Am I too old to learn how to play the trumpet?

Suddenly, I have the urge to learn how to play the trumpet.

I've always love the sound of the saxaphone, but the trumpet appears to have fewer buttons to push, which appeals to me for it's simplicity. I have no ability to read music, in spite of the fact that I was once the drummer for Mao Man and the 'Nams and, later, Flyin' Throat Punch ( we were big fans of the apostrophe).

Is this a senseless pursuit for a guy with a family who already has too many other projects going on? I'm sure that I'm too old to become the next Herb Alpert, but I'd like to make some sounds that are less offensive than those that I currently capable of producing.

No such thing as too old to learn an instrument.

Piano has been on my list for a long time, once I am home for more than a couple months at a time I'll take it up.

sax > trumpet.

You're never too old to play an instrument. I've known a number of people who began playing in middle age or even later.

Take some lessons, and find a local community band or orchestra - it's more fun to play in a group, and they generally take players of all abilities. It's not like a piano or guitar where you can sit down at a party and play - if you show up with a trumpet the hosts may not be impressed.

years ago, when my sister tried to learn the sax and gave up.. my Father decided to take it up. The place we both worked at had cameras with sound. The Owner's wife pulled me aside one day and asked how long my father had been playing... the squeaks were making it hard to watch

I used to do play the trumpet. If I could do it, anyone (as long as you have lips) can do it. Next up for me is bass guitar.

I am about to turn 51 this year. I have been an audio for 30 years. Two years ago I followed a goal of writing music. The way I look at it is by the time I get ready to move on life expectancy will most likely be 100. That means I have a long time to get better!

I think people need to rid themselves of the thought that once you get to 65 you spend your life driving the TV.

I don't know how old you are but even if you are 60 you still have decades to learn!

So go blow on a horn. .

stuart in mn wrote: You're never too old to play an instrument. I've known a number of people who began playing in middle age or even later. Take some lessons, and find a local community band or orchestra - it's more fun to play in a group, and they generally take players of all abilities. It's not like a piano or guitar where you can sit down at a party and play - if you show up with a trumpet the hosts may not be impressed.

100% true. Trumpet playing is a team sport. Although if you stuff a harmon mute in it and play underneath an overpass you can get all cool jazz by yourself. Saxophone's pretty much the same.

Don't underestimate that as a motivator - either good or bad. If you're in a group, you practice so you don't let others down. But if it's just you, you have to motivate yourself. I studied music at university (saxophone) and played for years. But after I moved to CO, I didn't have anyone to play with so I stopped. Janel's never actually heard me play, which is hard to believe if you'd known me 15 years ago.

Trumpet (like the saxophone) is a physical instrument. You're going to develop some weird muscles in your lips, and if you don't keep practicing they're going to go away and your endurance will drop. One nice thing about the trumpet is that it's immune to shifts in the weather, unlike a reed instrument.

I was in my mid-40's when I picked up a Yamaha fretless bass. Hadn't played anything since I played trumpet in grade school. Mostly it hangs on my wall, but every once in a while I'll plug it in and make some noise.

Never too old, IMO.

You're never too old. I played a tenor sax for a while and a trumpet for about 12 years. Sax is just clicking keys. With a trumpet, the los C, mid C and high C are all the same fingerings. The octive change is done via your lips.

It will take a while to learn, to get your lips up to the task. But look on the bright side, Women love it when you crack walnuts with your lips.

Keith wrote: One nice thing about the trumpet is that it's immune to shifts in the weather, unlike a reed instrument.

The valves can freeze if it's cold enough.

(I play trombone, but I remember a bowl game in November back in college when half the band was in the restrooms, thawing out their horns.)

While it's never too late to learn, I wouldn't choose trumpet over saxophone because it is "easier".

I play sax. Once you learn the fingering, your fingers stay put and the notes on the scale are sequential (one note down= one finger down).

Trumpet takes a lot more effort with the muscles in the face and lips.

My dad played trumpet (and all brass instruments). When he was in his late 70's, he stopped playing trumpet, and focused on baritone horn (easier on the lips). When he hit 84, he asked me if he could play my tenor sax instead (again, because of the lip muscles). He's 86, and still plays occasionally (but no more brass instruments).

what SVreX said... trumpet while it has fewer "buttons" requires more manipulation with your lips, tounge, and jaw... obviously with only 3 buttons there has to be the same notes with the same fingerings (it gets MUCH worse with an F horn)

my dad played alto sax... I'd pick it up time to time and while I didn't sound good I could always figure out the scales with a little work

I still play from time to time... it takes a while for you to sound decent by yourself... and then there is the counting... while I have grate tone and a moderate range my counting was and is horrid lol...

stuart in mn wrote: ... I remember a bowl game in November back in college when half the band was in the restrooms, thawing out their horns.)

Man, you know it's cold when your horn freezes. Personally, I hate when that happens!

Oh, I know all about frozen instruments. I used to play in about 8-9 Santa Claus parades in Ontario every year, and some of them were at night. One year, we just gave up and sang Christmas carols instead of trying to make the instruments work. A saxophone will freeze up as well, BTW. But with a reed instrument, your reeds change with humidity and temperature. Don't get near an oboe player the week the heat goes on in the music building...

A nice side effect of all that embouchure work: brass players make great kissers. French horn requires the strongest lips, but trumpet and trombone isn't too far behind.

I learned the violin last year at 35. My first ever instrument. I'm still playing at a pretty basic level but it's incredibly awesome to make music when you've just listened to it your whole life. It might be hard to get really good when you're older simply because of the time you're able to commit to learning, but you're never too old to start.
I've also learned to juggle balls and clubs as well as play a little ukulele and guitar in the last year and a half. I was able to try and play my niece's flute at Christmas time and now I really want one of those too. I'm also trying to learn how to walk on my hands but that's going pretty slow. I finally quit making excuses and I'm just doing stuff.

I don't see why not. I have never been musically minded, but have always wanted to dance. I finally did something about last summer and began taking salsa lessons, and at this point I am now capable of finishing a song without boring my partner.

Focus on small incremental gains, and you'll be alright. As others have said, if you make it a social event, it is a lot more fun. I would have probably dropped salsa dancing if it didn't include the social aspect. If you decide to play trumpet, why not play salsa music? It seems less stiff than orchestra music, and it is much more fun to dance to than something played through speakers.

You are only too old to start if you are already dead. Personally, saxophone appeals more to me, but if trumpet is what floats your boat I say go for it.

I would talk to a nearby teacher, probably at your local high school, and see whether you can work a deal for lessons, advice and maybe try both trumpet and sax. As another sax player, I'd comment that there is more opportunity to play popular music with small groups (rock, country, etc -there are even a few celtic bands that use a sax) with the sax. If you decide to go with a sax, you want a tenor rather than an alto - the sound seems to work better with most popular music, and you will be playing in slightly less extreme keys - one less sharp than an alto or baritone.

Side benefit: If you like celtic, pennywhistles have the same fingering as the sax.

You'll also find that most bands with guitars and singers will be playing in keys with several sharps, so concentrate on becoming comfortable in those keys. Most popular band musicians (at the local level) don't read music, you'll be one of the few that do. It's not really tough. There is a guy in our local community concert band (actually a very good band) who plays tenor next to me who is completely self-taught. While he's not a top-level musician, he gets by pretty well, and we play pretty complex music - so you CAN DO IT.

Play lots of long tones to learn to have a good sound and stay in tune, play along with recorded music a little every day to get use to "playing by ear", and make up tunes some each day - people who learn to play by traditional methods get the idea that improvising is a magic process, complete with secret handshakes, where in reality it is the most natural thing in the world. If you can whistle an original blues riff, you can learn to improvise.

I real somewhere that the most effective way to practise is not to kill yourself for a couple of hours once a week, but to practise for 15 - 20 minutes every day, maybe twice if you are really into it.

Charlie Parker once said, "first you learn the music, then you learn the horn, then you forget all that and just play." This takes a while, and you never stop learning.

Best of luck!

Good luck - making music on any level is very fulfilling.

Woody,

Learn to play the instrument you want to play. Don't learn to play some other instrument. If the sax pulls your heart strings, learn and play the sax.

Only when you're dead and rotting are you too old to learn to play an instrument.

I played trumpet poorly in grade school. My wife apparently played sax in HS. I keep asking her to play this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoLU6zKaws

But she won't even though I karaoke'd it at her company Christmas party.

Speaking as a guy who just took up guitar, do it.

I've had Chuck Mangione's Feels So Good playing in my head while reading this thread.

OK, it's a flugelhorn not a trumpet. But to counter Stewart's point, if you started playing that song at a party, I think it would be OK. Herb Alpert's Rise might work too.

I played trombone in elementary and high school. Haven't played in a couple decades. I do miss it from time to time.

If you are having fun with it, you'll get the hang of it.

I bought a banjo off Craigslist two years ago. Ordered a DVD to teach me how to play it. This year I finally found a local instructor. Other than a dalliance with the sax when I was in high school, I've never played anything seriously.

Pick the instrument that speaks to you and that you really want to play. I can't tell you how many people told me I should take up guitar first because the banjo is "too hard" to learn. Well, I've since talked to enough guitarists who have tried to play banjo to know it doesn't cross over like the advice-givers believe. With only moderate practice and two lessons (plus the aforementioned DVD) I'm playing multiple songs well enough people recognize them as such. It really is a thrill when you realize you are making music, and it changes your listening to it as well. PS: I don't read music; I am learning by sound and just using tab to know where my fingers are supposed to go. I can see that eventually I'll be able to do most of my learning without visual aids. That's very cool.

About practicing: most people told me I'd have to practice an hour or more per day to become proficient. I've found this varies for each person (and my instructor agrees). I'm usually good for 20-30 minutes, and then fatigue sets in and I start to regress. I've learned to stop before things go truly sour and end on a "good note". This has not really held me back, and actually it's much easier to find a 30 minute chunk in your day than a whole hour. The other trick is to leave the instrument out so you can just pick it up. If you have to go through a sequence of getting it out of the case each time it will deter you just enough to blow it off.

It's really weird to come home from work and feel a real, burning desire to grab the instrument and play. A good kind of weird.

As a sax player (who started on clarinet in 4th grade) who has attempted to play trumpet, I can tell you that the sax is way easier to get sound out of, and is probably easier to get really awesome at, or at least sound like you're awesome. There are less keys on a trumpet, but you have to remember combinations, whereas on a sax, each key is a note, period. Also, the trumpet utilizes embouchure to change octaves, whereas a sax just has a key at the back that you press with your thumb. Each has advantages, each has disadvantages.

Cold truth: are you too old to learn to play trumpet or saxophone. Absolutely not. Are you too old to become really super-awesome at either? It's a possibility. Just look at F1/WRC/LeMans drivers- most started in karting when they were 5. I just started playing the upright bass and there's no way I'll be as good as someone who started at age 9, not only because of the difference in time invested, but also because younger minds absorb stuff faster.

That certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't try, though.