am I too old to play again?

[Marc valero]

I am 61 and still rockin' Had about a 4-year layoff, but have been back at it for two years with a classic rock band.
Here is a photo of me from last October. I did four gigs in one weekend in Oct. Note in this pic I am not with my regular band, in case you are checking out the equipment.

 

[Gaolee]

The thing important to me that relates to age is being the oldest guy in the room at a gig when not on stage. Kids at the show might joke to each other, "Hey. Is that your dad over there?" Not the best position to find yourself in.

I think it's really funny when that happens. I'm married and harmless, but I find being the old guy bass player with a lot of energy makes me more of a chick magnet than I was before. Perhaps it's because I'm married and harmless.

 

[plankspanker13]

Between 2009-2015 I gigged heavily, but kept to my self-promise to be ready to leave at the age of 50. To start 2015, I left a very active cover band. Yes, there was burnout. I took a handful of hired-gun gigs, and subbed in with my formers a few times. The local market looks rather bleak, but there is some seasonality to that. We are in the second half of high season, in AZ. Come April, when the snowbirds have left, things will wind down, and acts that cater to the older snowbird crowd do their revamping. At 51, I harbor no delusions. If I have played my last gig, then so be it. My gut tells me that I have not, and that the scope of gigging will be different, henceforth. A bit of gear herd-thinning can be done, and other aspects of life attended to, in the interim. With the baby boom generation now redefining retirement in large numbers, the market looks to be there, in the coming years. When late-60's and newer music start getting popular in the senior communities, every burnout classic rock band will want to try for a piece of the pie. Those who have distinguished themselves will thus have the advantage. I already know what market niche that I will try aiming for, and we'll just have to let time tell whether my intuition is correct.

 

[Sixgunn]

A few years back I had the honor of talking to my guitar idol, Michael Schenker after his show at the Key Club in Hollyweird and during the conversation he said "you're never too old to play". Been my motto ever since. He's 61, touring and recording his booty off, killing it every night and having the time of his life!! I'm 53, in a great band and I'm the oldest AND the most "fired up".

 

[Biggbass]

you may be 54 on the outside but you're still 24 on the inside.
in my situation I'm having 100 times more fun playing music now
than when I was young. Everything about it is better.
So go for it.
If for no other reason so that you don't look back 20 years from now
and wish you had.

 

[Shortie]

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

No - you are not too old and the long layoff can be overcome with some work. I was living overseas and married with kids - didn't play for 20+ years. Got divorced when I was 48 and started playing again. I've been playing pretty steadily now for 17 years - sometimes in bands, sometimes in jams/open mics, sometimes with a drum machine and a recorder or with records.

Don't expect it all to come back at so fast, but it will come back if you put in some work. It's worth it. Do it! And do whatever you possibly can to get into a band and play with other musicians - vitally important.

 

[Shortie]

In July I will turn 67. I still have the fire in the belly.

65 here - ditto. Gonna rock till I drop!

 

[bearhart74]

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

if you have to ask this question to decide whether to play or not then you probably should not

 

[jp58]

Some words of encouragement. I know a 50 year old man that's recently started playing bass. He struggles using his pinky from where it was broken one time. His arm doesn't quite bend the right way where it was broke too. The bass doesn't hang quite right because he's a little overweight. He's a natural lefty, and he's got a right handed bass. He's never taken a single music lesson, and because he was from rural NC, he didn't even have those classes in school. He says that he'll never be as good as his son, and doesn't think he'll ever be able to play with others. But he smiles every time he plays Rocksmith or hears the first overdriven note crunch out of his practice amp.

That 50 year old is my father, and he started playing bass a month and a half ago because he decided to play a song on a drunk whim around new years. He now has my old practice amp, a copy of rocksmith, and a bass he bought for $50 off of craigslist. We changed the strings, I got the action and relief in better shape (I don't think it'll ever be low), and sent him off on his journey. Now, when i come home, he has to show me the new thing he's learned to do, or I have to bring a new song tabbed out for him to learn. This week, it's picks instead of fingerstyle.

So, no. I don't think there is ever a "too late" to learn to play an instrument.

 

[Norwegian Bass]

It's never too late is my attitude about these things.

 

[Dan Bass]

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

There is no age limit, if you can still do it, then go for it and enjoy yourself. I'm 47 years old been in shape my whole life and I still race moto-x dirt bikes here and there and I go out there and beat everyone on the track. Wish I had done that for a living, but its just an awesome fun hobby and very dangerous. I for sure will always keep jammin my Bass guitars as long as I can, love music way too much to stop clankin on my Bass.

 

[JmJ]

Short answer: no. Long answer: hell no!

 

[P_bass]

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

No sir, you say you played guitar so it is not totally foreign to you. Get to playing already!

 

[fishdreams]

I quit for a number of years and came back at 46. I took the opportunity to re-start from scratch (complete makeover of musical identity, why I play, what I play, technique, gear etc)

I just find that the body gets older and needs more care. Other than that, at 50, I am enjoying the best and proudest place my bass-music has ever been in.

Good luck, take care and enjoy

 

[ThuzzleFump]

I am an old-ass man just picking up playing after a decades-long hiatus. I feel all the same concerns. It sure as hell beats planting your ass in front of the TV with a beer.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Not only No, but f--k no. You're not too old. But I would advise lessons to get you started and on the right track quickly. You've used up 54 laps around the Sun, none of us know how many more we have, so use this one to its fullest.

 

[lpdeluxe]

This soon-to-be-74 year old says "Hell no!" I am breaking in a new singer in my combo and we are looking forward to our next gigs. The youngest person is in her 40s, the new one in her 50s, and the other two are in the late 60s. The only differences are changes in technique due to arthritis and other physical limitations and the fact that we get bored playing simple stuff.

Me on the flatbed trailer, waiting for the show to start:

 

[smperry]

Moved to Miscellaneous.

You're not too old to play again! Go for it.

 

[drummer5359]

The drummer plays in Paul MaCartneys band .

Abe Laboriel Jr . I think !

Am I correct ?

Abe Laboriel Jr. is his son, and yes, he plays drums for Paul McCartney.

 

[davidgoldman]

I did not play any interment from the time I was 19 until I was 58. I picked up a bass at a local music shop and started messing around. Then took some lessons and now I play with two bands, one gigs about once a month and the other is a hobby band. I go to the local open mic nights and I am enjoying the company of the other musicians. You are only as old as you want to be. Go for it.