Why talent doesn’t exist? | MMM #14

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[@procrasti-nation9517]

"Most people become good from exercises rather than from their nature" Demokrit (460-370 b.c.)

[@LukasKocka]

there you go!

[@mosley3485]

"Sure, some people might pick up some certain skills faster than others..." Yeah, that's what people mean when they say that these people are talented. They have a natural pre-disposition to learn this skill more effectively than others. You are literally defining talent when you say this.

[@LeviticusStroud]

I'd go a step further and say that Talent does exist, but it is much more minor a bonus than most people would assume, with an oft ignored negative side. If you were to model learning similar to a game, then Talent would be like having the first (minimum) level in a skill already filled in. It's a head start over those who don't have it, but that is all. However, the problem with having this initial head start with little to no effort is that- because society has a myth about natural talent outdoing practice and learning- that people who have said talent are simply expected to be better than everyone else even without practice or a teacher. Thus we so often see people who did have a 'natural talent' for something when they were young, find that as they get older they fall behind those without such a supposed advantage. They often didn't get the same level of support as those without the head start they had, and/or had much greater expectation put upon them which they simply couldn't live up to and thus become demoralised, lose motivation, and eventually give up. Put another way, talent might give you the equivalent of an extra ten minutes practice for every hour you put in. But if you're only doing an hour a week, the person doing two will quickly outpace you.

[@JDStone20]

This is exactly right. Another trap players fall into, especially with the guitar, is that you can just get the right expensive or rare equipment, your sound will be that of notable, famous players. Nothing will get you there except practice, practice, practice.

[@dizzyrick7653]

Good gear helps, though. I played cheap guitars for most of my life, and recently I bought an Ibanez Prestige guitar and holy crap, it's so much easier to play.

[@grben9959]

@@dizzyrick7653 I have found there's rapidly diminishing gains in the music gear game. Once you get past the junk you're often paying a lot for each little bit of improvement and picking an instrument that is appropriate to the playing style or sound you're looking for will help more than just going to a better grade. One other thing, for stringed instruments (I'm mainly a bassist), how you set up the instrument (your bridge adjustment, neck tension, pickup height, any sanding/filing on nuts and frets, and strings) will often make a bigger difference (especially in playability) than going up the price scale from something like a squier to a fender. That said there's a reason people with the money and passion shell out the big bucks. When optimization can be totally set aside the good gear is sooo nice.

[@erichobbs4042]

This mindset applies to pretty much everything you turn your mind to. Mistakes are just learning opportunities. If you learn from them and keep practicing you can eventually get to where you want to be. But... eventually you also have to accept your limitations. I don't think that I am ever going to be able to shred as fast or as accurately as Steve Vai, but...I don't actually want to either. It's enough to keep pushing myself to get faster so I don't have technical limitations on making the music I want to make. And for me, that music isn't fast. Slow and tasty licks with feeling and emotion are where it's at for me.

[@loverdownunder4998]

Awesome mindset to have! Love this revelation

[@thelastshadeofgrey]

Thank you for this inspiring video!

[@LukasKocka]

very welcome Odisej!

[@jaysonbenfield426]

There is such a thing as naturally being suited for a particular skill. I'll give you a test example. Take two beginners and put them on the exact practice schedule hours,days etc... for one year and I guarantee one of them will exceed the others ability. If it was strictly about the amount of time put in the two players would be equal in aptitude.

[@alexyantonievich8719]

Talent is not a myth. You can get good but for those talented ones it will materialise great much faster. R=T⋅e, where R is results, T is talent, e is effort so to get the same results you need more talent or more effort. Effort takes time. A talented person will be a few steps ahead much quicker than someone who puts effort but lacks talent. I have seen it with myself and others. For example - a friend of mine was a much better driver after a year of passing the exam than I am after many years of driving. Talent actually is an unexplainable phenomenon. Some people have it, some don't. If you are lucky and talented in doing what you like - great but if you have no talent for what you really love then you will struggle and you need to put a lot of work into it. I lack talents in certain areas and playing guitar is one of them. I have put a lot of effort already, spent countless hours practicing and I still cannot play. Other things - I simply do them when people cannot even start. That's life. I agree that with persistence, time and effort you may learn to play well but for some people it is like walking upstairs and for others it will be like climbing Mount Everest. That's why many people give up because sometimes it's hard to make up for talent.

[@grben9959]

R=E(T+P) Results equals effort times your combination of talent and passion.

[@BalazsiSzabi]

Hah! Your name means "holey cube / cube with holes" in Hungarian.

[@RELENTLESS65]

What's the point of holding a guitar for the entire video if you're not going to play a single note?

[@DevilsAvocado69]

This isnt true. I know from first hand experience some people are naturally more dextrous, better memory, natural rhythm and some people have all off the above and some have none.

[@Reality_Is_Hard]

Kinda moronic premise. Of course Talent exists. Weather learned or innate. The is video production for the sake of views likes and clicks with ZERO contribution.

[@ButterflyThatTouchesTheMoon]

I don't agree. People are born with talent, I dont care what anyone says I know 2 year olds than can paint the mona lisa and they have only looked at it once! My son who is 9 taught himself piano all on ear without even knowing any songs or notes and he can play any scsrlstti song to exist, he can play drums better than Neil Peart at 4 year old. I never taught him anything, he has no access to internet , doesnt know any about counting or notes, he can keep up to Infant Annihilater! I put him in a gifted class. There are kids there who know every language without even reading it before, only hearing it. Some of those kids are 5 years old and have made their own motherboard for computers. Im sorry but people are born talented whether you like it or not, its skill we need to learn Born talented but if you dont apply it to a skill. Youll lose that talent ..or wont ever, just wont apply it. Then you can gain a skill for 20 years, and someone with talent can learn what you did in 20 year in 1 hour.

[@jesterman1302]

Talent doesn't exist is a myth. KZbin guitarists are a prime example. A lot of them shred all over the fretboard at mind numbing speeds at times but bring little if anything to the art form.