Ten Thousand Hours is a Myth | PHILOSOPHY SUNDAY

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[@hendrixthat_cat_can_play_b764]

A few excerpts from the book Jimi Hendrix, musician: “Hendrix was less than the complete guitarist he would soon become. At a cutting session in Nashville’s club Baron one night, Hendrix demonstrated his inexperience in such situations by spending the night imitating BB King, coming off distinctly 2nd best in the process. But it was his larger ambition that would keep him developing past the point where others stopped.” (1963) “I was the electronics man in the group, said (Billy) Cox, so I bought him a 75 foot chord at Radio Shack and put some quarter inch plugs in the ends, so he (Jimi Hendrix) could go offstage into the audience. He would even go out the front door and play on the sidewalk. The lack of audience response did nothing to dampen Hendrix’s desire to play. Cox told stories of him walking the streets of Nashville with his guitar constantly in his hands, his face a mask of concentration, as he ran through his licks. I saw him put 25 years into the guitar in 5 years, said Cox.” “Ernie Isley has often mentioned that Hendrix had obsessive practice routines and was dedicated to the instrument. He played all the time, all the time. He would practice phrases over and over, turning them inside out, break them in half, break them in quarters, play them slow, play them fast. Playing guitar all day was about all he did all day.” “Jimi loved playing his guitar in bed, and always slept with it. I used to think of my competition not as a woman, but as a guitar, said girlfriend Faye Pridgeon.” “Faye recalled: There was a place called Small’s Paradise where people like King Curtis and all the top musicians would go, and Jimi would go up there sometimes to jam, but they wouldn’t even let him play, because he was so good he’d make them all look stupid.” (1965)

[@click9914]

I agree. I have over 300,000 hours alive and I still haven't perfected myself.

[@lockedonlaw]

Then you lack the talent. I'm not being gratuitously insulting but some musicians are already better by the time they are 14 years of age than others will ever be.

[@bannjaxx]

@@lockedonlaw I think you need to re-read his post. Or I'm going to "whoosh!" you. 👍

[@diogenes2550]

@bannjaxx I’ll do it.

[@diogenes2550]

@lockedonlaw Whoosh!

[@iangelling]

Top whooshing. I wish would read what’s there rather than what they think is there.😂

[@DarkSideofSynth]

10,000 hours... people just love magic numbers, secret recipes, shortcuts, magic bullets and the like. Quality over quantity.

[@jdmresearch]

This is related to my area of study… the short story is: Malcolm Gladwell cited research by Anders Ericsson done on expertise. Anders E mentioned the 10,000 hours related to something very, very specific. Not as a broad “rule”. The late Nobel prize Danny kahneman asked Ericsson about this 10,000 hour thing. “A bunch of nonsense” was the answer.

[@markhammer643]

Correct. The round number of 10k hrs was offered up, IIRC, as an aspect typical of chess expertise. Chess experts were a traditional object of study in the field of expertise because a) games were logged for chess associations, and b) players could be ranked by games won. That is, because identifying someone as belonging to a distinct *measurable* level of expertise, there had to be indices, and the study of chess players provided this in a way that the study of, say, radiologists or poets would not (and we'll separate notoriety from expertise). And when the number of games played prior to reaching expert status were tallied up, it appeared to take the form of many thousands of hours. A second area where the 10k hrs notion is misunderstood is the difference between *on-line* and *off-line* practice. Back when I taught, and the topic of skill and expertise came up, I would mention the game Tetris, and how, after spending an hour frantically fitting falling shapes into spaces, one might spontaneously find oneself thinking about where this or that tile on the floor or wall could be fit, while seated on the toilet. This was generally met with embarrassed familiarity by my students. Athletes will also spend much time going over their mistakes in a recent game, thinking about what they could do instead of what they actually did. And so on. If a person has invested time and effort into some activity, they tend to engage in a great deal of off-line "mental practice", that is not very visible to other, but it's an ongoing investment in a skill and activity that is important to the person. Of course this invisible practice often leads to the misperception that their performance is some sort of innate "talent" or "gift", when it really comes from a LOT of effortful thought as well as visible experience. In a conversation I once had with Neil Charness - a colleague of the late Anders Ericsson - he told me that, when he studied different savants (think "Rain Man"), be they musical, mathematical, or other forms, he found they would spend almost every waking minute thinking about the area they displayed great skill, speed, and "expertise" in (bear in mind they are labelled as "savants", because it is assumed they simply *know* about their area of skill and it supposedly doesn't come from practice of any sort). It *DOES* take time and effort to acquire any skill level one might categorize as expertise. But it's not just time, effort, and off-line practice supplementing observable activity and practice. The *order* in which experience and practice takes place, and sequencing of knowledge construction is also crucial. Many people will complain that notions of expertise must be incorrect, because *they* have put in thousands of hours in some activity they like, and have still not attained anything they would consider as "expert" levels. The misunderstanding here is that expertise relies fundamentally on the structure and interconnectedness of the individual's knowledge base. It's the manner in which what that person knows about the domain is connected together, and organized, that allows them to perform at such high levels. A pivotal aspect of that is knowing what information or actions are irrelevant at the moment. Most of us learn things in isolation and different contexts, never connecting what we know. When your favorite hockey or basketball player is able to recognize a playable rebound and use it, in less than 1/10 of a second, that's because they *know* what to pay attention to and what to ignore, and recognize/encode it as a playable rebound. It becomes no more of an intellectual strain on them than bringing a fork of food up to your mouth is for the rest of us. And, as Neil Charness conveyed to me, great coaches, teachers, and tutors, are skilled at structuring and sequencing practice and experiences for those they mentor, in a way that connects that accruing knowledge base. In other words, they help to generate prodigies by providing and arranging for, more "A-ha" and "Ohhhhh, NOW I get it" moments. Some of us are lucky and have such moments occur for us spontaneously, learning deep connections from them. That can lead to the illusion that expertise is an inborn talent. Poppycock. It's ALWAYS practice, and connecting and structuring the knowledge base, which is very hard for any observer to see, see we infer "genetic magic".

[@timhewtson6212]

A great talk and one of the issues that fascinates me. Great instrumentalists struggle with writing music; whereas great songwriters are rarely better than average instrumentalists. Because the process is completely different. As you have suggested, it may be that great instrumentalists have to do their 10,000 hours. They nearly all practice 6-8 hours a day, and if the practice time drops, their skills drop. The rock musicians that did Hamburg played 7 hours a day, seven days a week, but even then they didn't become great instrumentalists necessarily - I am thinking The Beatles or Ian Hunter. They became competent, and if you are a songwriter, that is good enough. Songwriting is actually about not songwriting. Don't do it. Songs fall from the sky. They turn up in your sleep; they turn up as you walk down the street; they invade your head when you are in the bath not thinking of very much at all. Laying those gifts down doesn't require 10,000 hours; it requires the means - the musical instruments, a certain limited ability to play those instruments, some knowledge of recording techniques and the technology to do it ... and, as you say, the motivation. A song comes into your head: are you going to devote several hours to capturing that song or are you just going to roll over and fall asleep? When I started getting songs in my head, it was like standing under a waterfall - they turned up almost every day. I had, in time, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar and a keyboard, and somehow, with minimal instrumental skills, I mostly managed to capture the essence of the songs that were given to me. Over several years, I have become more competent at playing the instruments, but that hasn't really impacted the quality of the songs that I have laid down. I still really like my first album when I really hadn't a clue how to play those instruments. I am currently struggling with my fourteenth album, when I am much better instrumentally. Over the span of the fourteen albums, there is a rhythm of highs and lows which bears no relation to instrumental skills. But, at the core, yes, you have to have the motivation. I am motivated by being given something - a gift, not my gift - that it is almost of a sacred duty for me to honor by laying down the music. For others that motivation may come from not wanting to work a 'real' job or wanting respect and recognition. All I can say is: If you want to be creative, live in your head. That is where creativity comes. The mechanics will not make you creative - you may become an excellent mechanic, and that is important in a band too. The fact that most virtuoso guitar players cannot write a song for crap doesn't diminish their achievements in interpreting a song. And the fact that most songwriters are barely adequate instrumentalists, doesn't diminish their potential to write great songs. And, underneath it all, is motivation. As the Lotto ad goes, "If you don't play, you can't win." But how you motivate someone who doesn't have it - now that is a difficult one. About that I haven't a clue. Another wonderful, thought-provoking video, Andy. Thank you.

[@admarhermans1]

Great video, Andy. Teacher mode suits you well! (Exactly here, doing things exactly like this, your unique way: a lesson packaged in a (personal)story, some British humor in the mix: that’s where you shine! No Beato can touch you there! Andy’s teacher-mode: a lesson packaged as a personal story. Easy job for a born teacher like yourself. That approach really touches me! I’m a school teacher myself (12-20 year olds): first the story, the lesson will come with it, like a virus. My lack of English fucks me up here, but you get what I mean...) Brilliant!

[@mihranbobson7753]

Thank you Andy!! I love and look forward to Philosophical Sunday each week. No one on KZbin can match your content.

[@craze77]

Great great video Andy, very inspiring and motivating. Ive always heard my own songs in my head and dreamed of making music but have never learned an instrument due to alchoholism, depression, not being able to to focus on learning, etc. But listening to you is really giving me a kick up the arse to start the journey. Thanks mate!

[@2wayplebney]

you articulate so many things I have thought for a long time. I have taught for 40 years and have finally come to realise that it’s the best thing you can do. I still enjoy writing and cartooning and making music, but motivating kids is even better.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Well said!

[@nigelleaney8266]

Fascinating talk, Andy. The whole notion of creativity is something of a Will O’ the Wisp, yet endlessly beguiling. It’s a hard thing to discuss and come to any proper conclusions but you’ve pulled it off and gone where angels fear to tread. Great stuff.

[@coryellcoryell1]

Hi Andy, thanks for a very deep and inspirational video. It really resonated with me because I have music constantly swirling around in my brain twenty four hours a day and also have the curse of ADHD. My favourite instruments are guitar an drums. I started out in my younger days as a live sound engineer, but ventured into doing sound for corporate events. I really miss the creativity of mixing music and yearn for it so much that it drives me crazy! My ADHD held me back over almost my entire adult life and feel that I have not lived up to my potential. I was only diagnosed about 5 years ago. I would love to be a twenty-something with my whole career in front of me. I had to share this with you. BTW, I believe that I was one of your earliest subscribers, somewhere between thirty and fifty? Thank You.

[@PhilsGuitar]

Comparison really is the thief of joy - I get depressed because I find myself comparing my music and performances with others - but this isn't the point of music You made a good point on another video of obsessing on things in order to be "competent" - any sort of odd noise or slight mistiming on a recording and i start again. Of course it still never ends up perfect. I know its not the right way to make music but cant help myself, it massively slows down my output. Logically i know what to change about the approach but in the moment i wave this away

[@98939893]

Gladwell’s tautology: what is an expert, someone with 10,000 hours. In fact the 10,000 was an average, so you might be skilled before that. Same deal as they say walk 10,000 steps a day. Generalizations, all.

[@bernardjharmsen304]

44:26 Insightful point. I have learnt lots from music I don't like. Open your ears 🎶🎶

[@karisalminen]

The philosophical talks are the best. Improvised but still with a clear focus although not always immediately obvious means to get there. Not even for Andy himself. Sounds like jazz. Something between composed and free. Rarely like prog with it's cathedral and castle building. This type of delivery makes critical thinking about music almost as exciting as music or making music itself. Because music is also some type of thinking and musicians don't always know where they are going but they know they have to get somewhere anyway.

[@RonG40]

Some of the best musical moments of my life involved a Fostex 4 track, a Boss DR-5, various guitars, drums and keys, and recording these ridiculous songs I had in my head. I was forced to work within those limitations, and had an absolute blast. I went on to get more sophisticated equipment, but I can't say it was as enjoyable. I still have those tapes, and have been slowly digitizing them. I don't care if anyone ever hears them. (Nor do I expect anyone would want to!) They represent the pure joy of creation, which is all that mattered to me. This was in the early 90s for me as well. Spending any amount of time on something like that, one can't help but get better unless they are actively seeking to do otherwise.

[@nullfield]

Timely and provoking. Thanks.

[@Eric-rt6tg]

I can’t agree with you more. Being creative and having ADHD and anxiety is a very familiar territory form me. I have made all the pitfall mistakes you mentioned. But my creative mind also motivated me to try and learn new things and find solutions. Like your philosophy Sunday uploads tremendously.

[@thepagecollective]

I can't do a video a day, but I write every single day. Every. Single. Day. Submitting work is a trial, but writing is a different kind of trial -- I just like it. I do it because I have to. I am extremely practiced at writing because I'm motivated.

[@scottbookman]

This is one of my favorite videos and it's not even a ranking video and i'm watching on monday.Inspirational as always.Follow every idea ,have a fair amount of "i don't give a shit what anyone else thinks" and a sense of humor is required.

[@jeffreybarton1297]

😄 A wonderful and important video, from the teacher I never had at school.

[@rosiesmo]

"Talent = motivation" -- I love this and am going to be thinking about this statement a lot

[@garygomesvedicastrology]

I actually received my Ed. D. (Education doctorate) and my dissertation was on self efficacy. The 10,000 hours was always an artificial invention. Learning theorists from Germany to Russia to Switzerland to the United States offered theory and research that indicated that interest and motivation were the primary components in achieving any kind of competency in any field. Of course, there are natural gifts some people possess, but the motivation is the key, not an empty number. Some people develop skills quickly; others can take decades. But even if it takes decades, it's the motivation that is the most important factor. The 10,000 rule was a short cut for folks who wanted to eliminate interest as a factor. There are people who love a thing but never get beyond a certain point, but they would not have hit that level without the interest. Interest and motivation are key to learning all things.

[@DeborahHammond]

A friend I’ve played with has practiced guitar twice as much as that and still doesn't know the major scale. I asked him what his practice routine was, and he told me it was all finger exercises with the chromatic scale. His favorite band is Metallica.

[@robfirestone6158]

That’s really frustrating to see people be so resistant to outside help!

[@srvuk]

1000000 hours into my journey to understand women. Only another 1000000 to go.

[@VW61]

nailed it andy, my own story is identical to yours, i did the 2 tapedeck bounce, then a tascam 4 track to cubase from 95 to now, still recording 35 yrs later, i dont care if anyone hears it or likes it but i have to do it cos i love it. selfishly its just for me and its like my therapy

[@NelsonMontana1234]

If it were just hours that made the difference then all old people would be better than all young people and that obviously is not the case. There is such a thing as talent, as intangible as it might seem. And some people simply have more of it than others. Mix talent with perseverance, and luck, and you have success. You need all three.

[@aliensporebomb]

Andy, you literally sound like you lived my life - the whole obsessive recording on a 4-track for years on end until after 10 years the 4-track fell apart (and by then I'd graduated to a DAW, first off 16 channels, then much more) and placing the 4-track masters in a series of milk crates when I was done recording them , having to play all the instruments because, well, trying to convince people I knew to play my weird music wasn't going to work too well and then continue until things actually had more of an actual song-like structure and production. Decades later and 20+ albums later I just kept going. You worked in technical drawing and design, I did too early on because I wanted to make my own album covers and designs - Roger Dean couldn't have all of the fun. I worked in the IT world for a day gig because I wanted to build my own recording studio with a big computer at the center. I may have gone a little off the deep end. True story: when I was a young child I visited the local public library and asked the librarian where I could find the weird music. She laughed out loud. I was serious!

[@kzustang]

Really enjoyed this one... a lot! Thanks Andy! I always love it how so many topics are thrown into the air and get examples and references related to the subjects on your other vidoes and other topics of the day which are dicussed in the community. Then it all comes together in a glimpse of true understanding for a moment....and then we joke about it. It's exactly like the talks we have in the band and with friends. I feel that this community reached a point where we all occupy an overalapping space together. The whole thing is very proggy if you think about. It's complex, it's quircky and it's epic.

[@pattardn]

After climbing the mountain, if you're conscious enough, you'll notice that there's the unending sky to fathom. If you're creatve and educated, you'll realise that the tools to take you there will have to change. If you're wise and mad enough, you'll understand that whatever you do, you're doing it to appease your soul. Most probably (especially in the present) you'll not become the rock'n'roll superstar living in a castle in Scotland (my dream as a young man growing up in Malta, where I still live). But then, if you really love what you do, the journey for you is not to put so many hours doing what you don't like to do. You'll carve your creations and particularities, who are as precious to you as your very own sons and daughters, to your personal aesthetic of perfection, and that is love (to the genetic detail), in the end, all that counts. So do your thing, enjoy doing it in complete dionysiac abandon if need be, love it - you'll be loving yourself (and your loved ones in turn) - and protect it like you protect your family, but don't depend on it for sustenance. If an outsider appreciates and likes it, it's alright, but keep in mind it is still an outsider's reaction, not what your original innate intention was. Thank you Sir for rewording what I've been through in my head for all my life, for what I feel my wife passes through as a creative person herself, and what my creative, spectrum-set son and daughter feel, even though they haven't realised it yet. Yes, Art is a curse, and thank God for it: it'll make you trawl the depths of Hell until you'll learn that that's the only way for you to taste the few drops of Heaven you're allowed to enjoy in the end! Great video. As always!

[@hulldanfan]

If someone does manage to practice 3 hours a day, every day for 9 years then that indicates more than a little desire. It wont make you write lyrics like Bob Dylan or compose melodies like Beethoven, but it will give you the technical tools to use your instrument. All musicians talk about 'muscle memory', meaning your fingers go where they need to without having to think about it. How do you get 'muscle memory? . It comes from repeated practice of the same movements over and over again. The table tennis international and Times journalist Matthew Syed wrote a book on this topic (and others) called ' Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice' - A brilliant read

[@FunkadelicPancho]

Of course it’s a myth Andy! Practice doesn’t make perfect, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

[@callmeal3017]

Perfect is also the enemy of good.. and better.. and even best!

[@craigbroadfoot1851]

Everyone can improve with practice, but talent is important too. Of course, not everyone can became a ‘master’ musician, just as not everyone can be a great painter etc..

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

No Andy not the 10,000 hours rule, the center cannot hold ! Brilliant topic looking forward to it.

[@rogerfurer2273]

I started with a Sony reel-to-reel and bounced tracks back and forth to arrive at an eventual mono mix with lots of hiss. Had to mix on the fly with each bounce, so once printed, that was it. I had no mixer, so it was one mic per track/instrument. Recording solo is difficult, but your video is inspirational. Maybe the kick in the ass I needed to hear (pardon the mixed metaphor). Thank you Andy.

[@kim_o_the_concrete_jungle]

I find it fascinating to hear you talk about your early days learning music, because you're basically me. I did the thing with the two cassette recorders. I too got the sack from my job in 1990 and spent my redundancy money on a Tascam Portastudio. The difference is that you were successful and I wasn't, because I could never quite convince myself that music was a thing I could take seriously and do for a living. So, by the time grunge rolled around and playing guitar was cool again, I still wasn't good enough to jump on it.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Do something now

[@kim_o_the_concrete_jungle]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I'm up to 242 videos.

[@MHep-qy9yv]

Watching this reminded me that I did the same thing ten years ago with things I recorded in my room, I put them on bandcamp as Mikey Heppner's Sunk Ship Digitial Distortion Bedroom. Fun listening to your stuff, and relistening to my own hahah

[@paulcowham2095]

One of the most profound things I've read, is Gore Vidal's explanation of the difference between art and craft; craft must always be the same, and art must always be different. I think musicians can be both - a pro classical orchestral player is a very skilled craftsperson, but probably not an artist, a singer songwriter who can't play guitar well, but can move people is an artist.

[@probusexcogitatoris736]

I really like this topic. As a therapist, motivation is perhaps the most valuable currency for my patients. We know that the human brain is more perceptive to danger than reward. For our ancestors living on the Savannah, type one errors were much more forgiving than type two errors. At the same time, based on operant conditioning, we know that reinforcement is usually a more effective motivator than punishment... at least if the well-being of the animal is of concern. So, what motivates us to be creative? First, I think we need to think about what creativity is. From an evolutionary perspective, is closely linked to problem solving. At the same time, I don't think a painter would define creativity as problem solving... but, perhaps it could be seen as emotional or aesthetic problem solving? I think this is closely related to compulsions and obsessions. An unrelenting urge to solve a problem or inner conflict. You just can't let it go before it's solved. Is that artistic creativity? If it is, then is it motivated by punishment or reward? I think it is a combination of both. Perhaps you could say it is an addiction. The constant search for the ultimate reward. Say for a musician, when you write a good song or the audience is on fire. But, the every day life has more to do with punishment. The constant fear of failure and not experiencing that ultimate reward again.

[@colinburroughs9871]

it's an issue of the soul and this fact bothers and motivates in equal measure

[@pawehohmann8171]

In 2001 I wrote a novel. In 2020, the book won a national competition (guess which country) to publish it. It was worth it.

[@alclarke]

10,000 sounds ridiculously round as a number. 101 jokes about idiots or 1001 jokes for kids etc. I treat this theory with an element of suspicion….

[@JakeLionsWorld]

Thanks for the video Andy. I feel like the one thing we need more of in this world is other people's stories - otherwise, it seems folks go behind a curtain and come out the other side a master, shrouded in mystery. I started pursuing music when I was in school for illustration, since my former hobby became my field of study. Back then I was using a DAW and doing the best I could with no real knowledge. These days, I've lost the drive both to pursue music as well as the art I got a degree in, and have turned to records and old stereo gear. But I still like to record improvised tracks bit by bit to cassettes, then make album art and a tracklist for them, and send them off to friends without keeping a copy for myself. It may not be a passion or career that moves me day to day, but it still feels good to leave little nuggets of yourself around the place before you go.

[@kylegood2622]

That dentist bit had me rolling! Great video. Hooked on this channel after watching TRIO OF DOOM!!

[@martinhanson4281]

Love these videos Andy. They are so awesome. Thanks for putting your time and effort into them.

[@davidfielding7007]

I guess it came from 10,000hrs being basically a 5 year apprenticeship.

[@stuartmenziesfarrant]

I too have a load of ‘music ideas’ on cassettes, in old boxes in the loft in my case! I too started my musical journey with the NWBHM, I bought Motorhead’s, ‘The Golden Years’ EP, after putting in (a lot) of hours in musical exploration, played in a lot of bands and eventually became a College Music Lecturer at various establishments, including some prisons! I actually didn’t get my degree in music tech until I was in my forties! (I was busy chasing the dream up to that point!) congratulations on your successful YT channel, my talents don’t stretch that far! Now that I am fast approaching sixty, I feel retired from making music, after a lifetime of creating and getting my music out there! …of course I still have my studio/gear.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Where did you teach?

[@martinlawrence8427]

Love a Sunday afternoon listening to Andy ramble through who knows what…but it was highly entertaining nonetheless! 🙌

[@larryjones64729]

10,000 is a Chinese saying for infinite or limitless.

[@gabe2869]

Thank you for making this video.

[@jerrypotente872]

Great peptalk Andy, you remind me of my first mentor the hit songwriter loose Stalman, who said just do it don’t care what others think about it and just keep doing it anyway as a guy who read outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and loved the portion about the Beatles it takes a whole lot more than 10,000 hours. I have been drawing since I’m six years old. I taught myself to play piano and sing along with beetle records and then try to write my own songs when I was about 15 or 16 and I have been at that And painting and automotive designing and also writing lyrics automatic poetry and children’s radio scripts and I am now 69 years old I go through the fear and loathing, but I face up to it and challenge it almost every day of my life and if I had to say how much time I’ve devoted to all those creative pursuits it’s probably more like 150,000 to 250,000 hours Which isn’t work it’s all sweaty play. I will probably still be on my deathbed if I’m physically and mentally I also do not like the fact that so many people will only validate music or artwork if it’s done by a famous name that’s been blessed by critics and record companies so many people are just followers and I wish more would listen to you and try to create on whatever level they can , well I’m rambling on as your dear friend Robert Plant, and I want to thank you for this piece and to say also I did a little thing about don’t follow the podcast gurus who is selling you things be more about your own authentic self follow your own muses and interest in life And when those devils come up your subconscious just laugh at him get on your piano go play baseball or start a painting or a ballet all right I said too much love you, brother keep up the good work. We are listening, and there are many of us creative leaders out there in our own smaller way trying to disseminate the messages that you sent , have a great Sunday and to all your great followers

[@jerrypotente872]

I meant my mentor and songwriting collaborator Lou Stallman. Also I meant to say that I will probably still be creating when I’m on my deathbed if I’m physically and mentally able to continue and I hope that’s my last memory of working on a drawing or humming a tune, amen amen.

[@BBlooger]

Thank you Andy.

[@DavidSupina]

I used to try to figure out how much time I would need at a piano to get to 10,000 hours by when I hoped to, and it was, like four hours a day. The thing is maybe I need 10k and maybe I don’t, but all those goals didn’t matter when I lost my hope of becoming a professional musician over the years, because I was then practicing zero hours a day. My hope is to be truly great at my instrument, but it needs to come from a place of a deep desire to keep tinkering and fiddling with my craft. Thankfully, I am back at it, and I really missed doing this.

[@delorangeade]

We have a few parallels. Apart from having seen a few Alain Delon films, I also attended polytechnic (Birmingham), then spent a year on the dole before ending up in a job I didn't want. I was fired. I then decided to try my hand at songwriting and finding a band that would have me as a singer. I got as far as an offer of an audition with Brian Tatler after writing for some demos he sent me, but that got derailed by a train strike, at which point I gave up on music and found myself another crap job. In the end I discovered my motivation to create was not financial, it wasn't fear of an imminent threat, I had no focus or will to succeed: I was simply afraid of commitment and boredom. So none of the things I know I can do actually motivate me to pursue them, I'm happier doing ten things badly than one thing well, and instead of doing something constructive, it's more fun to create chaos and get my coat on the way out.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I know Brian a little...

[@delorangeade]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I thought you might have crossed paths. I never actually met him, but we spoke on the phone a few times. I think he was on the dole at the time, but he was putting together a band called Radio Moscow in around 1988 which did release an album later.

[@delorangeade]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer I don't know if you will read this, but I just had the thought that maybe you could judge the cultural relevance/importance by the number of tribute acts they spawn, and perhaps there might be some content for you in that idea.

[@alclarke]

Years mark a musician. Personal life and perhaps other elements. We grow older. How many times have you the opportunity to see old mates yet never follow through? Me? Plenty. I’m not the same guy I was 20 years ago.

[@nickmannion3879]

No matter at what (music or sport especially) you will only make the most of your ability, which is different for each individual, if you put the time in...from playing to practice to theory to watching/listening. Yes the number of hours seems a random pick, but the premise is about right.

[@grahamnunn8998]

I am certainly with you on taking more risks when I was younger. I had limited gear and a four-track like you but I would combine things in strange ways as that was all I had. Fortunately, I have transferred most of my old cassettes to digital so no spider anxiety!

[@thomasbestolofsson9328]

Very interesting! I came to think of the famous danish philosopher Sören Kierkegaard. He once meant that a male writer became a writer because he couldn´t get the girl he wanted. Creativity from disappointment...

[@AetherPavilion]

When all the vacuous self-improvement influencers and sycophantic talk show hosts talked about Malcolm Gladwell’s book like he’d just discovered fire, I knew it was almost certainly shyte and a grift. Andy, your theme song should be Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”

[@stevebeaney9684]

Is that a picture of Roy Buchanan? He's my hero. A Telecaster monster.

[@PentUpPentatonics]

I’ve put in the 10,000 hours and more. It’s brought me a lot of heartache and hardship but I’d be lost without the sense of purpose. Also, nothing changed after that 10,000th hour.

[@marknovak6498]

I remember the first take I heard of the 10,000 hours was an article I read in the 1980s that said you needed to practice 5,000 hours to get good enough for music school then after that you needed to practice 5000 hours in music school to have a shot at becoming part of a classical orchestra. The term evolved from that idea? I know plenty of basketball players who praticed 10,000 hours and never made the NBA. More to talent than practice.

[@wrekintaichi6536]

10000 hours is 416.6 days. Putting in 8 hours a day you could do that in a little under 5 years. Fitting that around a job might be difficult though.

[@hansmagnusmalcolmsen9354]

Thank you for doing these interesting videos! (.. I was just trying to be funny earlier/was in a silly mood, when I said: Don't talk about Peart, talk about Blakey instead. And called you and your collaborator nerds. I had been drinking.)

[@rickwills4281]

Entertaining but also very enlightening.

[@jedtulman46]

So funny / so poiniant . Thank you Andy .shelobs lair ? 10, 000 hours .flight luggage? It all makes sense to me !

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@aminahmed2220]

Absolutely fantastic have a wonderful day Andy ❤😊

[@devereauxclandestine1272]

Superb video Andy. On a side note there could be a solid prog rock epic based around you doing battle with the Spider Queen and burning down your shed. 'Arachnotorch Vol.1' ?

[@ToddRock16]

Andy again making a salient point. Debunking a myth. I'm producing an uber talented singer/ guitarist. Call backs for backing Musicians in The Bay Area , 1st thing the 1st two tell me is ... " I've been playing for.....years " Meaningless. Playing what? With whom? Gimme a 3 year Player with great ears, great tone and an imagination who stretches, challenges him/ her self over the 10 year guy playing the 1st KORN album or whatever for 10,000 hours anyday. 🥃Cheers to Andy... a great Drummer and genuine music guy ❤🎉

[@JimBagby74]

Talking about doing the "Right Things"- I'm a guitar builder and after I got my degree in design and construction, I decided to give myself one year of building before attempting to sell anything. I'm still in tbat phase, but one thing that's made it productive is course correction. If something goes wrong, then trouble shooting becomes the immediate priority. The idea is to turn mysteries into hard knowledge and experience in the moment. Make the mistake, stop, put the time in and figure it out then and there,then move on. If I don't stop and face it, the mistakes will repeat and compound,causing me a lot more time in the future. That time is a good investment because it dispels demons and clears the road ahead. It seems obvious, but the temptation is to push the issue to the side and focus on a different task. One is always trying to make things easier by doing that, but it's an illusion.

[@steffenbrix]

MUSIC IS MADE OUT OF LOVE ❤....yes!

[@daicullinane7746]

Andy, great video. All part of the conceptual continuity that runs through everything you do.

[@MFrancis]

Good one Andy. Cheers

[@sspbrazil]

I’ve always thought thought it was rubbish too.

[@christophercheney1006]

Love you dawg!

[@sebastienbergeron3621]

I have put more than 10000 , maybe 20000 hours as a guitarist but never got good at it during my 57 years of life. But I did some good songwriting and my friends made it to life. Some of these folks could pickup a guitar for the first time and play better than me. I like your message.

[@cbolt4492]

Brilliant video

[@Veaseify]

My experience of learning to play guitar is that you hit a series of plateaus where you just aren't getting any better or playing anything differently for weeks or months on end and suddenly like out of the blue you can play things that you couldn't before or have new ideas that weren't occurring to you previously. On a graph it would be like a flat line with a few jagged leaps over time. That wasn't through dedicated practice or learning though, it was just from playing and achieving the manual dexterity to be able to play more complicated stuff.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

What causes those? if you knew the 10,000 hours is meaningless. Would you like a video what causes this?

[@Veaseify]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Blimey, that was quick Andy! In my experience it works like bands jamming. You can play for a couple of hours and there's nothing interesting happening then somebody comes up with an idea, either a bass line or a drum groove or a guitar riff and bang, 20 minutes later you have a decent song, or the bones of one anyway. If you have minimal natural talent like me it takes longer to move between those plateaus in technique but I think the sudden leaps are some connection between your brain and your fingers just opening up for some reason. I am kind of rambling but I know exactly what the feeling was like for something simple like being able to play a barre chord without muting one of the strings all the way to one day I could not do Van Halen tapping and the next day for whatever reason I could....sorry for the waffle!

[@andychampion77]

Best one yet Andy 👏

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thank you 🙌

[@Captain_Rhodes]

Nice video Andy. I try to keep your corkscrew image in my mind. I never had an issue with motivation or putting time in. My flaw has always been an inability to finish things and put them out there. Its something I need to fix. For myself. Dont care about money

[@fireant1015]

Fantastic stuff Andy! Also, those early recordings sound awesome 😃

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thank you

[@dennismason3740]

The X-Factor...we used to call it "soul".

[@mymixture965]

Andy "two shed" Edwards🙂 Looking forward with what you come up, I basically can agree with the 10000 hour thing, but I maybe have a different interpretation.

[@dennismason3740]

My mentor says "be passionate about being passionate!". When I saw Cream in '67 my fate was sealed.

[@runningin533]

Wise beyond your years young man!

[@johannhauffman323]

Thank you Andy for this Video. Love all you do. You might find this interesting. A few years ago I found an old Tascam Porta-studio tape that I made and then used to make a short video in memory of a music venue called The 9:30 Club in D.C. The music was raw and from the late 80‘s. It is my wife‘s favorite tune of mine. Ha! She finds it better than all the other tunes I have spent hours on. The 9:30 tune took me maybe 15 minutes. So, in the late 80‘s I was in the club a few hours before they opened the doors. (I was friends with the employees). A band was doing a sound check. The drummer started playing jazzy riffs… Roachy/Richy type stuff. Then When the Levee Breaks for the sound check.I thought this could be very interesting. Now later, that band hit the stage and they are some neo punk band. The drummer was thrashing about as if he had just picked up the sticks a month before. It was very fun and exciting. I went to my parents house where I still had a drum kit and a guitar and tried to record a primitive, smashing, reckless drum track and then a bass and guitar track. At about the same time a friend from L.A. was visiting and I made a copy of the track for her. A couple of years passed and my friend came back for a visit and told me she played my tune for some of her Los Angeles friends. She said they liked it and might nick a lick. Haha ok I thought. Then she gave me a tape her friends just made. It was the first Rage Against the Machine Album. So to you and all the weirdo’s who love your Videos - - You never really know what you have until you do it. ❤.

[@TheInstituteofPop]

Stunning. Inspirational. The hard truth is that there is no choice. Thank you for putting yourself out into the world. 🙏

[@tonycardinal9381]

Nailed it great video. 👍

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Creativity is a gift. Surround yourself with the right people, balance your life, avoid isolation. Accept that that everyone has moments of doubt: its being human. Some youtubers who show their record collection have a need to be recognised and feel important. Others do it to keep rock alive and to share information. There is more than one motivator, but it can be killed by loneliness and poor physical and negative influences. Creativity needs a strong life foundation to flourish over a long period of time.

[@metamorphhhcrawford5756]

I'm not a musician, but I can certainly understand negative motivation. I wrote a book once and I needed those deadlines. I wonder what your opinion is of Buckethead and his seemingly endless amount of creativity. He and Ian Anderson are my 2 favorite musicians, btw😊

[@LWilloxMusic]

Enjoyed this. Trying to roll with the punches more and reject the decanting voices

[@roddmcleodable]

Your are a good youtuber and you are very clever. Love your stuff, bro!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I appreciate that!

[@leoalexhorta]

Really great stuff Andy! Specially the last written words! Just free speech can stop the growth of tyranny. Once free speech is gone they can do anything they want.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

It really worries me. I have a platform here but I worry I will get shut down for saying liberal ideas like this.

[@riffmondo9733]

Spot on Andy. This was a bit nostalgic for me as well. I too had a 4 track and disappeared for hours or days tracking with it. The demons of doubt did not have the same effect in youth as they did later in life. But I think you are correct you have to put yourself and your stuff out there and stand by it. Thanks for the inspiring Sunday morning.

[@sicko_the_ew]

The poor little spiders just need somewhere safe to hide from the wasps. The wasps land, straddling the spider, so it can't get its legs unentangled from the wasp's, and can't reach up far enough to bite back in self defence. (And biting is generally a hopeless cause for most spiders, because it's only the lucky few of them who have a proper venom, anyway. Their bites are generally futile.) Poor little spider, stuck under the big mean wasp, who can sting it with impunity. And is that the end? Oh no. Not at all. The wasp venom causes paralysis in the spider, because the wasp needs it to be alive for what comes next. It carries off the little paralysed spider to the hole it dug for it, now. And then when it has placed it neatly there, it injects its eggs into the spider. When they hatch, they'll have nice, fresh, tasty living spider meat to eat while the get their start in life. And the poor little spider is just paralysed. This is a true story. Nature is monstrous. As far as your own spiders go, you could probably take pictures of them, and look them up online. Odds are they're harmless, and don't even have big enough fangs to break skin. Lots of spiders can't even break your skin. You could familiarize yourself with them, and then when you nuke them out of the shed you'll have as much anxiety as wasp has while you do so. Or you could maybe find ways of at least living in peace with the harmless ones. Old humans learn new tricks all the time, so it's not impossible. It's not as easy as Sit or Roll Over, or Let Go of the Bloody Ball So I Can Throw it Again, but it's not impossible. Trouble is then you'd have to deal with those cassettes, I suppose.

[@williamfarr8807]

Spiders, snakes, sharks, etc., get to know them, and you’ll come to love them.

[@donaldanderson6604]

When you read the Gladwell you realise that there is an element of knowing the right mentor. Bill Gates was given access to computers for hundreds of hours when most people didn't know what a computer was. His other example is the Beatles, who paid their dues doing four gigs a night in Hamburg then meeting George Martin. Most of the great rock acts learned the hard way playing dreadful clubs and pubs and honing their skills.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

But what did they learn? And how did that then fit the cultural context. Mastery means nothing in the realm of art

[@goatuscrow4135]

Brilliant and hilarious.

[@paulkenyon3372]

On fire Andy 😁👍 like a tardis this video theres so much in it Got me with the Metallica lines 😂 Love it ❤️

[@peterdavies5358]

Once, before this phrase became popular I spent 9998 hours learning tio play the Euphonium,. Unfornatly was absilutly shinola, If only I'd known I'd've gone thr extra couple of hours. A shame but I no longer want to play the Euphonium. Ha, Euthanasium.

[@adude9882]

10 000 hours? So that's an hour a day for over 30 years, 2 hours a day for 15 years, 3 hours a day for 10 years, 6 hours a day for 5 years.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

or 417 days of solid practice with no sleep or toilet breaks.

[@cbolt4492]

Ha! I've done more than that this week and I still can't play a Bb

[@dennismason3740]

Dude. Andrew. Mate. If I find a human being who can replace belts and rollers and cogs for cassette machines (I have 5) - I don't know what will happen. I have a zillion cassettes with a zillion different recordings from Eno-esque movements to nature recordings (Professional Walkman, THE finest portable magnetic tape recorder ever built) and I work well with magnetic tape. I live in a small flat with about 1000 - 1500 cellar spiders (daddy longlegs - the really fragile ones) and a few black widows who don't mess with my space. I get along with spiders very well. Despite my efforts I have not enabled any recordings of spider telemetry. An SM 58 won't solve the spider telempathy puzzle. The cockroaches want my entire living space and they aren't getting it. No I don't kill them, I move them (Black and Decker hand vac). Spiders are amazing critters and without them this planet would be overrun with species you don't want. Also most are telempathic (images and feelings). "Telepathic" implies words, which are not how bio-downloads work. Most animals prefer honesty over every other aspect of human behavior. Obviously compassion rates high with telempathic animals but asking a human to "get over your arachnophobia" is too daunting for most people. Putting spiders outside exposes the incredibly fragile animals to sun, wind and cold, a death sentence. Real Facts: the cockroaches in my room love slow blues (most of them) - they start popping out of their hidey holes when I play slow blues. Don't tell the scientists, their priorities are messed up. I have an old i-pod that functions perfectly, I can embrace digital formats. I still prefer the magic of magnetic tape.