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Is it harder to develop/improve technique at 40

#41
I started playing guitar at 15, piano at 32, bass at 39 and I started lifting weights at 41. I'm 46 now and I've never played, looked and felt better. I've also learned a ton about instruments and effects over the last few years.

There's no reason one couldn't continue improving and developing into old age. Staying in shape and playing constantly makes a huge difference.

Pino is still killing it at 64 and he's probably a better player today than he was years ago. Jack LaLanne was in amazing shape and exercised until the very end.
Carry on!
 
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#42
No!!! I did not really get playing bass when I was around 30 or 35. I started music/band when I was 12 played keys, horn, until I started bass. I am 60+ now and my playing has improved the most in the past 5 years. I have a pro bass player friend who is great, he is late 70’s. Plays 1 to 2 shows a week, sings 1/3rd of the lead. Plays at his church, just drove 450 miles to a guitar show to look at a bass. He takes his basses to his luthier who lives 700 miles away. DON’T STOP!!!
 
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#43
While physical abilities do generally diminish with age, the average loss of physical strength and dexterity is easily compensated for, and overcome, with learning and experience. Learning and experience can both increase with age, if you apply yourself.

I believe that the most common barrier to developing technique is independent of age. The most common barrier to developing technique is identifying and extinguishing bad technique first so that you can, then, start to develop good technique.
 
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#44
noeinstein said:
Happy (upcoming) birthday, @two fingers! And congratulations on committing to weight training, keep at it.
Click to expand...
BTW, I'll be 74 in a few days and began a weight training/exercise program in February. Three days a week for an hour. Def making a difference. I played a three hour gig Saturday and, though I wasn't good for much more than taking it easy on Sunday, made it through without any trouble. I agree with several points already made. Improved technique is increasingly important as you age. It will allow you to play longer in a more relaxed and pain-free way (if it hurts, you're doing it wrong). A regimen of regular physical exercise will improve your life in a thousand ways, including your ability to play your instrument and perform (and you'll look better, too). And the challenge of learning and performing new material will contribute to better brain health. Performing has always been an important component to my playing. It keeps me motivated to learn and improve (IMO there is no better motivator than the threat of public humiliation). And finally the relationships I've developed over 60 (yikes!) years of playing continue to sustain me and add so much depth to my experience of life. So, keep on rockin' my friends. It's good for you :thumbsup:
 
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#45
I believe that you learn differently in your 40s as opposed to your teens. I started bass at 16 and started studying guitar seriously at 45 and those were intellectually very different experiences. I'm 58 now, the physical aspects of improving technique have not changed in any appreciable way as far as I can tell in 40+ years. I honestly feel like I'm playing better than I ever have.
 
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#46
I believe it depends on the person, where you are starting from, and what your physical limitations might be.

I came back to this at the age of 58 after an extended absence from music. In the five years since I have improved- quite a lot- from where I most likely was when I quit at the age of 30, even though I'd had a good ten years on the road before I quit.

Much of the improvement came due to my ability to afford an instrument that doesn't fight me every step of the way. I can't emphasize enough how much difference it makes to have a high quality instrument with a good setup; that's something I didn't have when I was younger.

The rest of that improvement has come from taking the time and making the effort to challenge myself to do things I couldn't do before.

But, with that being said, I also have issues that I don't think are surmountable. I have neurological / autoimmune problems that cause swelling and stiffness in my fingers. I can combat that to some extent with medications and supplements, but it's always going to be a limiting factor and it just gets worse as I age. So I've had to accept that, as a player, I will never be quite as fast or as nimble as I'd like to be. I am ok with that, because I still manage to do quite a lot even with those limitations. And there are still ways to refine my technique that don't rely as much on agility and speed, but rather attentiveness. So yes, you can always improve, even if you might not always be able to improve in every way.
 
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#47
While easier as a yoot, IMPE (58), we definitely can learn new tricks/techniques and our chops still improve (mind you, it takes a bit more patience and perseverance to break old habits/techniques).
 
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#52
I restarted (after a decade off) at 52. I had no technique. A decade later, I’m much better than I ever was in my 20’s or 30’s.

The question posed here is the wrong question. The relevant question is: do you want to put the time in to be good? Like many things in life, stuff that’s worthwhile isn’t easy.

Persistence will get you there. Age can be an excuse, but it’s not something that can or will hold a dedicated person back.
 
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#56
micguy said:
I consider it a team sport, where teamwork (coordinated to within tiny fractions of a second) is incredibly important.

In grade school, music was absolutely a sport, with competitions on both individual and team levels.
Click to expand...
I've never experienced "sport level" or competition type of music. I knew someone who was brought up playing concert double bass as a sport. He couldn't wait to quit.
 
#57
For me everything has got more difficult to do as I've progressed (or regressed) passed 40 and then 50 and then 55. It doesn't mean that life isn't fun or that I can't do anything new; just that I've got to reset expectations of myself (and others have had to do the same!).

The options to getting older aren't going to make improving technique any easier so enjoy the bass journey at whatever speed it goes.
 
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#60
at age 92 the great pianist is practicing 4 hours a day and someone asks, "why do you do it? At your age...you've accomplished everything..." Revered Maestro answers, "I'm starting to see some progress" (attributed to a real person who's name escapes my aging memory at the moment)

Speed/accuracy on the bass guitar can increase way past age 40 if nutrition and other factors are good, and luck... (not getting arthritis etc). Double bass (and other instruments) is/are more rigorous and may be more dependent on flexibility and stamina, and tissue integrity. Sufficient antioxidants and other phyto-nutrients are essential for tissue integrity. (The Standard American diet kills at age 55-75)
 

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