Musical Talent; natural and crafted.

[Royality]

It is widely believed that the ability of a musician can be greatly influenced by whether or not they are a natural player but how much does this accentuate someones ability? Furthermore does 'natural' ability even mean that much compared to time spent playing an instrument or perhaps the intensity of someones interest in an instrument or music?

What instruments do you guys all play and how long did it take for you to get reasonably good with them? Would you consider yourself a natural?

If you play two or more instruments which was the hardest to learn?

What do you think the best instrument is for creating music in terms of ease, quality of sound (is it nice?) and versatility of sound?

I want to learn 2 or more instruments so I can make my own music, whether or not this music is good or not is irrelevant (it will be crap ) and want an insight into how hard this will be but also which instruments would be best to learn.

Also does playing the drums require musical ability?

Discuss people.

 

[William]

It is widely believed that the ability of a musician can be greatly influenced by whether or not they are a natural player but how much does this accentuate someones ability? Furthermore does 'natural' ability even mean that much compared to time spent playing an instrument or perhaps the intensity of someones interest in an instrument or music?

Throughout history there have been instances of prodigies, the possibility of you being one is very small and it seems some are just born to do what they do. There are those with natural talent above the average person. But whatever way you do need to learn and practice, common consensus is that it takes on average about 10 years to become very good at what you are doing if that be playing the piano or playing football.

What instruments do you guys all play and how long did it take for you to get reasonably good with them? Would you consider yourself a natural?

Personally I play The drums, the piano, the guitar; I am pretty awful at all of them, drums and guitar being the best out of the lot. I would never consider myself a natural I have had to work to get where I am.

If you play two or more instruments which was the hardest to learn?

This is always a hard one to answer they are all a pain in the arse in their different ways, I found with all of them, once you got over the initial hurdles of the instument such as co-ordination but also freedom of movement about the instrument things get easier and you progress. You hit walls from time to time as well which is annoying. Out of the lot I would say the drums were hardest to learn. But since you mentioned the drums I will say that they are great to play.

What do you think the best instrument is for creating music in terms of ease, quality of sound (is it nice?) and versatility of sound?

Probably the piano, it is the thing I learnt first and I think it is brilliant in the emotion you can get across as well as how well it teaches you to learn music. The quality of sound is down to

1) The listener - do they like that sound it is just like any music afterall
2) The player, obviously if they are crap then it isn't going to sound great.
3) The quality of the instrument, I think most people would agree a budget piano would sound very nasty compared to a Bechstein for instance.

Versatility is an interesting one, I would say all instruments are limitless because you can use them in whatever you wan't, it just so happens that certain instruments get used more than others because they may be better suited to a multiple of styles.

I want to learn 2 or more instruments so I can make my own music, whether or not this music is good or not is irrelevant (it will be crap ) and want an insight into how hard this will be but also which instruments would be best to learn.

Well it depends on the person, you may find it easy, you may find it very hard. It could be that you find each instrument feeds off the other. As to best to learn the only advice I think anyone can fairly give is that you learn what you want to play and can see being used in your music, you have an idea of what it sounds vaguely like I am sure.

Also does playing the drums require musical ability?

Certainly, although some fools might try and quantify that compared to the amount of ability required to play other instruments like the Cello or somthing. But you can't really compare imho.

 

[Andelusion]

I'd suggest learning keys to be honest. There's a million and one things you can do with a decent keyboard today and sounds are getting even more convincing (although it'll be a while yet before they'll be impossible to recognise as keyboard sounds).

I play guitar and keys although I've only been playing the latter about 4 months, i'm teaching myself and doing alright, I think once you've learnt any instrumental to a relatively sufficient level you can pick up others much easier than a beginner might do, I think this can be partly due to either a knowledge of theory (e.g if you're a guitar player trying out keys like I am then you'll find once you've learnt where the notes are on the keys you'll be able to eventually figure out most chords) and also by having a bit of musical ability in terms of rhythm, relative pitch (phrases, melodies, not just playing random notes).

You need a hell of a lot of musical ability to be able to play drums. Even though they do not (always) work with a lot of pitch (notes basically) if you're a drummer you have to be proficient in other areas such as being familiar with playing rhythms in a variety of genres, whereas a musician of a similar level on a different instrument may only be familiar with playing in a certain genre, and also may not have as much improvisational skills as a drummer, which is an important part of drumming.

If you want to get into instruments in terms of composing and making your own music, personally I think learning piano/keyboard to a reasonable standard will really help, as you'll be reading music from the go (no nasty guitar tab ) and will be getting to grips with chords and harmony relatively early on.

EDIT:

In terms of 'best' sounding instrument I'd have to say guitar, in my opinion it's the greatest instrument for expression articulation and phrasing (similar to other stringed instruments), but in terms of sounding pleasant in a variety of genres then a keyboard can pretty much cover all ground, although chosing that may be regarded as cheating!

My 2p

 

[RetiredGreyFox]

In every musician there has to be a natural and a willingness to learn. Look round a pub or club and watch those tapping their hands or feet and see who has got timing and who hasn't. It is possible to teach timing but it will never be natural. A bloke told me this afternoon that he knows around 7 chords round the bottom end but he can't get any further - who's fault is that?

I play alll the major instruments including guitars, bass, drums, keyboards but vocals are my main instrument. I started on drums and guitar when I was 10 so I've been playing for 38 years however most guys on here would be much better than me. I've had a natural ability to get by so no matter what act I've been in I've added something to the whole. Ask me to play complicated stuff and I'd lose but ask me to add something and I'd find it but in all cases my voice was the main instrument.

Guitar has got to be the hardest to learn.

If you're learning one instrument then go for keyboard. No tuning up and you will be playing a tune in minutes. Easy to learn, hard to master.

You need to learn keyboards and guitar to make your own music but above that you need talent for songwriting and talent for getting your ideas down to a PC or other recording device.

Drums require a natural timing (see paragraph one).
Over 36 years of playing semi pro/pro I've come across some really good drummers who haven't got timing and they've had to go.

 

[Nitefly]

I've been playing guitar for around 6 years and I'm still carp, so I guess it takes awhile to become 'natural'. Ten years or so I rekon

 

[Dave]

Also does playing the drums require musical ability?

Of course it does. As a drummer I don't need to know all about scales/keys etc but if I cannot play with the music and use my musical ability to find the right groove or feel, the song will really loose out.

A great drummer is one that is very solid and dependable but not necessarily playing uber-fast fills every 4 bars. It's the kind of drummer that you don't really notice until they get replaced. Or Mike Portnoy, take your pick

I think the drums are fairly easy to get a good grip into, but only a very few with natural ability come close to mastering it.

 

[Royality]

Of course it does. As a drummer I don't need to know all about scales/keys etc but if I cannot play with the music and use my musical ability to find the right groove or feel, the song will really loose out.

A great drummer is one that is very solid and dependable but not necessarily playing uber-fast fills every 4 bars. It's the kind of drummer that you don't really notice until they get replaced. Or Mike Portnoy, take your pick

I think the drums are fairly easy to get a good grip into, but only a very few with natural ability come close to mastering it.

I just wondered what the general consensus was on this as a mate of mine recently said how drums were easy compared to piano, I'm not saying they are but his certainty and slight ignorance made me slightly annoyed.

I was already dead set on learning the keyboard but I am definetely going to buy an acoutic guitar to learn that!

 

[elroberto]

I find the most naturally talented musicians are not necessarily the most technically proficient but the ones who have a more instinctive feeling for the music.

Me, I'm not naturally talented at my instrument of choice (Guitar) nor have I managed to truly craft my ability yet, but I know I don't want to just shred dull repetitive scales constantly. That's why I plump for Page over Satriani and Jack White over somebody like Malmsteen. To me, they are naturally more gifted as their music draws you in more and the imperfections actually improve rather than hinder their performances. Where would a song like 'Black Dog' be without that stutter in the middle of the riff.

 

[Andelusion]

but I know I don't want to just shred dull repetitive scales constantly. That's why I plump for Page over Satriani...

Oh dear... So misguided.

 

[The Bear]

As a drummer I don't need to know all about scales/keys etc

Thats not quite true, although i can see your point.

It is widely believed that the ability of a musician can be greatly influenced by whether or not they are a natural player but how much does this accentuate someones ability? Furthermore does 'natural' ability even mean that much compared to time spent playing an instrument or perhaps the intensity of someones interest in an instrument or music?

I play the saxophone, ive been playing now for 12 years now, i would call myself a natural player, my main field of music being jazz. Saying that i know that i could put in a lot more practise and get better. I guess what im trying to say is; having a natural ability certainly helps you. But if you dont put in the practise your not going to get any better. I would also go on to say that having a natural ability certainly helps you to grasp things much quicker. For example learning a chord sequence quickly without going mad or maybe being able to play endless bebop lines while playing at the speed of 220 Bpm

What instruments do you guys all play and how long did it take for you to get reasonably good with them?

As i said before i play the sax, and really it took me about 5 years while doing my grades to get up to a decent standard, but really that was for doing my grades. I have been quite blessed with having a great tone on the sax, so fortunetly that is an aspect i dont have to work on. I also started gigging when i was about 14 years old (im 23 in a week) with my dad and my brother mostly playing Working mens clubs in and around the midlands. i would go on stage and widdle for a little really not knowing what i was doing, put having a good tone and being young helped me out a fair bit.

It wasnt until i was 19 and starting my jazz degree that i actually got a kick in the teeth. I was massivly un-prepared for what to expect and the learning curve was and still is very steep. However having a wealth of gigging experience got me through some hard times. Now im coming towards then end of my degree and looking forward to actually making some money playing and teaching and doing whatever i can. But i still know that my musical career and my personal life are always going involve learning new things. I dont think you can ever stop learning in the field of music, and for that reason i love it!

What do you think the best instrument is for creating music in terms of ease, quality of sound (is it nice?) and versatility of sound?

This is an intresting question, really any instrument can sound beautiful, but again that depends on how much work the musician has put in. Sadly there is no easy route when learning an instrument, from the start its going to sound fairly rubbish, this is mostly true on reed, brass or string instruments like the violin. But be assured that we all have to go through this period, its a fact of life.

Learning to play the piano for example would be a good instrument to learn, mainly for the theory knowledge base you would aquire from it. For example learning what chords are and playing them, learning substitutions are a great asset to have. To do these things on a sax for example prove much harder, for the saxophone is a liner instrument, i cant look down and see what chord im playing, cause i cant play the chord! i can relate the scale to that chord but thats it.

 

[TommoUK]

Oh dear... So misguided.

I think Satriani writes some brilliant songs which have got great melodies, but I could never say the same for Malmsteen - despite his great skill I am not a fan of his music.

That said, I keep meaning to learn some scales if only to improve my technique.. right now I have very minimal theory knowledge.

 

[Andelusion]

Meh it jus annoys me when people maybe listen to a group of Satriani songs and go 'OMG HE'S JUS TPLAYING RANDOM NOTES LOLOL' they obviously have no idea about the range of techniques and arrangements he puts into his lead playing. I'm not a fanboy as I don't even listen to him anymore!

Grr.