On The Gifted and Talent

[toasty]

How can one tell when a person is Gifted? Does it count if they have several years studying or do they have to be self taugh? Would you say a person is a Genius if they repeat what you play right away with no training?

If a 4 year old plays better than an expert would you say the child is gifted?

[Stephen Fine]

Uhh... what's an expert. But a simpler answer to your question would be "yes" If a 4 year old can play better than say... me, he's certainly gifted. Normally gifted isn't used as a term... more often "child prodigy" I'm not sure what the exact definition is, but the one I met had already played 3 Mozart Concerti by the age of 7 and had just finished composing his first quartet.

[Lydia Leong]

The people who are most obsessed with labels like "gifted" and "talented" are often the ones least likely to be truly gifted or talented.

People who have a gift/talent for something have a natural knack for it. It could be playing the violin. It could be quilting. Such a knack may be immediately revealed upon the person taking up whatever it is that the knack covers, or it may only become apparent with training.

True genius is another category entirely, I think. You know it when you see it. Heifetz. Menuhin. Bobby Fischer. Etc.

[toasty]

Re: Expert

Thankyou Lymond, yes I had in mind advanced

bowings, odd timings that sort of thing. I O W when the student can pick out the essence

of what they hear. The Motzart concerti, amazing that a child could remember that much music, I wonder what became of this young musician afterward?

Re: True Genius

I do agree when the truth is there it is

irresistable. Obsessed is relevant here and

I suspect, in my golden years, it has new

devotees in these times; nontheless if one

is teaching it pays to be aware of that issue

since a bad tempered student, dare I say

showoff?, can be hard to teach but in the end

they oftimes make the best artists of all.

This is a thorny subject, I once had an 8 year old who went from one instrument ro another in 6 months, and could play very well. In the end I advised the Parents to send him to a good Classical instructor that he might get the best guidance available. Children of this kind do need special care.

[HuangKaiVun]

EVERYBODY in his own way is "gifted" and has "talent".

It's just a matter of in what field, and to what extent.

Natural ability comes first. Everything else is secondary.

Otherwise, I'd be in the NBA trying to dunk on Shaq and Kobe every night.

[Peter]

As regards playing a musical instrument I think there are different kinds and levels of giftedness. For example, some people are gifted with rhythm in their bodies, others are gifted composers, others in the kind of style the produce..eg Jazz , Irish,Gypsy etc. In my case what came naturally to me was picking up the violin at the age of 13 for the first time and playing it naturally..no teacher. Then vibrato came very naturally..again no teacher. But am I execptionally talented? NO..I had to work hard to develop my technique.I apparently had a gift just to play well but had to develop and am still developing.