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Starting age
- Thread starter Vytautas
- Start date
No, not too old in my opinion. Although I played some bass when I was young, I got serious about the instrument when I was oh, about fifty. Have fun with it.
I think there is some advantage to starting as young as possible. For the same reason that learning a new language is easier the younger you are ( brain malleability?) .
But no way is 16 too old.
But no way is 16 too old.
Someting to put your age into perspective...
My Grandpa died at 96. He started playing accordian at about age 16, and continued right up until his death in '08. He started playing at about the beginning of the Great Depression, continued through the '30s, then through the '40s and WW2, then through the '50's and the Korean War, then through through the '60s and the Vietnam War. By the end of Vietnam, he had already been playing for 45 years. And after that, he played through the rest of the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, and most of the '00s. He played his instrument for 80 YEARS.. and he also started at 16! Think about that.
My Grandpa died at 96. He started playing accordian at about age 16, and continued right up until his death in '08. He started playing at about the beginning of the Great Depression, continued through the '30s, then through the '40s and WW2, then through the '50's and the Korean War, then through through the '60s and the Vietnam War. By the end of Vietnam, he had already been playing for 45 years. And after that, he played through the rest of the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, and most of the '00s. He played his instrument for 80 YEARS.. and he also started at 16! Think about that.
HA! Dude you remind me of myself, my friends were urging me to get a bass when I was 13 and I felt like I was too old, seeing as they had been "playing guitar" for a few years already -
Long story short, I "played" bass but didn't even really get a good start until I was around your age and stumbled across TalkBass. If you get an instrument, push yourself, and utilize TalkBass as a resource and means of expanding your horizons (versus a social network - but we're all a little guilty of that..), you have an excellent chance of progressing and developing into a good player within a reasonable amount of time. Bear in mind there is no "end goal", one always feels like they aren't good enough and can better. And thats a good thing.
Good luck.
Long story short, I "played" bass but didn't even really get a good start until I was around your age and stumbled across TalkBass. If you get an instrument, push yourself, and utilize TalkBass as a resource and means of expanding your horizons (versus a social network - but we're all a little guilty of that..), you have an excellent chance of progressing and developing into a good player within a reasonable amount of time. Bear in mind there is no "end goal", one always feels like they aren't good enough and can better. And thats a good thing.
Good luck.
16 is too old for taking up gymnastics or figure skating. That's about it.
Never too old. I was 15 when I started. Now, that was 34 years ago now, but it certainly has been worth every minute!! Been a great first 34 years. Looking forward to the next 34
Bass is not the most technically demanding instrument - unless you are talking absolute virtuosity. In my opinion it is more important that you have good ears and have listened to a lot of music. So no, sixteen is not too old to pick up bass.
Only if you want to do those things as a competitive professional. If you want to do it for the simple love of doing it, start whenever you conceive the passion for it.
To some extent, great concert pianists and violinists do seem to start young. But any number of the great guitarists, bassists, and drummers of rock and pop music first took up their instruments as teenagers (and were often self-taught to boot, not that I wouldn't encourage getting a teacher if you can). I'm more of a hobbyist and weekend warrior, but I only started playing at 38 (five years ago) and now have pretty regular weekend gigs.
WAY too old. Find a nursing home to live out whatever time you have left.
16 is in no way too old! Get after it! The one thing that younger (say sub 20) folks have over most older folks is more free time than money. That can be a GREAT thing for your playing. My best years for learning were between 18 and 21, when I was too young to hit the bars, and couldn't spend money chasing new gear. So I practiced. And played. Tried a ton of different styles, played with different folks, and learned a whole lot about playing music with other people.
There are physiological reasons behind the statement. True, anyone can do whatever they want. But a pianist who starts at 20 could be world-class at 50. A person who doesn't start these two particular activities young have missed an important window. The point was to contrast that it is perfectly fine to take up an instrument at any time.
started when I was 23 (3 years ago). You should be much better by my age. And I'm incredible! 
Never too late to learn and play. I started at 7 yrs old. Only got serious about 2 years later. Been playing bass/guitar for the last 12-13 years. I'm 20 going on 21. But it's never too late to ever start learning and playing.
- Apr 6, 2013
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I started at 16 too: though I don't do it full time anymore, I worked professionally for several years.
A different aspect is that it is a bad time for working musicians in general, with less live playing and studio work opportunities... it's really difficult to make a living!
At 16 I had a vision of what being a pro was and what kind of life it was: the truth was very different! Though I enjoyed it also, there's a lot of plain, hard work and traveling involved.
On stage for two hours, traveling for 12, for example.
Sharing a smallish room in the studio with a drug addict for a month is another example.
Regarding age, you might also want to check out my signature...
