singemonkey wrote
But the raw skill... This word talent has no useful meaning. Any normal person can get to the point of being able to play just about anything convincingly with enough time spent. Whether they play things that others want to hear is another matter - hence the Guthrie Goven vs. Green Day example.
Must say I don't agree (I think we've not agreed on this before).
There's no doubt that many long years of focus and training are needed to reach the highest levels of ability. People don't just pick up a violin for the first time and play like Paganinni, no arguments there.
However, there are a number of factors that spill over into how
quickly a student masters new skills and concepts, as well as how
far their abilities can develop. It's that mix of factors that are collectively referred to as "talent."
You can't nail it all down to a "guitar gene": that would be an oversimplification. Rather, there is a "combination" of things, from naturally long, deft fingers to an innate ability to work with things like pitch and timing (which Keira mentioned) which you either have or you don't.
Sure, any old person, regardless of their basic abilities, can probably be taught to play passably enough, in the same way that almost anyone can run the Comrade's marathon, given sufficient training and proper preparation. However, only a very select few have the basic ingredients to develop into a Guthrie Govan, in the same manner that no amount of training would turn an average marathon runner into someone who can sub 2:15. Yes, years of work and development is required, but the basic ingredients must also be there if you plan on being truly great.
It is possibly a little misleading to pass off a guitar virtuoso's abilities as being attributable only to talent, and maybe as musicians we're inclined to do that because our own abilities fall short and we need some way of justifying why they're up there and we're down here. That sort of thinking ignores the fact that, regardless of which great musician is your favourite, all of them devoted thousands of hours of practice to develop their underlying talents into their amazing ability.
