i am 19 now, would it be too late for me to take up the cello and play it to professional level in a few years time?
i am currently a woodwind player doing a BA music degree and i know that i cannot be a professional player due to my jaws problem.
i like cello very mush. i hope to take it up and take to performing degree on it.
i don't know it it helps, but i learn things quite fast on woodwind instruments. i took up flute and clarinet when i was 16 and got diploma and grade 8s when i was 18. is it going to be a similar case on cello?

pianoandflute, I would have thought you would have an excellent chance of succeeding - I see from your signature that you already play viola, so you have some experience of strings, and you have the motivation to achieve. It's a question of transferring your knowledge to a different instrument, which has its own unique problems that have to be solved. I believe there is a book by a man who was 40 when he took up the cello and made a professional career out of it - can't remember his name, or the title of the book, but I'm sure someone on the forums will know. As someone who took up the cello at age 61, as a pianist/recorder player with no experience of strings, I would say that at 19 the world is your oyster

Nothing wrong with ambition and as Suepea says, you have age on your side! With larger string instruments it is very possible to start these quite late (even as a fairly mature adult) and still succeed professionally. However, regardless of instrument, the music profession is too often viewed through rose-coloured spectacles. Keep your options open - aiming for a good all-round view and a portfolio career in music will be your safest bet.

Yes, definitely, go for it !!!! I started cello lessons in my second term of secondary school 2yrs ago and at christmas did g4 and got distinction (not AB, we do music service exams till g5, but they're the same syllabus mostly) and the cello is a lovely instrument. It's bit difficult on public transport, but you should progress very quickly bearing in mind you're doing a music degree and i'd only done g3 piano and g2 clarinet when i started.

After playing the piano, you can learn any instrument to grade 8 within a year, unfortunately with the exception of string instruments. But if you play viola, flute and whatever else you play as well, you should have a very strong advantage.

At the age of 19, you are quite mature in playing, especially if you have been playing music for some time, and so understand music quite well. If you play viola, you will know quite a few string tecniques, ie. using the bow (although not with a cello bow hold etc. etc.).

If you also have some determination, ability to work hard and time, then you'll be able to succeed like mad.


No, not quite the same, it'll take you longer, but not quite as much longer as it would be for someone else (due to age, musical experience etc.).

If you do it and you don't get to professional standard, then hey, you haven't lost anything. The 'cello is an amazing instrument, everyone likes 'celli, and even if you're not a professional, you'll still be an amateur. Just make sure you can think of a witty comeback for the sentence 'I bet you wished you played the picallo!'

So do it. Even if it doesn't work, it'll still be a laugh.