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Musical Talent?
by Silvia Francesca Maglione
Many students drop out of the music program, because they are discouraged from the belief of lacking a "musical talent". Talent in general is the ability to attain high levels of achievement in different activities. There are various scientific aspects that analyze the field of musical talent. The first one, probably the least accurate, affirms that musical talent is innate – either you have it, or you don't, and if you have it, it will show up in early childhood. A second one, is always based on the belief that musical talent is innate, and if you have one, it will eventually show up, not necessarily in childhood. A third concept mentions that every individual is born with a talent, either for music, art, literature, mathematics… . A fourth idea suggests that musical talent appears in different aspects and amounts, thus concluding that some people are more talented than others.
We cannot deny the existence of musical talent, if not, we would not have had our Mozarts, Beethovens, and Bachs. But on the other hand, these master musicians wouldn't have gone far, without their assiduous practice.
The belief that a "musically untalented" individual cannot become a good musician, is a common misconception, that discourages many students from continuing their musical studies.
So, is it nature or nurture? A combination of the two.
The views and opinions in this blog post are those of its author.
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User comments:
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 That is a wonderful synthesis. Talent is somewhere related to taste and subsequently to practice. A gifted drawer is always sketching while an average child draws only when it's necessary. Music is peculiar, possibly because of the pedagogy. How many scrupulous pupils study harmony and counterpoint for years and remain unable to write the least fuga? In this case the talent is the need freedom and a bit of revolutionary temper. |
Posted by Doc on April 14th, 2006 @ 2:03 pm GMT |
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