Are Musicians Born Prodigies?

Ever wonder why an orchestra syncs up so well? How is a soloist able to perform the most difficult of solos? And how can Ariana Grande sing that whistle note?!

Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to be a master of something. Which roughly equals a year and a month or so. Like many of the posted articles out there, I also believe it to be a myth. Being a music student myself, it takes a lot more than a year to be “the” master. I just finished my first year in Music Technology last June, and let me tell you, I am far from becoming the next Mozart.

We musicians take time with our craft. 

Singers use their voice for hours trying to hit the exact note, orchestra players spend their time reading the same section of music over and over, and composers have to study the body and foundation of what makes music.

Music and art in general have a popular stereotype that compares talent and skill. Some people believe that you are born a prodigy. That you picked up a bow and decided the violin was your calling at the age of 7. But what the audience sees on stage is only a fragment of a musician’s work. Often under the spotlight, you must be deemed perfect and flawless. No mistakes, no hiccups. But being “perfect” really means calluses on your fingers, hand cramps, sore throats, and sleepless nights. Behind that gig are after-school practices. Behind that concert are months of rehearsal and dedication. Behind that recital is weeks' worth of sound construction and perfecting. We are not born to perform. We breathe, we sleep, some of us like tacos and some burritos, but we are human, just like you. 

But musicians frequently have impostor syndrome. That fear of where you doubt your own accomplishments, when you feel smaller compared to those who have flown out to foreign countries to perform, or the expectation to be “perfect” in every rehearsal. These reasons often lead to burnout. Chasing after the word better every hour of the day. I ask you, you who has spent so much time thinking about whether or not music is for you. I ask… Who do you do it for?

Are you doing it for those stoic prodigy professors? Are you doing it for the applause and cheers? Are you doing it to be noticed by big companies in hopes you’ll be scouted?

Well, I’m sure you’d have an answer, but when was the last time you did it for yourself? No wait! Don’t scroll just yet! I’m being serious here. When have you actually stopped and given yourself the time to just be engulfed by music? No practice songs, no rehearsal pieces. Just you and your favorite pieces of music. That feeling of ethereality embracing you. 

I believe that musicians are not born with talent 

But they are born through inspiration. 

When was the last time you went to see a concert? I see you, KPOP fans! When you see your favorite idol take the stage as they take you in with their voice, you sing along wholeheartedly, right? That feeling of being connected with every other person in the audience, collectively singing one song. That is the feeling we musicians have started with and have cultivated over the years. Through your favorite music, you feel in the zone and lifted up into a world of light and song. Be it Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” that wakes your body up to dance, or KPOP Demon Hunter’s Saja Boys’ “Soda Pop” that you can’t get out of your head (or it could be Jinu you can’t stop thinking about. No judgment!). It is for music like this that inspires musicians to keep going, and what we students strive for now that we are taking music up at university.

That same feeling drives us musicians to keep going. I hope everyone finds their whys and hows eventually, but take your time! Greatness comes later; enjoy the experience while you can. Keep that spark aflame!