Let me ask you a question. Why is it that children of members of the professional musicians do well in music? Is it because they have some special music gene that is passed down with the generations? Some special talent? Most parents would like to think so. Parents justify their results with excuses like this, but they’re not the real reasons.
It’s really very simple. People don’t achieve in music because they don’t practice.
Adults often say, “I wish my mother had made me practice.” Why do kids of many professional musicians succeed with music? Because professional musicians know how to practice. That is, how to train effectively. And they see to it that their children practice effectively.
No great endeavors are ever accomplished without consistent hard work over a long period of time. If you apply the principles of training to music, you will start to succeed with music.
It is the same as learning anything else. Say you are a good swimmer. Were you born with a special gene for swimming? No, of course not. But you do get up four or five times a week at 5:00 AM and go down to the pool and swim lap after lap. You refine your stroke. You put in the hours. You learn how to focus and presto, you take out ribbons at the carnival.
Does a musician say, “Oh well, it’s okay for you. You’re a great swimmer. You have a special talent for swimming, especially genes in swimming that we don’t have.” Not a bit of it. They know that a great deal of hard work and training went into it. It is the same with music.
There was a young girl called Ricky, who was tone deaf. In other words, she sang flat and couldn’t sing even the simplest tune correctly. Her father was a good amateur musician and knew that music could be taught. He proceeded to teach her pitch. Within five years, Ricky carried off the lead part in a musical production. She did a magnificent job and sang perfectly in tune in front of a packed house. She is living proof to that music can be taught.
It’s not always the quickest, smartest, or brightest that succeed with music. Often, it’s the plodders who just never give up.
Now, many of you will have a high level of achievement in some field or other. Perhaps you are great at sports or have achieved academically or in swimming or ballet. The principles are the same for achieving in music. No great endeavors ever accomplished without consistent hard work over a long period of time. If you apply the principles of training to music, you will start to succeed with music.
About now, some of you will be protesting and full of disbelief and doubts about what I am saying. Can I ask you to keep reading and just for a moment, cast aside cynicism and preconceived ideas. Hundreds of teachers over decades can attest to this. It’s not always the quickest, smartest, or brightest that succeed with music. Often, it’s the plodders who just never give up. Experienced teachers see this over and over again.
*This is Part 3 of a series of articles about how to succeed in music