Learning to play the piano is not the easiest skill to learn. Most people would agree with this. But what most people think is that challenging or hard equals impossible and that is certainly not the case.
For starters, most people believe learning to play a musical instrument is only meant for the gifted and that is the story most people believe because it lets them of the hook of even trying, which is a whole other topic for another time…
To be a good musician, or even a great one, is not about how gifted you are but how much practice. It is as simple as that and I am not the only one with this opinion. The other week I was talking to a brass player, who not only happens to be teaching my daughter, but is a world class musician who these days balances his working life between professional performances and teaching. He is so good that he has and still does get paid to travel internationally to perform. As we were having a chat after my daughter’s music lesson the other week, we were discussing how he believes that talent or natural musical ability is overrated and how it is one hundred percent about the effort and practice. He even added that although he has achieved all that he has achieved, he still personally practices regularly because otherwise his skill level would diminish.
This professional brass player, who is also an excellent teacher, went on to tell me about a young student of his that was outstanding and that he believes that she could become a professional musician one day. This is not because she is some musical genius but because, even though she is about 9 or 10 years old, she practices for about 3 hours a day. It is because she practices 3 hours a day that makes her so good at playing her chosen instrument. Think about it – anyone who practices for 3 hours every day is always going to progress faster and appear to have more natural talent, than someone who only practices 10 minutes a day.
This conversation reminded me of a story I heard years ago. I don’t know if it is a true story, but it certainly could be. Anyhow it was about the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin and this middle aged woman had the opportunity of meeting this violist and she was a big fan. The story goes that when she met him she exclaimed “I would have given my life to play as well as you!”, to which the violist replied “Madam, I did!”. Obviously this famous violinist, in three small words communicated that fact that he had dedicated a huge part of his life learning , improving and perfecting his skill of playing the violin. It certainly wasn’t luck or good fortune.
So the message is that natural talent doesn’t really mean anything – what makes the difference is how much effort you put in to learning to play the piano, or any other musical instrument. If you can’t play yet, then get started because the more time you put in the better you will get. It is an absolutely certainty.