Originally Posted By: musiclover
And probably leads onto the discussion of how much natural musical ability we each may have or not.


That is an interesting topic as well. I am in the school that NOBODY has any talent in any field at birth. Music, sports, painting, writing.... I believe that everything we do is an acquired skill. Nobody came out of the womb knowing the C major scale. It was learned (or acquired, if you prefer). SO many people you see interviewed say something similar to "We had music playing in our house all the time." or "My mother sang in church so I started doing it." That leads to the argument that it was the exposure that led to the development of a skill.

Back when I played 4-6 nights a week, at least 3 times a week someone would come up and say "I wish I could play keyboards like that". And my answer was the same every time. "Why can't you? I wasn't born knowing how to play. I started lessons like everybody else and I put in the hours. You can start learning tomorrow if you really want to do it. I don't know what you do for a living but I can pretty much assume that you learned how to do it at some point. Music is no different." And I had at least a dozen of them come to me 3 months later and say they had started piano lessons.

I was fortunate to have a theory nazi for a teacher. I was not allowed to touch in instrument until I could tell him that when he pointed to the black dot on the second line that the dot represented "this key" on the little embossed plastic 3 octave keyboard in front of me and that the black dot with the stem on it meant one beat. And the hollowed out black dot with the stem meant 2 beats. And the dot added one half of the note it was behind. I did that for 6 weeks before I was allowed to sit at the piano and HEAR what that black dot on the second line sounded like.

A side story. When I was 18, before going into the Army, I worked in a men's clothing store to fill the 3 months between my deferred enlistment date and my reporting date. In walked an old man looking for a navy blue blazer. I recognized him instantly. He walked over and said "You got a blue sport coat for an old man?" I replied "Sure. Is he coming in any time soon?" I showed him the jacket he wanted and we walked up to the cash register. He asked how much it would be and I told him "This is on me. You taught me so much about music that I could never repay you for it, and this is just my way of saying thank you." THEN he looked closer at me (This was 8 years after I stopped taking lessons from him) and said "My god. Edward!" And I put my hands on his upper arms and said "I was in bands and choirs in high school and I could never have done any of that without what you taught me. My teachers were so impressed with how well I knew theory and fundamentals, and I learned all of that from you." He told me "You were one of my best students ever." And we both had tears in our eyes as I gave him a hug before he left. Of course that guy has long since passed (I'm 64. He'd be like 135 now.) but I will never forget him. George F. Schulte, I'll see you in music heaven when I get there.

Last edited by eddie1261; 10/09/15 04:47 AM. Reason: corrected grammar