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GuitarVlog -> RE: do you have that feeling?!?!? (May 5 2011 1:50:39)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: NenadK
It's very easy as someone that doesn't know anything about these talented kids/people to say "oh they're so talented" when we really have no clue how much effort was put into the music. I'm not saying everyone starts out being exactly equal but I think that 8+ hours of practice since you're 5 or 6 years old is hard to beat by anyone. I think we need recognize that these people often sacrifice a lot more than we think.
We should also remember that some people sacrifice and some people get a boost. In the case of Paco, it was a combination of both. He was pulled out of school early because his father could not afford it, but his father also encouraged him to practice the guitar. Paco said he practiced twelve hours a day as a child. Having started less than four years ago, I'm lucky if I can practice eight hours in a week!
Would Julian Bream have become a great classical guitarist were it not for his father who was a musician? He saw young Julian noodling with the guitar and immediately asked his son if he would like to learn to play the instrument. They then both signed-up for lessons with an excellent instructor.
When my daughter was in elementary school, she was the best pianist in her age range. Her friends and other parents said she was remarkably talented. Of course, we always encouraged her, asked the school director to pair her with the best and most enjoyable teachers, worked with the teachers to understand what was needed to help her improve, sat and listened attentively to her while she practiced, bought her a good student electronic piano with weighted keys, allowed her to select music that she would enjoy practicing, celebrated her successes and so on. Certainly she had the aptitude but nurture was as much in play as nature. Some parents just treated the teachers as baby-sitters and the piano lessons as something to keep the kids preoccupied.
And what about luck? Her first teacher happened to be a Julliard scholar on break for one year and an excellent instructor. Her second teacher was a Japanese girl working on her masters degree in piano and she had an incredible talent for connecting with children. Her third teacher was an immigrant from Russia with advanced degrees from an esteemed university. Each one kept her enthusiasm levels up.
The fourth teacher was uninspiring and eventually our daughter lost interest. There were no better teachers left as all the good ones had moved on. What if any of the first three could have stayed on for 3-4 more years? Might things have been different? I don't know. At least she left with advanced abilities and can play almost any piece by sight.
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