News  :  July 2002

Why are some people musically inclined and others not? To some, musical talent just seems to come natural. They can pick up an instrument and learn how to play it proficiently within a few months.

There’s a young blues guitarist named Johnny Lang who started playing at age 14. I saw him two years later at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. He was promoting his first CD and was the opening act for Aerosmith. He was amazing on the guitar and to think that he accomplished this in two years is phenomenal.

I don’t believe anyone can become great at what they do musically without a sufficient amount of practice. However, I believe that the amount of raw talent that someone has, determines the ratio of how much practice time you have to put in to get good.

Some people practice diligently and only after thousands of hours get good. Others can play an instrument their whole life and, although they do keep improving the more they practice, they never really master it.

Another thing that comes into play when learning an instrument is drive. Lots of people start playing an instrument and find out it’s not that easy. They may struggle with it for a while but eventually they get frustrated and give up. They don’t have a strong desire or drive to continue.

Most professional musicians will tell you that they had an insatiable desire to learn their instrument. They would practice 8-10 hours a day and when they weren’t playing they would be talking to people about it or listening to others play to learn more. I’m sure all professional musicians have been frustrated many times with their progress but they had the drive to stick with it and get to the next level of ability.

When I started playing drums at age 12 it just seemed natural to me. I went around the house banging on everything and had drumsticks in my hands a lot of the time. I had a strong desire to get better and I practiced quite a bit but it never seemed to be a struggle to me. Right from the start it was fun and I still immensely enjoy playing the drums.

I’ve been playing the harmonica for about 20 years and it hasn’t been easy to learn. I’ve been frustrated many times with that little instrument and although there’s still lots of room for improvement, I finally feel like I’ve reached a competent level of ability.

Two years ago the desire to learn the guitar hit me like a ton of bricks. I got a guitar and instantly I was playing little bits of my favorite songs (badly). The problem is I practice a lot and it’s been 2 years and I’m still playing little bits of my favorite songs (still badly). I have made some progress but it seems painfully slow. The guitar seems awkward and unnatural to me but still I have the desire to pick it up and keep trying every day.

I firmly believe that natural talent and the drive, or desire, to play an instrument is a gift from God. I also believe that a person with no natural ability can get good if they put in a tremendous amount of work and have the drive to stick with it.

Sometimes when a person gets discouraged they just need a little encouragement. I get that encouragement, in regards to continuing to play the guitar, from my family and especially my 8-year-old daughter, Emily. She asks me to play for her every night as she goes to sleep. She says I can play good and when I ask her what she wants me to play she says, “ I like all the songs you play, Daddy”.

By Jim Graham— Shop Supervisor

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Last modified: July 19, 2010