I’m a 25-year old guy who’s decided to start learning to play acoustic, electric & base guitar and different keyboard instruments (probably piano and MIDI-masterkeyboard). As I’ve found this site (Remix64) pretty interesting, no one should be surprised to find out that the goal of eventually being able to play and “mess around†with old SIDs & MODs acts as a spur for me to start practicing.
Nevertheless, since I don’t have any previous experience of playing instruments, I might well have a long and difficult road before me. Despite this I was, however, a bit relieved because now that I tried to play my old acoustic guitar a little, I noticed that it’s not overly hard if you just realize that training is the keyword: I was able to learn some guitar scales with some perseverance (I’d venture to claim that barré chords are the most troublesome). However, my mind has been occupied by a couple of questions:What are my chances of learning to play instruments anymore now that I’m as old as 25? I know that 25 is not the same as 10 in terms of learning to play instruments but AFAIK it shouldn’t be the same as 50 either.. It’s just that I don’t know to what extent all the age-related stuff e.g. about second language acquisition with its “critical periods†also applies to learning to play instruments. Of course some positive things such as experience and patience come with increasing years but I still reckon I’m past my prime for learning to play instruments. Do you think that, for example, my finger coordination (“finger motoricsâ€) and hand dexterity needed for learning to play instruments has impaired significantly now that I’m in my twenties? Hahah at least I don’t, luckily, feel that my fingers would be particularly stiff, slow or clumsy…
and I take for granted I’d be more patient than some 10-year-old madcap (unless, of course, I’ll be demanded more patience because the learning could be significantly slower now that I’m an old, decrepit man lol)! 
As you would expect, I know that it’s utterly impossible for me to become any Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jordan Rudess or Derek Sherinian but that’s not what I’m aiming at either. Making any exorbitant demands would be unrealistic…What sort of learning material should I use? I know I’m going to use several different books (with accompanying CDs) but do you think that it’d be clever to resort to learning DVDs? I reckon that this learn-by-DVD type of training sounds very exciting but has anyone of you tried it out in practice yet? Moreover, if there are any books, CDs, DVDs oslt you can recommend, please feel free to tell me!
How much/often should I practice every week if I actually want to learn something at this age? I still have my social life and lots of other things taking the lion’s share of my time, and even though I’d have an infinite amount of time, it just occurred to me that since I’m a total beginner unaccustomed to playing instruments for several hours at a stretch, there might be a risk of stress injury.
It’d be very nice to be able to remix some of the old SIDs & MODs at some point when I’ve learnt to play the instruments and have sufficient knowledge of music theory. However, I’d probably need all sorts of software and equipment for remixing purposes, which doesn’t constitute any problem in itself, but I’m just thinking how demanding it’d be to learn to use and master the music software. (Hmh, now that I ponder on all this, it may quite well be that I won’t be able to remix nor play any old songs for years.)
By the way, all the worthwhile suggestions for MIDI-masterkeyboards, acoustic, electric & base guitars are welcome! A good price-quality ratio is of great importance here. It won’t matter if all the guitars are relatively cheap but the MIDI-masterkeyboard shouldn’t be any cheap supermarket Casio but neither any extortionately expensive Kurzweil with all the possible buttons and widgets. However, the keys (most preferably 61 or 88) should be weighted & graded/progressive/scaled (all of them meaning the same thing) and emulate those in a real piano at least with the help of features like touch response, weighted response/hammer action.. Those features are important because I want to get used to the feel of a real piano! I’m quite sure, however, that I won’t need such features as sequencers, sample mappers or oscillator emulators at this early stage. (Fiddling with a built-in sequencer on a keyboard with the help of some lousy 5 x 5-inch LED display and user interface designed by sadists would be sheer pain, I guess!
In so far as I know, computer software would probably serve the same purpose better!) I’ll buy a totally professional keyboard with all those features later on if I can be completely sure I like playing and once I’ve actually learnt to play well enough… And as for amateur keyboards, I don’t even know how many of them can be labeled as “toys†anymore because (according to Wikipedia) many inexpensive keyboards should have an array of features that would have been unavailable on even the most expensive synthesizers of past decades…By the way, I’m new here, so for more info on me, you can read my “short†introduction here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3238&start=135
I pick up music very quickly and accurately by ear but I had to relearn and break the habit so I could properly read/write sheet music.
... I do NOT have the patience to PLAY AROUND and learn over a longer period of time.
