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am I too old to play again?

#101
As a kid I started on drums and bass at the same time, when I was ten. I was sixteen years old when my brother's band needed a drummer, they already had a bass player. I concentrated on drums and played in bands in Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland over the next thirty two years.

In January of 2008 I was in a pawn shop in the DC area buying a snare drum, I saw a bass that caught my eye for some reason and bought it. Two weeks later I was playing drums as a sub in Pittsburgh and I suffered a major stroke. It took me about a year and a half of work to be able to play the drums again, I was determined.

While I was in this recovery mode I also took up hand percussion. I ended gigging as a percussionist before I was back at drum gigs. Roughly three years after the stroke I started to get serious about playing bass. It has taken a lot of work, but these days I'm involved in two projects where I switch between hand percussion and bass as well as working as a drummer.

I will be fifty-seven years old in May. Yes, you can do this if you want to.
 
#102
daveyo said:
Thanks to for all the positive responses
I am going to go for it, I have missed playing with a band for many yrs,
My kids are growing up now and I feel the time has come again to play.
Dave
Click to expand...

If you look around (open mics, jam sessions...) I bet you'll find *lots* of people in the same boat--people picking up music again now that their kids are older. A lot of them will have grown up with the same music as you and have similar goals, so may find you fit right in. Have fun!
 
#105
daveyo said:
I am picking up the bass after some yrs of not playing.
i have played guitar for yrs but I want to play in a band sitution again,
I am 54 yrs old
Dave
Click to expand...
Dave - I'm almost 61. I played guitar for years and stopped in my late 30's because of family and career. I didn't play any instrument for years and I always wanted to play the bass guitar. About eight years ago I went out and bought a bass guitar and amp, and I haven't looked back. I've taken lessons on and off (I guess I wanted to make up for the lost years). I'm currently taking lessons, I play in an R&B / classic rock band, and I have played in a couple basement bands over the past couple years.

Go for it. You won't regret it. You'll only regret the things that you didn't do.
 
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#108
daveyo said:
I am picking up the bass after some yrs of not playing.
i have played guitar for yrs but I want to play in a band sitution again,
I am 54 yrs old
Dave
Click to expand...
Yes you can, except if you are bald... No... Tony Levin is bald... Hum... except if you lost an arm... Bill Clement plays with one arm... Except if you're deaf... A lot of bass players are deaf.
Just do it, you can.
 
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#111
daveyo said:
I am picking up the bass after some yrs of not playing.
i have played guitar for yrs but I want to play in a band sitution again,
I am 54 yrs old
Dave
Click to expand...
As to your question: NO!

As to the rest of it: you are never too old to go do something you like, unless it is physically impossible. Since you can play bass sitting down (on a cool stool or something), that is not the problem. And don't worry about only being able to play with old farts just like yourself. I am 59 and my band members are 47, 42, 25 and 24, and we all get, and play, along perfectly.

So: go for it!
 
#112
Another definite NO to your question here.
I'm 50, had played in my teens/twenties, then stopped until about 2 years ago.

Took a little time to get the fingers and brain working right again (well, as good as they're gonna get anyway).
I joined a couple of forums like this, and musicians networks on Facebook.
Still haven't found a fully functioning band, but have enjoyed several jam sessions with a nicely varied collection of folks of all ages and skill levels.
I'm just sorry it took me so long to come back to the life...
 
#115
twinjet said:
@Gravedigger Dav , dontcha got a few years on our friend here?

OP, sky's the limit. If you want to play again you can do it! I know another fellow around here who is 71, but has the livelihood of a 50 year old. Keep jamming!
Click to expand...
I am 72. So yeah, that is a few on me. I have the good fortune to come from a line that is long lived and healthy. We're all crazy, but we live into the 90s and 100s. My aunt died at 93 about 4 years ago and was performing into her late 70s. In her early 60s, she was doing an outdoor show on a stage that backed up to Cow Bayou in Orange, Texas. It was a hot muggy day and her costume was on old time pioneer dress complete with bloomers and bonnet. She was doing a song and suddenly stopped. She put her guitar down (the 1956 J-50 that is now mine), took off her harmonica holder, went to the mic and said, "It's too damn hot!". With that she ran toward the back of the stage and jumped into the bayou.
 
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#117
Gravedigger Dav said:
I am 72. So yeah, that is a few on me. I have the good fortune to come from a line that is long lived and healthy. We're all crazy, but we live into the 90s and 100s. My aunt died at 93 about 4 years ago and was performing into her late 70s. In her early 60s, she was doing an outdoor show on a stage that backed up to Cow Bayou in Orange, Texas. It was a hot muggy day and her costume was on old time pioneer dress complete with bloomers and bonnet. She was doing a song and suddenly stopped. She put her guitar down (the 1956 J-50 that is now mine), took off her harmonica holder, went to the mic and said, "It's too damn hot!". With that she ran toward the back of the stage and jumped into the bayou.
Click to expand...
Too bad they didn't have Youtube back then.
 
#119
I started playing again at age 60 after a 30 year hiatus. I am better now than I ever was although in my case that is not saying much! I picked up bicycling again at age 57 after a similar gap and I am now also a better cyclist than I ever was and that is saying something. My friend you are never too old to rock and roll if you are too young to die!
 

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