Learning to play a musical instrument is one of those skills that most people want to master but rarely get to; the intricacies of modern life somehow always seem to get in the way.

So it’s really no surprise that over 60s are one of the main age groups who devote much of their time to learning musical instruments and in return possess some of the greatest musical ability! However, that doesn’t stop people (of all ages) from wondering if there’s some sort of theoretical age limit for learning a musical instrument. A quick Google search or scrolling through Quora confirms this.

More specifically, to answer this question once and for all, we spoke to a musical instrument expert named Alex Harrison – Editor of Music Criticism Website, music lowdown – to find out if it’s ever too late to learn a musical instrument, or if all this insecurity is nothing more than a man-made myth.

Does age matter when playing a musical instrument?

According to Alex, no.

When playing a musical instrument, age doesn’t matter. If anything, it could actually be a huge benefit: “Learning music depends on a whole host of different factors, from your creative ability and inner rhythm to the extent of your problem-solving skills and whether you can control your nerves on stage. Skills that I would argue all improve with age.

“Also, it’s fair to say that many of the benefits you get from playing/listening to music actually benefit seniors in the long run.”

To back up Alex’s claim, we delved deeper into the benefits of learning a musical instrument, regardless of age, and here’s what we found…

• Music promotes mental health – Corresponding Research from the University of Cambridge, playing and/or listening to music (particularly of certain genres and styles) can actually serve as a form of therapy. Listen to upbeat hip hop music and many people experience what is known as therapeutic release as the music…