Practice, Not Genius

Here is just another article about the fact that the latest research shows that it is practice, not genius, that brings out the virtuosos in anything.  The author particularly discusses Mozart as a young child. It turns out he wasn't that impressive--his early "genius" works were quite boring and were just different combinations of pieces from other musicians' works.  The only thing that made Mozart stand out was that he 1) got his 10,000 hours in early, and 2) he had a father that guided him from a very young age, like Tiger Woods and Andre Agassi. (Research has shown that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at anything.)

This brings us back to the point that deliberate, continuous (and many times boring) practice is the way to reach your goals, whether with the piano or any other activity.  I often have students or parents of students that doubt they will ever become really good because they are not geniuses like the greats. Well of course they will never become really good if they shoot themselves in the foot and avoid practice! 

I KNOW practicing is hard and boring.  I go through this battle every day myself, I am no different from my students.  And somedays I lose this battle and end up drinking wine and watching Lifetime movies, having rationalized that I am too drained from the day, or it will bother the neighbors, or I'm too hungry, etc... But on the days that I win the battle and actually sit through my practice session, however boring or unsuccessful it was, I know that I am chipping away toward my goals and feel exhilerated. Sometimes I just force myself to sit at the piano and stare at a sheet of music for 30 minutes even if I don't have the inclination to actually touch the keys with my fingers.  It's really about the concentration, focus and deliberate participation in the activity you are dying to be an expert at. 

You can read the article here:

"Genius: The Modern View"  by David Brooks, an Op-Ed Columnist at the NY Times