1.1.2: Talent

Anybody can play music, and play it well. That is the way human beings have evolved! Birds sing in the trees, whales and dolphins sing under the sea. Humans sing in the shower and play in orchestras. In the past, and unfortunately to the present day, some people are still of the wrong opinion that "musical talent" is "in the genes"... and that you are either born with it or you are not!

However it was established long ago that musical talent is a combination of naturally occuring and learned skills, and those who appear naturally talented are already performing well in at least several of these areas.

All the talents necessary for the performance of music can be refined. The various talents also interact, so improvement in one area often flows on to improvement in another. In this sense the performance of music is a very wholistic art, working best when all the faculties and intentions of the performer are involved.

All the talents necessary for the performance of music can be refined.

** The idea of a list of discrete musical aptitudes or "talents" I first saw described in Carl E. Seashore's 1938 book: "Psychology of Music".

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This is an excerpt from "Guitar Playing and How it Works - 3rd Edn.". The book is printed in high resolution black and white. Some of the images have been changed here for clarity.

RELEVANT INFORMATION ON THIS SITE: 'Carl E. Seashore - The Psychology of Music'

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