--- In musicalfossils@yahoogroups.com, "zeagle79" <zeagle79@...> wrote:
>
> Hello fellow(ette) Fossils! I'm and adult violin student (45) and
> heard about this site over in BAVS yahoo group. I've played piano
> for about 40 years, and picked up violin a year ago, taking private
> lessons. (...)
>
> Excellence and achievement belong to any age group. I read somewhere

(...)

> Part of the problem with understanding adult achievement, is that we
> must first defined clearly, adult achievement.

Hello new young fossil!

It always feels good to be exposed to a few new aspects looked at from
a few new angles. I find it extremely 'unfair' of you to have already
40 years of experience playing the piano (which actually means I envy
you)! It must feel good to be able to read music right from the
start. Why have you abandoned the piano for the violin of all
instruments?

I do not think, by the way, adult achievement needs to be defined.
Unless you want to participate in some kind of competition, or enroll
in a university trying to major in music, you progress as you like or
can.

If I take my case, I do have a goal, and an outrageous one at that.
I want to reach it, yes, but in that process I don't measure myself
against some yardstick someone else has thought up. All my efforts
are funneled in the direction of my goal, that is all. The goal was
to be able to play one Beethoven Sonata within five years. To be able
to play in my case means: "so that I am satisfied".

When I started (from utter scratch) I was 60. Nobody I talked to
said so, but everybody showed me with all the non-verbal expressions
in the book that the goal was impossible to reach. We'll see. A
little over two years have passed now. That was the preparation for
Beethoven, so to speak. Unfortunately, at my age I don't have the
time left to build a sound musical and pianistic base, playing
children's songs first, then slowly going on to Bach's inventions and
so on... I had to do it my way, the test of which has to be passed in
about three years time, when the five years will be over and Beethoven
calling... I began with 'real' music from the start, such as, for
example, the first prelude from Bach's well tempered clavier. I can
play that now. I went on like that from one (real) piece to the next
one, as soon as I felt it sounded somehow like music. So far, the
piano seems to be 99% studying and 1% playing what you have studied.

Two months ago I have started with Op. 79, obviously because it is one
of Beethoven's shortest sonatas. I guess a 'normal' piano teacher
would not put up with a crazy student like me, nor would a 'normal'
piano teacher be able to help me at the Beethoven-level of
difficulty. But I am lucky: I have a teacher who is a full fledged
concert pianist. Of course she thinks the way I am doing it it will
never amount to anything, but she doesn't say so out loud! She not
only gives me the necessary tips about fingering or practicing
methods, she also keeps me from acquiring bad habits, which is
probably the most serious danger for a beginner. Hopefully I can
surprise her, and me, in three years time!

Karl-Heinz Isleif
Tokyo, Japan