Well I turn 60 this year and I've been lucky to still be out playing every week. What i want to know if there are any of you out there older than me. Do we all start to lose our playing skill over time? I don't want to be out there in the future embarasing myself. Sometimes i see some of these former stars on tv and think they should have hung it up. I hope i have a few more years and then hope to still play and progress musically at home.

To a certain extent, there's always a certain amount of drop-off in dexterity and stamina as we age, or find less time to practice, etc., but the main thing, and it's something those TV stars miss, is to have the wisdom to adapt what you play to those new realities. They find themselves stuck HAVING to do what they did in their youth and prime, because that's what the people expect to hear.

We, fortunately, usually have less audience expectations Plus, just like probably many of us here, I found myself spending the first twenty years learning how to play, and now I find the next twenty years learning how to NOT play (at least, so much ). You can do the tastiest of things with half the technique you used to use, once you have the wisdom to recognize what IS tasty...

If it's any consolation, I'm only in my late thirties and I look at pieces I played fluently when I was a teenager and think "How the hell...?".

I feel I'm better now than when I was younger.
I'm still learning something every day. It's when you stop learning you start going backward.
Now I'm smart enough not to lift B3s, Leslies and heavy pa systems. It's a good thing, because I couldn't anyway!
DonM

Old age is a bitch...everything's heavier...it's a little harder to get "in the groove". You compensate by working harder and smarter. The motorcycles get smaller and the lawn mowers get bgger. And, Like Don says, ya gotta KEEP LEARNING!


I'm older than you and not even close to slowing down.

Be well,


Russ


[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 08-03-2009).]

Yeah then there is me
What I play best now days is YOUR MUSIC
OLD BEBOP

Whether we realize it or not, we have been changing and adapting to physical and mental changes all our lives ... the problem with getting older is that we obviously can't do what we did and how we did it 20, 30, 40 years ago ...
Just accept the changes, and adapt to them ...
I don't want to get 'old', but I want to continue to get 'older' ...

still rockin' at 68 ...
t.

YEAH Tony,
I'm still rockin at 78 but it is in the rocking chair.
You know why they put arms on the rocking chairs.
To hold your keyboard while you play it
Bebop

Bebop...now THAT is funny. I don't care who you are. LOL

Eddie

Your repetoire should change and grow with you.

A 60-70 Y.O. man shouldn't be trying to play and sing songs made popular by nineteen year olds.


--Mac