My last couple of posts got me thinking more about the whole idea of being “talented” and what a mixed bag that can be!
Looking back I realize I had a certain amount of natural ability and facility with music. Things came pretty easily at the start. Of course, then I felt insecure because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing!
That’s the thing, isn’t it? When it all just comes to you naturally, a part of you worries that it could leave just as easily!
The fact is, although I had natural musicality and a beautiful tone, there were lots of other things that I wasn’t doing well at ALL (fixing all my “flute flaws” is where persistence and determination had to make an appearance).
Years later, when I had my own private flute studio, I saw how correcting all those errors in my playing made me a much better teacher. Pretty much anything a student was doing wrong, I had done as well and knew how to go about correcting it.
The only aspect of flute playing that I never felt confident teaching was vibrato. Why? Because when I was in high school the girl who played 1st flute in band did this “thing” with her tone that made her sound better than me. I wasn’t okay with that and determined if she could do it, I could do it. So I did, with absolutely no idea of how. 😄
I received a deeper understanding of all this thanks to a particular flute student. She was in high school, a beautiful and very talented girl who ended up being one of the greatest challenges of my teaching career.
There was simply no way to get her to work. She was quick and bright and had so much natural ability that she could reach a relatively high level with very little effort. So she considered herself an excellent flutist, entitled to praise and adulation, and disregarded most of what I was attempting to teach her.
Finally a light bulb went off for me and I saw how she was a perfect example of the “talented” trap. The truth is that none of us can take credit for any God-given talent that we’ve been blessed with. But what we can take credit for is the energy and effort, the persistence and determination, that we put out to develop our talent.
I’ve seen enough auditions won by seemingly “mediocre” musicians who just kept plugging away to know that if I had to choose, I’d choose persistence, determination, and discipline. Because…nothing is more common than unsuccessful [people] with talent.
On the other hand, when someone has talent and the willingness to work at it, amazing things are possible.