It’s Never Too Late to Play Music

By Tracy Ferrara, she teaches clarinet and saxophone lessons in Seattle. Connect with Tracy to learn more about her jazz improvisation lessons too.

It is always a gratifying thing for me to introduce young minds to the world of music. Many of my students are young, from the 10-16 year old range, but at least half of my students are older adults. I’d like to share a bit about my experiences with my adult students and try to connect with more of them today.

Jazz saxophone instructor, Tracy Ferrara, playing the saxophone

We all get very busy the older we become: we have jobs to make the rent/mortgage, children to raise, keeping fit, the everyday tasks of living, plus trying to have a little fun when we can. Those things alone take up the majority of people’s time. So I really appreciate it when I get an e-mail or a call from a 60-something-year-old who says to me, “You know, I’ve always wanted to pursue music but have never made the time for it before, and now I’m ready and I really want to learn to play sax.” That statement, when I hear it, just makes my day. My oldest student? 72 years old. He used to play in high school and then gave it up for about 55 years.  I have another student that came to me as a 20-year lapsed clarinet player and over the last two year has become a swinging tenor sax player and absolutely loves his time with his horn.

I have even more student stories like this and I’m sure other teachers do too, but here is my point: It’s never too late to start learning something you always wanted to do. In some cases, it can become a great new love in your life. Learning new things is imperative for us as we all get older, and what more fun way to fulfill that requirement than with music? Whatever instrument is/was your passion, I say, Go For It!

If you’d like to contact me about saxophone or clarinet lessons in Seattle, find more information on my TeachStreet profile below:

• Saxophone/Clarinet/Theory/Improv by Tracy Ferrara

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