Parents often have the misconception that only “talented” children are good at music and that talent is some mystical and mysterious gift bestowed by the gods willy nilly – one either has it or not.
This is pure fiction. Musical talent, like most other “talents” is more about consistency and perseverance than it is about generic disposition or spiritual endownment.
The first and most important skill that any successful music student needs to cultivate is consistency. Without this, any notion of “talent”, real or imagined, is of no consequence.
This is why we believe that that process of learning to play a musical instrument to a high standard is character building as it is only possible where the student has built strong character muscles such as perseverance, resilience, discipline and grit.
Ascribing musical ability to “talent” denigrates and diminishes the huge amount of work and sacrifice that it entails. Worse still, it perpetuates the myth that musical proficiency is not for everyone.
Don’t fall for that fallacy.
