Do You Regret Quitting Piano Lessons as a Child?

Do you ever look back regretfully on your childhood years because you quit piano lessons when you were younger? Maybe you never had piano lessons but wish you did. Either way, you shouldn’t feel badly about ending lessons too early.

I say this for two reasons. The first is that those early lessons don’t represent much of a missed opportunity unless you had an ideal environment and tons of self motivation. Second, it’s never too late to start up again and realize the benefits now. The key is to focus on doing what you actually want to achieve, which is true of many things in life. 

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The Advantages of Early Study

It’s true that taking piano lessons in the early years of life can yield the best results, primarily because the routines of children tend to be very structured and coincide well with school hours. Your childhood practice sessions were unlikely to be burdened by the frequent interruptions of adult life and you could claim your time as you wished.

This is to say, your opportunity to become a great musician (or a great pianist more specifically) has the highest chance of becoming realized when you are young.

However, most people don’t take advantage of the experience. They may have difficulty discovering the value in piano lessons and treat piano like any other extra curricular activity. The results of this can be mediocre or even completely unproductive.

Although our early years may offer the best opportunity for musical greatness, most people get bored quickly and move along to something else before real talent is developed. Perhaps they are involved in so many activities that a single thing can’t receive the focused attention it requires.

Warren Buffet’s 5/25 Rule

I came across a short video recently detailing some supposed life lessons of Warren Buffet (Youtube). The premise is that you should make a list of 25 things that you care about achieving, pick 5 to prioritize, and then view the remaining 20 items as enemies of the 5 things that you must get done. 

I realized that piano became one of those top 5 things for me at some point early on, which has contributed greatly to any success I have achieved as a musician. As I racked up the hours in practice, I skipped right over the elementary stuff and headed for advanced repertoire. While I did have it mostly together before I went to college, I started lessons towards the end of highschool, which is late compared to most other pianists. 

I wasn’t consciously thinking about priorities so much as simply acting on my interests. I was obsessing over what I enjoyed and followed the path where it led. Only later did I discover that I inadvertently developed this specialization, which enabled my choice of profession. 

As it turns out, it’s possible to develop this sort of skillset later in life. I am not actually sure if the 5/25 rule actually comes from Warren Buffet’s thinking, but I can see the value of it. If you want to be truly great at something, specialization is key. 

Advantages of Adult Study

I have worked with several adult students and noticed a trend among them. Adults who decide to take up piano lessons seem to be more likely to prioritize learning their instrument compared to young students. This makes them more effective in less time.

Adult students are more likely to build practice time into their daily routines and focus on the long-term benefits of music. They also tend to take advantage of the technology in their phones and tablets to systematize their practice and get more done in less time.

Additionally, adults pay for their own lessons and often will determine if a practice routine fits into their life before seriously considering hiring a music instructor. They may even save up and purchase a nice piano to help inspire their endeavors.

No one should feel burdened with regret because they quit piano lessons as a child. Music is certainly still worth pursuing at any age. It may bring great satisfaction in addition to increased effectiveness overall, provided that musical study is actually prioritized. 

Playing Piano for Pleasure

There is a great book about playing the piano as a serious hobby called Playing Piano for Pleasure, which you can find on Amazon. This book was written from the perspective of a long time New Yorker reporter who has had the great pleasure of interviewing many famous pianists and extrapolating their practice techniques and wisdom into a concise guide. I highly recommend it for anyone who is considering serious study of the piano.

As I mentioned before, if you can make your practice time a main priority in your life, you will see great results. This is the proper circumstance where you should consider hiring an instructor. You can find someone locally or study over the internet with someone like me. Either way, you’ll be fast tracked through the learning process by avoiding the common errors and focusing on best practices.

Focus is Key

Studying the piano isn’t for everyone. Success requires a good teacher and student match, a stable home environment, and intense prioritization of lessons on the part of the student. If this turned out not to be your situation as a kid, don’t sweat it. Perhaps now is the time to take up the study of music. 

The key point is this: There is incredible value in specialization and focusing your mind. The lack of doing this leads to mediocrity in all things. 

What are you willing to focus on? What is currently distracting you? If you are one of those folks who has some regret about missed opportunities to study music, are you willing to focus on it now? You could do great things.

If it's been a while since you studied music, or if you are completely new, you should know that I offer a free video course on how to read music and get started playing the piano.