'Gifted' Guitarists

Robboman

Robboman

Fractal Fanatic
Just a thought..

All our biggest-name guitar heroes have spent countless hours, days, years working their asses off relentlessly practicing to develop themselves.

Then we listen and say they are 'gifted'. Like that term is a compliment. Isn't that more of an insult? It would piss me off if anyone ever said I was gifted.. wait, no-one ever has, now I'm just sad :)

But seriously.. how much of it is talent VS skill?
 
I think you answered your own question. Malcolm Gladwell makes a strong case in "Outliers" that lots of practice is the key to great success. Why were the Beatles great? Of course they met certain prerequisites: five fingers on each hand (optional, some would say), pleasing voices (at least to most listeners), etc. But they spent eight hours night after night in Hamburg honing their chops, stage presence, song writing skills and interaction with one another. By the time they returned to England they were the most polished, "talented" band around.

No doubt this fails to explain ALL success, and there may indeed be freaks of nature (Einstein? Picasso? Gretzky?), but I agree most of our "heroes" got that way through hard work.
 
To become fantastic at something you need a natural ability towards it, dedicate a lot of effort toward it, and be lucky. Each story has varying degrees of each, but all elements are always present in some form.
 
i think some people are definitely more inclined to some things in others, but natural ability doesn't mean anything without the work. I've also seen some people who are very naturally "gifted" be extremely lazy because they can be pretty good at something very quickly and they become content with just being that good....no desire to work harder to become excellent.

I also believe there is a definite ceiling for people in certain areas. No matter how much some people practice, they'll never reach levels others can. Just the way it is.
 
Robboman said:
But seriously.. how much of it is talent VS skill?
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I wouldn't find 'gifted' as an insult just like someone suffering from down's syndrome wouldn't find 'special' as an insult [I realize two entirely different topics]. My point is that is how the majority of non-musicians or rather, people who do not understand music at all, define someone who catches their ear in a positive way and otherwise wouldn't know how to identify a talented player. Being 'gifted' means musically you are unique to what you contribute to the world of music and labeled from someone who does not yet. You could also be inspirational to them possibly learning how to play someday!

As far as the talent/skill, that is a balance that will be questioned for ages in the framework of music. To me raw talent is the diesel, skill and time investment is the tractor/truck/semi engine you are driving. The talent is the starting fluid and the gas to keep going. If you have the talent to start an engine or keep it going, your drive should be to learn more, challenge more, and get everything out of that engine you can. Add on a turbo, change the computer chip, get new tires, etc... That's the vehicle of musicianship that works as hard as you are willing to.

#AnalogyMonday
 
Learning by ear came easily for me. At age 11 my sisters challenged me that I couldn't learn Stairway" for $10.
I tried the chords but that was not going well so I learned the solo first. Each riff one by one then string them together.

Most of my life I've had the ability to figure out stuff by ear.
Last night I watched a video of Guthrie Govan and you could say he is a gifted player but I think it's his learning from the greats and adapting their styles into his own. Hard work. Practice and study
 
Rexx said:
Last night I watched a video of Guthrie Govan and you could say he is a gifted player but I think it's his learning from the greats and adapting their styles into his own. Hard work. Practice and study
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YOU SAID THE "G" WORD!!!!!!

:eek: :eek: :eek:
 
"Gifting" is also somewhat in the eye of the beholder. For example, there are certain singers that some people think are "gifted," but I personally can't find anything good to say about them.

Aside from that, I think that most musicians have, at one point or another in their lives, played with someone that is obviously naturally gifted at a higher level than they are. I know I have. But, that's not to say that maybe I haven't achieved more due to hard work and consistency.
 
Robboman said:
Just a thought..

All our biggest-name guitar heroes have spent countless hours, days, years working their asses off relentlessly practicing to develop themselves.

Then we listen and say they are 'gifted'. Like that term is a compliment. Isn't that more of an insult? It would piss me off if anyone ever said I was gifted.. wait, no-one ever has, now I'm just sad :)

But seriously.. how much of it is talent VS skill?
Click to expand...

I have a long time friend, now in another town-we played in bands, acoustic duos, classic rock bands, etc for years. He is by far the most "gifted" guitar player I have ever known personally. Did he practice his a** off. Yes , when he was 10 thru 16 yrs old. Then he just played-He has an uncanny gift for remembering melodies and solos note for note.

Anyway, I have always felt that is a gift. Me I had to work my a** off (30+ years) just to be, well good I guess.
 
Skill = Talent (giftedness) x Practice

If you have half as much talent, you need to put in twice as much practice to achieve the same level of skill. A person with amazing talent who practices 12 hours a day will achieve a level of skill that others can't touch.

Giftedness isn't an insult; it's just a fact. No one earned the gifts they got (intelligence, musical talent, athletic talent, whatever). It's just the luck of the draw.
 
Scented Meat said:
Describes no one in my profession. Probably few others as well.
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I mean, just happy with the level we have reached as players, with little motivation to put the actual work in there to move to the next level.
I don't know your profession. I was just joking, referring to that plateau so many guitar players find themselves in, including myself.
Regarding my actual profession... I work so much harder on that... There' not enough strength in this world to put equal effort in my guitar playing as I do on my actual job.
 
WoodyCoRPus said:
I mean, just happy with the level we have reached as players, with little motivation to put the actual work in there to move to the next level.
I don't know your profession. I was just joking, referring to that plateau so many guitar players find themselves in, including myself.
Regarding my actual profession... I work so much harder on that... There' not enough strength in this world to put equal effort in my guitar playing as I do on my actual job.
Click to expand...

Word.
 
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