[Harp-L] Rostropovich and practice

["Vern Smith" <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

When my son was about 15 and was taking guitar lessons, I had owned a guitar
and had played it since I was 15.  I thought that I should have some sort of
musical advantage.  I would practice a piece for maybe 4 or 5 hours to learn
to play it tolerably well.  Then I would hand him the sheet music.  After
about an hour's practice, he could play it better than I could!

Subsequently, I have taken more lessons and have put in many more hours of
practice than he has.  He can still play rings around me.

My point is that there is such a thing as innate musical talent.  An hour's
practice for a talented person is worth ten or a hundred hours for someone
like me.  Both practice and talent are required to become a good musician
but individual differences can vastly alter the proportions!

Vern

Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com