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| Is this the face of talent...? Chances are - no. |
I myself, without wanting to sound too egotistical, possess a talent: being able to play the piano. This is something that I like to think I can do more proficiently than most everyday people (i.e. those everyday people that haven't been having piano lessons for 7 years...). I haven't been "lucky" in the sense that I was born with this talent. I have never considered myself prodigious in any way. I didn't sit at a piano one day and start pumping out concerto's like the great composers of Western history. I had to ask for piano lessons... and that was only the first step. To say that I put effort into my practice of music is an understatement. I would stray from the guidance of my teacher, and teach myself a few pages ahead every week, pursuing my own set goals. It even got to the point when I would stop following instruction altogether, and manage to blag my way through my lessons week after week, based on my sight-reading skills alone. My progress was relatively fast, and (again) without wanting to sound egotistical, was told on a number of occasions how impressive my abilities were.
But I digress... It is my belief that I achieved none of this through talent. It was a combination of my own determination and hard work (and a certain amount of "blagging" apparently...)
People aren't born with gifts these days. It doesn't happen. I don't believe either that it has anything to do with genetics. For example, my grandmother plays piano, but my father does not. Does this mean that the "musical gene" skipped a generation? Or simply that my father didn't have the same opportunities to learn an instrument as my grandmother...? I know which is more likely.
Talent is something that you have to work for - to strive for. I have no doubt in my mind that there is not one single person who - providing they have all their fingers intact - given the opportunity, would make an excellent pianist.
Moving on, the talents that other people possess (and appropriately, ones I lack) are a great source of envy to me. My two best friends, both accomplished artists, find the fact that I can barely even hold a pencil correctly a great source of amusement, not to mention the fact that my artistic skills are SHOCKING. It's at this point that I tend to forget my talents in music. I barely recognize the skills I already have and can only see the ones I lack.
Does this make me any less of a musician? To know that I can't put pencil to paper and create beautiful artworks, or that I can't juggle more than two things at once... or even that I can't do press-ups with one finger?! (OK, I'll be honest - I wouldn't want that talent... it grosses me out...)
What I'm trying to say is, don't downplay your talents. If it's something you're specifically proficient in, then embrace it and make the most of it. Because not everyone will have the same opportunities as you.
And that's my thought for the day... :D
