Teaching “old dogs”
Many years ago I had a young woman, in her early 20’s, begin lessons with me. She told me that she had never played music before but had always wanted to learn. Then she sheepishly said, “I’m probably the oldest beginning student you’ve ever had.” I chuckled and told her that she wasn’t even close. I currently was teaching a beginning adult who had just celebrated her 81st birthday.
I was thinking about that encounter recently and that caused me to remember the many other seniors that I have taught over the years. Many had never played any music before. Others had played in high school or sang in church choir but had never attempted the guitar. And some had played guitar when they were kids but stopped when the demands of adulthood overtook their lives. They all had a few things in common. They now had the free time that they hadn’t had since their early 20’s and they loved music. Also, they were able to overcome their apprehension enough (sometimes just barely) to actually show up for the first lesson.
I didn’t go to college until I was 27 and had visions of it being like middle school with all of the 18-19 year old students pointing and giggling at the “old man”. In truth they never noticed me and couldn’t have cared less. The instructors, however, were happy to see an actual adult in their classroom. The parallel was nearly 100%.
Early in my career I found myself specializing in working with very young children. It’s something that I prided myself on. But every time I taught an adult it was like a breath of fresh air. With children I had to deal with the child, the parent(s), and often a sibling or two. I never minded that and in fact usually enjoyed it. But with adults I only had to deal with the student. Oh, I heard stories about spouses, children, grandchildren, etc., but rarely interacted with them.
Managing expectations was different too. With children and their parents the sky is the limit. With adults it’s the opposite. “I don’t have any musical talent” or “I’m probably not smart enough to learn this.” If not in words then in attitude and behavior.
One woman, recently retired, started in an adult guitar class that I was teaching. After the 12 week class was concluded she switched to private lessons. She had originally thought she would just strum some chords, but that wasn’t as much fun as she had hoped because she didn’t and wouldn’t sing. When I introduced her to classical/instrumental playing she discovered she could do it and it was way more fun than strumming.
A few months later she came in to the lesson with some important news. She had been practicing in another room in her house when her husband came in and asked to listen. He said he was really enjoying listening to her. She just beamed with pride when she told me that. A couple years later she said, “I know I’ll never be a touring professional, but I’d like to play that good”.
Working with both very young children and adults old enough to be their grandparents (or even great-grandparents) and all ages in between, I’ve come to the conclusion that it IS NOT easier for children to learn. We all learn differently at different stages of life. You wouldn’t expect a six year old to process information the same as a sixteen year old so don’t make the same mistake with a sixty year old.
While “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. It’s important to remember that we are not dogs. For my fellow seniors, don’t talk yourself out of doing something just because you’re “too old”. I am reminded that my father graduated from high school one year after I did. (That’s a story for another day.) And my all-time favorite guitarist, Andres Segovia, died at the age of 94. He was still performing and touring. He died at home one summer evening watching TV with his wife and 16 year old son……I’ll let you do the math.
