Two ladies I work with were remarking about the fact that I can play a couple musical instruments. One of them asked if I had picked it up from my parents. I told her that my parents never played any instruments, and that they really were never “into” music. From this point on, they both proceeded to rake me over the coals trying to find out where my ability came from.
I didn’t start playing anything until I was 14, and before that I couldn’t even sing on key. It took me about 4 or 5 years before I really knew my instrument, and I learned mostly by playing with people a lot, and learning to trust my ear.
Both of my coworkers claim that there must be someone in my family that I got this talent from. I say that it came through my hard work and discipline. Nature. or Nurture, what do you think?
Your cow-orkers are buying into a very common strain of ignorance that I sometimes think is intentionally fostered by the modern “music industry”. The plain reality is that not so long ago, to be a member of “polite society” at all meant that one had to be able to sight-read vocal music and play at least one musical instrument with some facility. These things were taught as a matter of course in the education of the better breed. And among the lower sorts, the only way they could have music was to make it themselves, especially in rural areas. They might not have been virtuosi, but they were at least competent.
But since that time, we now have canned music from an “industry”, an “industry” that lives on the inability and unwillingess of the ignorant masses to make their own music. Thus, music education is given short shrift or obliterated altogether.
I think that some people still believe in the “talent myth”. By that I mean, they believe that either you have it or you don’t, and if you don’t have it, you can’t work to achieve it.
I think that people believe this myth because maybe it makes them feel better for not cultivating a talent (“I just don’t have any talent, no use in trying”.) Or, they truly do not have an interest in developing a talent, and marvel at those who do, assuming that these special “talented ones” are bestowed with their gift at birth.
While it is true that talent exists, it’s obviously not the only determining factor on whether or not someone will be good at a particular creative skill. I’ve seen many people with a lot of innate “talent” or aptitude, but they had no motivation to do much with it. And I’ve seen others that had buried (very deeply buried) “talent”, and it took a lot of hard work and effort to bring it out. Because of all their hard work, people will mistakenly think that they were handed the “talent” at birth, while in fact they worked and struggled for a long time to get as good as they are.
Speaking for myself, I have a certain measure of “talent” for art and music. Art I love dearly, so I work on it a lot and am considered pretty decent at it. Music, well, I love listening to it, but not so much playing it. I can play a middling piano when I practice enough, but I don’t practice enough. I don’t work hard enough at the piano, so whatever “talent” I have with it isn’t be used to its fullest potential. Being born with an aptitude or talent is useless if you do nothing with it.
DISCOVER magazine ran an article a couple months ago about “perfect pitch.” As I recall it is a ‘phenomenon’ in cultures thet do not rely on pitch recognition from day to day. In other cultures, sepcifically ones that use tonal languages, perfect pitch is as common as…people who can speak and be understood.
I’d say that music ability is probably like 90% nurture, and the other 10% would be linked to a natural ability, possessed by some and not by others, to grasp and master that particular abstract concept. Same thing goes for writing, sculpting, plumbing, insurance…anything.
I think that the vast majority of reasonably bright people could become reasonably competent musicians. Most people don’t because they haven’t been encouraged to try, or they just don’t have the interest.
Of course, there will be a small percentage who have a knack for picking up on musical concepts, who start using a good embouchure right from the start, and who remember to apply what they learn in lessons. These are the people we say are “naturally talented”, but they won’t really achive much unless they keep putting in the time that moejuck did.
My mom is an excellent musician and my dad was a huge music fan. (Had my mom decided to go professional with her music, he would have made an ideal “Stage Husband”.) So, we were a somewhat musical family.
When I was a kid, I displayed a knack for the piano. I remember looking at the beginning music book (I don’t even know if I was old enough to read at this point) and figuring out where middle C was from the illustration, and was able to almost grasp some of the basics of reading music. I also was able to be taught simple tunes on the piano (“Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater”, etc.) One of my others sisters picked up on the piano just as easily.
But, my oldest sister could not figure out “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” on the piano. She was deemed as having no “talent” for music. So, the other sister and I got private piano lessons. Oldest sister did not, simply because she could not figure out “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater”. The thing was, I think she had more interest in the piano than I did; I liked the piano well enough, but my real passion was art. I didn’t practice the piano enough—I drew instead.
So, all these years, the oldest sister lived with the stigma and belief that she did not have any “talent”. Finally, well into adulthood, she decided to take a piano class at the local college. Guess what? She can play the piano! She’ll never be a concert pianist, but she can play! She just had to be taught.
I think that my parents picked the wrong kid (me) to get piano lessons. Sure, I am glad that I learned (I did take some classes in college as well) but the oldest sister probably would have appreciated those childhood lessons more than I did. (But, it would have been best if the parents had let all of us have lessons!)
As the daughter of a piano teacher, I can say that in my experience, any human of near normal intelligence can learn to play nominally well. Some people can play with technical ability, some can play with natural ability, some have both.
My mother had lessons from an early age, learened very well, and eventually learned to pick things up by ear. She prepared for the concert stage, and was doing regional tours when WWII put an end to their tour schedule.
Her cousin had a natural, untaught ability to play anything, anywhere, anytime. He was still in high school when he formed a Big Band that played the casinos in Galveston, and won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show at age 14. (Yeah, these are OLD people.)
Mom envied Bert, Bert envied Mom.
Fast forward 50 plus years. Mom still teaches piano, has for 50 years. Plays well, even as old as she is. Bert quit playing when he got married and got a real job. He can’t play anymore, doesn’t remember much, just chords along to a sung melody.
Natural ability means nothing unless it is trained. And not all kids will get the ‘inherited ability’ either. One brother is a professional musician, the other is tone deaf and has trouble playing the radio.(He actually has trouble telling if the station is tuned in properly. Fuzzy doesn’t bother him at all.) Me, I am a dyslexic piano player that can sing.