other-worldly experience of just-so rightness and magic.
This week I am buying a baby grand, I'm at the point where I need to create my own notes
to get full expression, so the adventure continues!!

Loops

Alto February 9 2006 13.05p.m.

My motivation is my sheer love of music. My day doesn't seem complete unless I have practicised my violin or piano, sung in the choir I belong to, or listened to music, especially classical. There are just not enough hours in the day but I try and fit it in somewhere. I started learning piano at age 7 and passed G.1. Left a gap of 40 odd years and then took up the exam circuit again. Now have G. 5 and am working towards G.5 theory though finding it a bit difficult in places as never taken any theory exams before. My violin , I have started to learn at the age of 49 and have now been playing for almost 2 years. My ambition is that one day I may be good enough to join others in an amateur orchestra --- its that what makes me determined to learn. I wish I could give up the day job.

I love music since I was very small. I remembered whenever I heard some music, I'd sing and dance around. My parents let me choose to learn ballet or piano. I chose ballet but gave up after learning a few years. I found that I actually wanted to play piano. However, they finally didn't let me learn (mainly because I couldn't keep up with my ballet learning and they feared that I wouldn't keep up with my piano learnig, which needed lots of money for tuition and the piano ).

After finishing university, I've learned playing harmonica and electronic keyboard, but not piano. Until about 1.5 years ago, I joined a piano class and quickly become devoted to learning it Since my parents don't let me have a piano at home, I need to go to my learning centre for practising almost everyday. If I can't practice for a day, I'll feel a bit upset. And if I can't play for 2 days or more, I'll feel really very blue

I always regret making the wrong decision at first. But seeing that I'm now progressing steadily and have a wonderful teacher, I think that it's never too late to learn. I really hope one day I can play all my favourite music, including: La Campanella, Fantaisie-Impromptu, Scherzo No.2, etc.