[Harp-L] bored with the blues

[jim.alciere@xxxxxxxxx]

No offense to anyone, but I think what people call talent is actually an
inate ability to practice without getting bored.

Paul Butterfield's brother, Peter writes, "He listened to records, and he
went places, but he also spent an awful lot of time, by himself, playing.
He'd play outdoors. There's a place called The Point in Hyde Park, a
promontory of land that sticks out into Lake Michigan, and I can remember
him out there for hours playing. He was just playing all the time ... It
was a very solitary effort. It was all internal, like he had a particular
sound he wanted to get and he just worked to get it. "

Jerry Garcia said he practiced four hours a day.

People who knew Jimi Hendrix said he was playing guitar the whole time he
was awake.

Duane Allman said he learned slide by practicing all night every night for
three years.

Charlie Parker practiced 10-12 hours every day.

Now, most of us won't reach the level of Hendrix or Mozart, even if we have
an intense practice schedule. But even if I was positive that I could reach
that level of musicianship by practicing for six hours a day, I was not
born with that kind of drive. I get bored when I practice. I have a great
desire to be a musician, but I don't have the requisite ability to practice.
-- 
 Jim
âmyâ
 "My witness is the empty sky." Kerouac