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Miguel de Maria -> RE: Todds Alegria (Apr. 6 2004 15:45:06)
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Dave, sorry for giving you a hard time, chap. I guess if you consider guitar a hobby and just that, I could see getting guilty about practicing too much. When I was in college, I loved to play basketball and I was down there shooting hoops every day. A former high-school bball star would come down and say, Why are you practicing man? Are you going to go pro or something? But I just loved to play.
As far as talent, it's such a slippery slope. Some people do seem to pick things up faster. What is it? Better mental or physical memory/intelligence? Better coordination? Did their parents play Mozart or Moraito in the crib for them? Some people seem to do in a year what takes other five or ten or never, but I can't say why. It almost seems a mindset--they "get it", they know what they have to do, instinctively, to get the results they want. And then they do it! It may take the rest of us ten years just to realize what we really want or what works for us.
Did Paco just have more talent than everyone else or did he practice more than everyone else? His technique is phenomenal and leads us to Paganini-like comparisons, but he did claim to practice 10 hours a day. So did Charlie Parker. Mozart was a genius of the highest degree, but his father was a composer and presumably trained him for music from an early age. Now, I wonder what you can play in the crib TO Mozart? Bach? Speaking of Bach, he was a genius of the highest degree, but witness his humble quote: "I have worked hard, and anyone who works as hard as me will do as well."
For myself, I have made a conscious choice to ignore "talent." I do know, that with the proper work I will get the results I want. It has no bearing on me what gifts others were or were not born with. The one constant I have seen, with so few exceptions as to be a rule, is that great musicians work real hard. Hey, I don't mind working hard.
It may be (probably is) true that some people are born with greater innate abilities, but what does that have to do with me? Music is not a race, nor a competition. Just becuase there are people out there better than me, that will always be better than me, that were better than I ever will be after five years, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to play and make a living at it.
That goes for everyone.
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