Too Late For Me ?

I need advice.. I love music. There's nothing I want more than to write piano/keyboard pieces that will make somebody feel how I feel when I listen to them. The keyboard is the instrument that I have informally trained myself to play, and have been doing so on and off since I was fourteen years old. I'm nineteen now about to turn twenty. I confess that I have no confidence in my music; my technique and my playing. I only had formal lessons for about a year; I couldn't do them because instead of practicing scales, I would just improvise on what I knew and tried my best to piece together fragments into small works. However I would never finish a single work.. Ever, until this past month. My passion for music has never been so heated then it has this past month. I've been working on some pieces. I'm just trying to look past my insecurities about my music and actually write a full complete work. I've done that so far with one, and I'm working on finishing a so others that I've made and memorized thought-out these

past years. My question is basically, is it too late for me to start trying to learn theory seriously, and piano. Ive never owned a piano. Just a keyboard, a full-size one, but the keys aren't weighted.. I just don't consider myself a real "pianist" since I don't own a piano. Or even a "composer". I feel like years of informal technique and not playing on a real piano has set me too far behind for me to catch up and actually become a great composer one day.. Idk, what do you think ? An I too late to start learning composition and theory, and even proper form and technique ? Thank you guys :) P.S. Chopin is my favorite composer and his music has moved me more than any others ..

No.

It's never too late to start (says the person who started at age three)

Chopin has a rather good set of etudes you can use to practice. Yes they're very hard but that's sort of the point of an etude. Start with no. 1 and move on once you feel your hands have been stretched enough.

(i don't have a piano at home either, it's one of two things i'm saving up for. meanwhile i practice at my parents')

I can write music, but reading on sight proves to be rather difficult .. Chopin etudes are far beyond my skills right now. I envy anyone who can play them ..

Start small and build up.   Rome wasn't built in a year.

The only chopin I know is the Eb section in chopin's ballade in G minor. Which of his etudes are the easiest ? Op. 3 ? (Considering once the difficult fingering is mastered.)

Um, disregard the etudes. From what you wrote, you have little to no confidence in your playing/composing, and you've only played for a few years. 

The internet is your friend. There are a multitude of sources available (for free) to learn theory and the like. Also, youtube has TONS of pieces with scores that you can follow along to, pause when you want, etc. If you want to learn composition, look at what the people before you have done, don't reinvent the wheel. See how they do things, you'll learn a lot. There are also many composers on this site that can help you with questions you have. 

As for your playing, sight reading is a completely different skill set that needs to be practiced all the time for you to get better at. Maybe some Bach preludes and such to start with. Bach, Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven... all their scores are in public domain and easily accessible.

It's never too late. 

The only chopin I know is the Eb section in chopin's ballade in G minor. Which of his etudes are the easiest ? Op. 3 ? (Considering once the difficult fingering is mastered.)

i'm not sure which is easiest. my piano teacher just advised me to start with Op. 10 no. 1 and take them in chronological order. i still can't play it at speed, but it's an etude; it's not meant to be easy. and i have it memorised at least. Op. 10 no. 2 makes the first one look easy. 10 no. 3 and 10 no. 4 are a good deal easier to play, esp. no. 3; 10 no. 5 is surprisingly hard to play if you take it at Chopin's actual tempo which no one does for some reason.

if you look through the score and don't think you can learn it i suppose there are the more basic exercises one could work on as well, e.g. Clementi, Czerny, etc, though i never actually did any of those >.>

So should I focus more on theory right now then on my piano technicality ? I mean composing is my main ambition right now. Anyone recommend a specific order of theory to study ? Any websites ? Programs, ect ? And should I post some of my work on here for review ? If so what notation software do I need to get ? So many questions >_< P.S. thanks, everyone, for the feedback ^_^

Hello, Osbuurn. Im 29y old and im learning the piano for a year now. Kinda old guy, you might say? Nope! I feel very fine! :). And im sure you will make it!

First of all, it is never too late to pick something up, even something as demanding as music. It's true that the younger you start, the easier it comes to you. But I've heard of 60+ year old people, never having touched a violin, becoming virtuoso violinists with hard work and practice, for example.

I'm pretty sure the reason theory was brought up, is because that it can help you to memorize a piece of music. Also, it is important to know at least some level of music theory to write your own music.

If you feel brave enough to upload your work to the site, you should do so. I remember when I was 18, it was extremely difficult for me to do so, especially considering I was practically in the same situation you are right now. Trust me, uploading your work and paying attention to the reviews given is a great way to learn.

If you find that you absolutely can't bring yourself to do that, send me a message, or maybe someone else on the site you trust / respect, and put a link in that message about your piece of music.

Softwares

Notation: Finale, MuseScore (free), Sibelius;

Perception: Auralia, Earope, Ear Tuner, many YouTube videos;

Digital Audio Workstation: Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio, Logic, ProTools, Reaper and a lot of others;

With this, you just need a metronome, books and sheet (most of both you can find at internet) to achieve your dreams.

I assume you already know how to read music, clefs, key/time signatures, transpositions, etc.

To start, I would learn two voice part writing (i.e. counterpoint). A lot of musicians talk like counterpoint is some arcane advanced subject, but the rules are really simple if you're technically minded. The hard part comes in where you try to do something interesting.

Next, harmony. Try walter piston's book for something that's coherent and concise.

Simultaneously, it would be a good idea to train the ear. Books like "elementary training for musicians" have decent exercises for this, but it is hard to do this with self study, so get a teacher. Also, always listen actively to music. If you ever find yourself bored at a concert, you;re not paying enough attention.

I really appreciate it, everyone. I'm trying to get a new keyboard by the end of next month; a weighted-key one. As for writing .. I'm going to try and tank my way through my perfectionism problem (I understand now that and complete a few small works so I can put them up for review.

[boulanger] believed that the desire to learn, to become better, was all that was required to achieve – always provided the right amount of work was put in. She would quote the examples of Rameau (who wrote his first opera at fifty), Wojtowicz (who became a concert pianist at thirty-one), and Roussel (who had no professional access to music till he was twenty-five), as counter-arguments to the idea that great artists always develop out of gifted children.^[73]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Boulanger

Love it man, thank you :) A big thanks to everyone who has given me advice, I appreciate it more than you know.

No you are not late..

If twenty is too late to start something new, what are you planning to do with the next 60+ years of your life?  Go to work, watch TV, and go to bed?  Have some kids and push them to live your dreams for you?  

Throw out your TV and take the time you get back in your schedule to work on music.  Look at what all the old and great composers managed to accomplish when they only lived to be 30.  Just eat your vegetables and you will outlive them by enough that it won't matter that they started 15 years younger than you.  

I started composing at 32, so if you're too old I should really just go check myself in to the retirement home now.