Parents, Kids And Abilities Options

[Cosmin Lupu]

I'm writing this as a result of what started out as a rather awkward experience I was put through last Saturday, regarding a new student - It's the daughter of a friend's friend, 15 years of age and never had to do anything with the guitar.

The strange part was that, her dad came along and he insisted that I would tell him if his daughter can play the guitar or not... in THAT MOMENT

Of course I wanted to see how good her hearing was and I asked her to hum any melody she wanted using her voice - the next minute she was looking at her dad in a frightened way and her eyes grew BIG BIG BIG, incredibly BIG! She couldn't utter one note of course and her dad was being more and more insistent, until I invited them both into the garden for a cup of tea.

The girl relaxed and we started talking about music and all that stuff (her dad started talking on the phone of course, as he has nothing to do with music whatsoever and he thought that this was a proper time to make some phone calls ) the good part is that the discussion went nicely and I asked her about a few songs that she liked and even sang them with my voice so that I could allow her to remember them...guess what, she sang with me and she did it pretty correctly when her dad closed the phone, I said yes - your daughter has what it takes to be able to start he was a bit confused, but he took my word for it.

Now, i don't know about you guys, but I think that anyone can learn an instrument. The only difference is made by the fact that some people have a better sense of hearing and others have to work a lot harder to gain it. Of course, other factors exist: ambition and desire. A big percentage of people fail at learning and mastering (something, in general) because they aren't really determined to do so and thus, their focus strays.

Now, I'm curious to see how hard is this girl willing to work to get to learn how to play, of course, a this age, i'm sure she hasn't set any goals yet at least not consciously.

Hope it's gonna be a fun experience!

But in the mean time, what's your opinion on people's learning abilities? Where are you situated in respect to this: naturally talented and hard worker/ hard worker/ talented but lazy?

There are a lot of possibilities and i think this thread should spark some interesting debates

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[Ben Higgins]

Very interesting story Cosmin and thanks for sharing. Wow, that really was an awkward position to be put in and you handled it very well.

What a dweeb that guy is for assuming that people's learning abilities are so black and white. This reminds me of the thread Ivan just started about natural strengths. Also, that video about creativity and learning that was shared in the forum a while ago springs to mind. People hear, see and process information in different ways.

Some people learn very well visually.. but not so well using hearing. In this case they would have to work harder to unlock their inborn ability to use their ear.

I learn well using hearing and feel.. but not so well visually. I get really confused with things like tying knots, or anything which involves things overlapping.. it's too much like a puzzle to me. It doesn't mean I can't do it but I would have to work harder at that than I would with my ear.

Even the guy with the phone will have learning strengths and weaknesses. We can assume that he's not very musical and has a very limited ear.. but I bet he's good with numbers eh ? I know it's a cliche but it's usually safe to say that people who have no love for music usually have more of an affinity with factual, visual stuff like numbers, science etc..

But the bottom line, no matter who you are.. is the want, the desire. This is the key to achieving anything. If the want isn't there then you are wasting your time.

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This post has been edited by Ben Higgins: Jun 8 2011, 10:31 AM

[Marek Rojewski]

In the past I thought of myself as a talented but lazy kind of guy. I always learned faster than other people I knew, no matter if it was school, guitar, video games, languages. Maybe I just knew no one talented? Even though considered talented I also thought that my talent is "moderate" and to play like "the good guys" one must be more than moderate talented

Nowadays I don't really know, in some aspects I know that my predispositions are "talent like" for example last week I won a board game tournament in a game that I haven't played ever before, but after reading the game instruction I imagined/felt what should I do and so I won with couple of veterans that were furious about it (of course I haven't hesitated to inform them that they suck ).

Anyhow I totally agree that everyone can learn everything, natural predispositions can just make the whole process easier or harder.

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[Daniel Realpe]

thanks for sharing that story!

I think everyone has ability to play an instrument and make music BUT...definitely there's some people who just stand out and can develop it faster...

In the other hand, musical instelligence is not just one...you can be a really good performer of an instrument and never write anything so just be an interpreter, which is an incredible talent to have, but others just know how to write and let others play...they are not involved personally with the music itself

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

That's an interesting topic, and one of the frequent questions! I think it's mostly about dedication and hard work, being inspired to share your emotions with other people through instrument.

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