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by sshumaker 6039 days ago
It depends on whether you want to play music for fun, or want to make it a career.

My fiance is learning to program, through the excellent Learning To Program (http://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/). She's taking at a comfortable pace so she doesn't get bored or frustrated - but she's doing it for fun and enjoyment, to round our her skill set (she's an architect), not with serious intentions of programming as a career.

All evidence points towards the fact that it takes human beings 10k-20k hours of practice to really master any skill. You'll never master music if you're practicing 20 minutes a day - and you won't be a great programmer until you've put in years of solid coding. But if you're just doing something as a hobby, it's more important to avoid getting frustrated (and giving up) then mastering it.