Is Talent A Myth? 

All I know is that my talent is a myth for sure!

I had an archery coach as a kid and his motto was, 'practice doesn't make perfect, GOOD practice makes perfect. No point in doing the wrong thing for 10 000 hours.

Thank you Rob Chapman for making these videos. I'm a Huge fan! I'm 16 years old and for the past 10 years i have been struggling with depression and have been very sad. Growing up with a single parent is not easy. Especially if you've been abused by your father. I started playing guitar almost a year ago and when i started playing i wanted to be just like Eric Clapton or Ed sheeran. I wanted to become a musician, but i felt like i was talentless and bad. Until i found your channel, you inspired me to be Better and practice, and have made me feel happy when i feel sad or depressed. For that I thank you so much. You have helped me out through the years on the toughest times in my life you have been here with your videos to help me. Thank you. You made me into a better person with your videos and now I'm playing guitar and drums and bass and I'm doing open mic nights and have been offered to go on tour with bands and be in bands to sing or play guitar! Thank you for inspiring me to keep up my effort as a musician and for helping me out. Thank you..... One of your. Old subscribers and big fans, Ian

My art teacher said to me when I left college with the highest make in the year. 'Pete you have no talent for art, but you make up for it by working 3 times as hard as anyone else.' I kept this in mind when I went on to get my degree in fine art. It still motivates me today whenever I try to learn anything new. One day if I work hard enough I will be a good guitar player.

If you went bald you would look like buz light year

You are born with potential or perhaps slightly less potential, perhaps slightly more. Hard work is 95% of it. Which is why I suck. Someday I'll suck less. Unless I have a stroke.

an old saying goes 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration. Hard work is what will make you good, talent, perhaps, will make you great. But, we are all unique, our heritage and circumstance, our motives and intention. Me? I practice a lot! :-))

Hard work beat talent, as long as the talent refuses to work hard.

I agree with you Chappers. Steve Vai has always said he was never naturally talented at guitar, but he felt because of his lack of a natural disposition that he had to work even harder to be great, he spent the extra time and effort and look at where he got. I think if anyone is a great role model in the sense of "talent", it's Vai.

I view talent as the ability to learn and pick up anything quickly. Sure, anyone can become a guitar hero with enough practice. Talented people can learn the techniques much quicker than others.

Thank you for making this video. I'm encouraged by your words to take control! I have always believed in one is in control over one's destiny but often forget. Thank you for the reminder.

Very interesting video & topic. I started playing guitar at an early age... around 8 or 9 - I'm 39 now, until next month :(. I had always wanted to play fingerstyle (Travis picking & James Taylor etc.). But couldn't get it down. I had tried and tried and then resigned myself to the belief that I could NOT do it. I figured there was something in my brain that would not allow me that necessary coordination with my right hand. I describe it like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy. Anyway, I set that idea aside because I simply believed "I can't do it". And that, in and of itself, was hard because I knew if I COULD do it, that would be mostly what I would play. It's what I wanted to play. About 2 years ago I started messing about with the idea again after getting a guitar with wider string spacing and 1 3/4 nut width. I was shown an exercise by this old guy that was shopping the same day I was at the local music store. I explained my situation and he said it was garbage. He told me to just stick with that exercise, do it right, try hard and don't give up. He told me that it's impossible that I can't do it. That really struck a big chord with me. To make this long story short, I kept at that exercise (which at first was boring & felt pointless) and then one night on my back patio it clicked. I'll never forget that exact moment. It's hard to describe, but it just came together and I wish I could explain the feeling. I had "gotten" it down! Obviously there was still some work to do, but I kept at it and it didn't take long until I sounded decent (I already had a foundation). This was like opening a whole new world!! I hit the pavement with everything I had always wanted to play, from Freight Train to Fire & Rain. I had WASTED nearly 30 years simply because I told myself "I can't do it". Now, I'm no James Taylor, Elizabeth Cotten or Merle Travis. But I'm me and it's brought a whole other level of happiness (for me). I imagine for some people this technique would come more easily & quickly, but everyone is different. It's truly amazing when you realize just how much you can hold yourself back with negative thoughts and how dangerous the word "can't" can be. Sorry for the long post... your video and message really hit home for me.

Being talented at something is through practise. Being naturally talented in something is a genetic gift which enhances your ability to out perform others. I believe there is a difference.

Nice topic Chappers ! Grew up listening to Sabbath and just started playing guitar @ 50 years of age and at 52 I can play most of the soundtrack to my youth. Started with practicing 5 hours a day every day. I got what I put into it... tried twice before with a right handed guitar and I got frustrated and quit....once I got my first lefty guitar no looking back...anything is possible !

Best and clearest explanation I have ever heard and very inspirational as well. Thanks!.

Your best post ever. I could not agree more. It's about focus, time and effort. Looking good Chappers. Congrads on shedding the locks! Your new look makes me want to listen more closely to what you have to say!

talent isn't a myth, how can a 5 years old play piano like a pro? don't tell me he spent thousands of hours practicing, Internet full of prodigy examples

Hard work beats potential if potential doesn't work hard!

Thanks Chappers, needed to hear this today. Been struggling with getting things done lately, not just guitar, and this has really helped :)

Truly inspirational, thanks for sharing this kind of material!!

I find the analogy of learning to drive a car has really helped me when I've felt I didn't have enough talent to do something. You get in the car for your first lesson and it feels like the most impossible thing in the world; all the coordination, all the judgements, looking out for other road users. It feels impossible! What's worse, it feels like that for weeks.....BUT if you work hard and keep going, then it starts to come together and before you know it it's second nature. I believe exactly the same is true for learning anything but the biggest difference between learning and instrument and learning to drive is this false idea of natural talent. No one gets in a car and thinks "maybe I shouldn't try to learn to drive because I don't have enough talent"... No they just accept that it takes time to learn. Exactly the same is true of music! Some people may learn faster than others but it's still always just a matter of time. Setting time aside to learn a skill. I couldn't even play a C chord for weeks when I first picked up a guitar, but now I don't give it a second thought! So whenever you're struggling with something, please keep going, give it time and it will happen!

i belive it... at 16 i thought it was too late to start learn music or instrument, at 18 decided to try singing, no sense for pitch wahtsoever, gave up on idea of music... at 20 working two fulltimes i thought i needed a hobby, got a guitar, got fired had time to play, year later i was full time session player, another year later full time mixing engineer with ability to play even most complicated stuff on keys, guitar, bass... year ago discovered that my vocal skatings were actually hiting notes, somewhat inspired by Robs development started developing my vocals on free time when nobody heard me and now im working on my first solo neo-soul ep... never had lesson on anything... all i know about playing a instument, recording, mixing.... all learned on youtube. getting better is all about just doing it, wanting to know everything... getting on pro level is all about doing it without any excuses about gear or time or talent or money... put the time in and figure it out.

I think it really all comes down to how motivated and dedicated you are. If you keep at it you can and will become better at it. Completely agree with you.

Tremendously inspirational video. As a 45 year old beginning guitarist/musician, this just reinforced what I already feel, I can and will do this. Cheers!

anyone can learn guitar and learn to sing but creating and performing your own songs that strikes the soul of others can only be achieved with a combination of dna, talent and life experiences

some people truly don't have the ear for music. some guys can play every scale with lighting speed and precision. ask them to write a song and you get nothing. practice and devotion can get you most of the way but some people are naturally born musicians.

I'm learning to play and frustrated with it so this was much needed soup for my soul. Thanks Chappers!

Thanks mate! I was worried but hearing what you have just said I know I can reach my goals. Picked up the guitar last year at 60 and I hope to be able to play some blues by the end of the year. Cheers!

Talent is real, it's just more rare than you'd think. I'm not naturally talented, but most people do call me talented simply because I've practiced for a long time. I have 2 friends, one guitarist and one drummer, that truly are talented in the sense that they learn incredibly quickly. This one guy had only played for about 3 years, and was better than I was after 7 years. :P In any case, I take offense when someone calls me talented, because it feels like they're dimishing the amount of work I've had to put into it.

If your naturally talented you don't have to work as hard as someone that don't have it. Yes anyone can get better and maybe even be good, but the greatest players are naturally talented.

Thanks Rob! Stuff like this keeps me motivated!

Great chat. For the MOST part I think it is something you develop. In my case, I'm passionate about the guitar but until the last few years, have not been able to practice as much as I would like because of various external forces working against me. Finally free of most of those now and at age 44 I'm trying to get back to learning all the scales and modes which just wasn't accessible to me until I moved to a big city and had Internet. The ones that seem born with it GENUINELY are the savants and we still don't know what's going on there exactly. Thanks for the vid!

I personally think that anyone can pick up any instrument and learn it, become very good at it and be considered good at their instrument. However I do also think that what makes the difference between somebody who plays an instrument and an artist, is how creatively you can think and I think that is something you are born with. It's easy (if you have the time) to sit down, learn and practice different scales, chords etc for hours on end, but to use them creatively to create a work of art is a different thing all together and I don't think everyone has that ability to think outside of the box that way.

3:05 Supportative. put that in the chappers dictionary next to shaffordable

I will watch this vid every morning as I weak up. Inspiring. Thank you

Love this video. One of my favourites now and must watch this regularly. 10.000 hours hey?! If I start now, I should be in a band in 4 years.

I would say talent is a genuine thing but practice always beats it.

It's ridiculous to say that someone can be as good as Hendrix by putting in the same amount of hours playing-the guy was a genius

Rob is totally right. I just got a guitar and I watched one of his lessons and I couldn't seem to do the exercise at all and it was extremely frustrating. However, after watching this video and giving it another go with a positive mindset I was able to do the exercise in just a matter of a few tries. Thanks Rob!

Well said, sir. It is truly up to you to make whatever your dream is happen.

Yes no one is born with the talent of guitar playing, but some people are naturally more dexterous than others, and some also have the gift of better memory and both these thing amongst others will impact on how quickly you take to the guitar. Two people putting in the same dedicated practice for the same hours, will not necessarily progress at the same rate.

Good words Rob, Good word.

Really awesome video! Super insightful. Cheers!

Absolutely fantastic positive and uplifting. THANK YOU CHAPPERS!!!

there is definitely a natural talent that some people are born with. Whether it is interest or the ability to learn and adjust very quickly. some definitely get better faster than others. but I do believe anyone can get good at an instrument, just got to practice!

I think some people learn some things quicker and with less effort than others and when it comes to creativity there is a certain hardwired component involved since it is directly linked to ones personality.

I'm in my second month of learning guitar, thanks, enjoyed the positive influence.

Really good advice... for guitar, and life. Bravo Rob!

talent is your devotion to your instrument

Hard work is often misunderstood for talent

Very excellent, articulate and well spoken Rob, thank you! Even talented people (no matter where the talent lies) have to put in the time, effort and energy to hone that skill. Everyone has some talent in something, and talent is really just a skill in that something. In my very humble opinion.

You are an inspirational genious im glad i have stayed subbed to you for years now your channel makes me laugh and teaches us things :)

I agree that lots of practice and passion will generally will make you better at your chosen skill and also,as you pointed out,your environment and gene pool has a huge impact on your skills but there are also some lucky people who (with lots of practice,too) are born to make great music.Joe Bonamassa was a child prodigy,playing onstage with the likes of BB King at the age of 10 and Beth Hart was playing Moonlight Sonata at the age of 4 having heard it just once.A guy that you personally know,Nelly the street busker,has said that a friend of his was a natural guitarist whereas Nelly had to practice and practice to get anywhere near his friends skill level...So I think that for most people the only way to become a skilled guitarist is to put in lots of practice and for a lucky few,most of the talent is already there but even they still have to practice to keep and enhance their skills....

But man does progress feel slow!

This video along with the one I just watched by Rabea turned out to be a really good one-two pep talk this morning. When I was a teenager, I read stories of many musicians who started early in their development. And usually, one or both of their parents had a musical background. As far as I know, nobody on either side of my family ever played an instrument of any kind. I think it makes a difference. I put in a lot of time and achieved modest results, and then I stopped due to some unexpected detours that come in life. It was only when I listened to the things that I had recorded during those times that I realized that I played because I love making music. Of course, I would love to be a wizard of the fretboard and I will spend the rest of my life toward being more accomplished. But I must remember that my ability is secondary to my passion and my passion is making music. Thanks for the insights!

this seriously inspired me to proceed learning and building my skills. I've hit a wall where I was just dead with guitar. not getting worse not getting better and just discouraged. but you've changed that. :) gotta go pick up my axe. thank you so much +Rob Chapman!!

technical ability and creative talent are two separate things in my book; i've had friends that could melt faces with their ability to shred yet couldn't put an interesting song together to save their life. one is much easier to develop by investing time and effort than the other.

no talent isn't entirely a myth, but too many people think that it is massively important, mainly I think as an excuse to not put in the work. I have known people though that certain skills, such as playing an instrument does come easier than it does for others.

Nice pep talk. As I've gotten toward more focused learning instead of noodling and playing the same tunes I've always played there has been a dramatic increase in my skills. The 10000 hours seems daunting but with each focused hour or half hour of playing and setting goals that time is easily attainable. Thanks chappers!

great video, totally agree and inspiring to be reminded

In Modern Drummer magazine, there was an interview with Jason Bonham. The interviewer commented that it must have been cool to be growing up in a house, watching and hearing John Bonham rehearse. Jason replied, saying that his father never practiced or rehearsed. I think that people like this do exist, such as Blind Tom, the last legal American slave. The guy was an insane genius who could play a piano, doing one song on the left hand, a different song on the right hand, and then singing a third different song. Freaks of nature, such as this, are very, very rare. The rest of us have to practice.

I've had this conversation with many people before, and it seems that people who tend to have no talent have a belief system that talent is mostly genetic, whereas the ones who tend to be more talented tend to have a belief system that it's mostly practice. I see a correlation.

I genuinely see your point and I am inspired to stop playing and focus practicing. I think this is definitely a skill that is developed fueled by interest and passionately learning.

Rob, I like these motivational, spiritual videos - deep man!

The interesting thing I find here that doesn't get mentioned a lot is he seems to be focusing entirely on technical ability, but that's not where I would say talent really comes into it. Yes, some people certainly have a kind of base stat where they find it easier to pick up an instrument than others, or their brain is just more suited to learning that type of skill, and that definitely gives them a leg up in the first instance. I also agree that perspiration beats inspiration when it comes to playing ability. But what's being neglected here, and ironically displayed by the little idents of playing very fast but utterly predictable lead licks, is that talented musicians aren't always the most technically gifted. Where talent comes into it the most is in songwriting, composition, performance - the more abstract parts of presenting your art to the world and communicating with others through it. That's not something you can generally teach - it is something you may practice but a lot of it is how to do with how you as a person percieve things or how you express yourself. I've heard some amazingly technically gifted guitarists bore me to tears (Joe Satriani just bored the shit out of me), then other guys like Kurt Cobain weren't exactly amazing players but some of the riffs just kicked me straight in the nuts the second I heard them. Hendrix may have spent ages practicing his finger technique, but did he practice burning guitars onstage? Did he practice his howling feedback? A lot of these things occur to artists in the moment. Interestingly I often find the more "academic" guitarists, those who are solely reliant on practice and rote learning of scales or riffs, actually limit themselves by not being as open to experimentation, or being unable to just let a few notes do the work of a few hundred. So that is where I believe talent resides.

A Hotrod Norsman would be AWESOME!!!

Thank U Rob for the Motivation!!!

i started at 51...i m 53 and i have a every day fun to learn basics, licks, riffs,songs and whatever i need to be a blues star ahahahah it s never too late...grrrrrreetings chap...always nice to hear your advices and opinions ....grrrreeting to the captain as well

Luck is spelled w-o-r-k. Talent isnt a birth right, it is focus, hard work, and discipline. It's up to you to make a nest for music to be born in. Ive seen some real shredders in my time but almost all of them couldnt write a complete song on their own and were more interested in copying other people rather then write a song.

Of course talent is real. Some people are just naturally better at things than others. Not just music, but some people are gifted in language, mathematics, science, writing, etc. The idea that we're all born equally capable of doing everything is absurd. It all comes down to aptitudes. How quickly you learn. Some people will learn an instrument (or anything) at faster rates than others given equal time and effort naturally. That's not to say that with enough hard work and time someone with a lower aptitude can't learn to do it of course, but given equal time and effort they'll never catch up with others. I had a buddy growing up who was just more talents musically than me. By the end of high school though in all practical ways I was the more capable musician. While he was off learning BMX, drinking with friends, chasing skirts, I was at home practicing practicing practicing. My kids think I'm nuts when I tell them I used to practice sometimes 8 hours a day, but I did. Get home from school, turn on the TV, sit with a guitar on my lap and do scales, practice solos, picking patterns, chord progressions, experiment with things. I figured out how to play songs on the bus ride home because i was constantly thinking about music. My friend on the other hand spent all of his time doing other things, but was always either one step ahead of behind me. It was so frustrating to have to put in that much more effort than him, but that's just the way it was and I'm glad I put in that much time.

I will be watching you over the next few years to see if it works. Looking forward to hearing some great music in a few years.

Yeah great video Rob and really well articulated, I agree with you 100% and I think that the main problem for most of us are the mental and emotional barriers we place on ourselves. I only started playing guitar 4 years ago at the ripe old age of 46 and through much hard work and dedication I feel I have achieved the impossible but it is sooooooooo rewarding ;0)

Just my two cents. I've jammed with musicians that excel with minimal practice time because they just get it. I've also met people that put their time and heart into every lesson and every note and JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND how to applicate what they've learned or properly exercise what they were taught to become what they hear in their head. It could be bad teaching, or it could be lack of intellectual capacity in the musical realm. Chappers is right about a growth environment. But I think talent has more to it than just interest and practice. I think there are more chemical and scientific properties to this.

ROB! WHERE IS THE CHAPMAN V!!!????

I can't agree more. Thanks for this video!

Thank you Mr Chapman....I'm in my later 40's...I've only been playing for 9 months...I can count on one hand the days I DIDN'T practice for at least an hour...I look back at videos I made throughout my journey and I can comfortably say...you're 100% right..hard work wins over "gifted taken" every time..

@3:05 supportative ??

Everyone is born with a talent, some of us are lucky enough to find out what that talent is and then spend our lives honing that talent with hours upon hours of practise. I have played guitar for a few years and am ok at it, I certainly wouldn't describe myself as talented as I find it bloody hard work to keep my skills up and to improve. I would look at other areas like sport, in particular someone like Tiger Woods who could hit the golf ball better than most adults by the time he was 8. Is that just through sheer hard work and practice or is it just that he was born to play golf? I suspect in his case it was the latter. You only have to search RU-vid to see kids aged 10 or less playing Malmsteen runs that I can only dream of playing. Yes that 10 year old potentially has more time than me to practice but there's no way they've developed that skill through years of hard work, it is just a natural ablility/talent that I don't possess.

Great subject!!! I could write a book about this but.... I have to say passion and practice are the top 2 reasons for talent. I never really think about the stuff I can do but I always think about the stuff I CAN'T do. That's what drives me at least... Good job Rob

Very cool Rob ! Sharing Thats why most people can sabotage themselves , or really succeed .

I believe that true talent isn't reserved to one skill. True talent is the ability to learn quickly and improve quickly.

The idea of everything being preordained pisses me off. Blood, sweat and hard work. Carve your own path.

I am late to this video, but I would like to say that these were some pretty honest and motivating words. Thank you.

Great video! Right what you need to start the day!

The new version of Chappers has arrived.

I started out teaching myself. Then I realized that I didn't know anything, and that I'd never go to me for lessons at that stage. Overall, I feel that I'm a really good guitarist today, even thought I cannot play the "widdily-widdily-widdily" shredding. For that, it's a matter of WHAT should be practiced. Being unable to pick out the individual notes, over-thinking it, and looking for the melody get in the way. But I remember going to college as a Percussion Arts major, and working to fulfill the double bass requirement. I was in the rehearsal space with this HUGE double bass and a bow. Every single note was painful and sounded like shit. I had to work through that, and it paid off eventually. Being open to learning is key, and that's the message I got when I accidentally met Randy Rhoads in a music store bathroom. He was there to have a lesson, but I thought he was teaching. After he straightened me out, I said, "Why do YOU need lessons? You're Randy fucking Rhoads!!" He explained that he would set up lessons in advance while on tour. As he put it, "Taking a lesson helps me warm up for a show. But I also believe that there is something that you can learn from everyone." I'll never forget that. Now, back to trying to figure out widdily-widdily-widdily.

Really appreciate this video Chappers! I want to be an excellent guitarist and you've been a huge inspiration through your videos as were Metallica when I was younger, I've realised how important my goal of becoming an excellent guitarist is and now is the time to start dedicating myself to the art of the guitar. my 10,000 hours start now! ;)

Thanks for this Dude, I used to believe I was gifted my whole family fed into this idea I was musically talented. That is the way they see it. And I believed it. Thanks to social media and the pros, famous ones and Underground Instagram heroes alike, I realized I wasn't that good and ultimately I was going to need to practice hard to reach goals. I'm still not that good but have been working harder than ever. Changed the way I hold a pick just recently, which was like taking 10 steps back. Honestly I think some are more naturals than others but we are all responsible for how much we will achieve.

Also...if it's JUST a matter of time invested, why are there people who've been playing for a couple of years who are better than people who've been playing for decades? It's also a matter of HOW your time is invested. And then again, WHAT someone plays and how much merit it has is subjective.

It upsets me when musicians spend so much time, practice, and effort and people just assume you were born with it, a.k.a. a talent

That's a stellar paint job on that guitar!

I've dedicated the last 10 or so years developing primarily two instruments: the guitar and the tuba. Two worlds pretty far apart, and I really believe this video has said, with immense accuracy, just what it means to put effort into developing one's own abilities. I'm on my way out of university this Fall (degree in Music Ed), and one thing became apparent to me during my time there. No matter what instrument, and no matter the supposed amount of talent, it eventually boils down to whomever works the hardest at the thing. Those with talent and ease eventually fall by the wayside and are surprised when the late-bloomer overtakes them. I also really appreciated the fact that Rob distinguished focused practice from non-productive practice. Those 10,000 hours don't add up just because you're in that practice room. I don't know how many music majors I saw through those windows scrolling on phones instead of playing. If anyone happens to believe that they don't have what it takes, or anything to that extent, just know that even if it's easier for someone else, eventually their confidence may fail them. They won't practice because they don't feel the need to and that's their downfall. Hard work prevails in the long run.

Great singers are born with great voices. They need to practice in order to reach their full potential and maintain their voices. Most people have mediocre voices at best. Great singers are truly rare and I believe they are born with that gift. As far as all other instruments go, it's 95% hard work IMO.

I am not sure about this. For example, my wife just cannot believe what I can do with a guitar, but to me, I consider myself an average musician. Oh, I can play the notes and run the scales, but I find I lack the creative mind to really be considered good. My wife has that highly creative mind, but not the physical skills to play. But when she helps me write and create, I am God smacked by what she comes up with. So, who would be considered a better musician? The creator or the doer? If I could combine us together, It would be amazing. She was born with the creative mind, I had to practice like hell just to get average. Which is considered talented?

great vid rc! good on ya!

Thank you Rob. For me Music was such a weird "flags" were always there kinda thing... I always thought everyone appreciated and dissected the nuances of every bit like I did. As soon as I discovered that was a unique trait it all became clear. But, I will say the philosophy that has served me best is - you don't write music - you discover it. That humble bow to what influences us is what anyone with an antenna can tap into.

Talent is not a fucking myth: Almost anyone can EVENTUALLY overcome a lack of talent but to deny that it's just inherently easy for some to learn certain subjects it's to deny human nature. We can all learn skills but some individuals just don't require as many hours of practice otherwise everyone would effortless have perfect scores on all school subjects for example when we can clearly see everyone's brain works slightly differently and everyone has very innate areas of talent.

Quality of practice is equally important as time spent practicing. If you have 10k hours of playing Nickleback albums in their entirety, you probably won't be as good as someone who spent time learning skills, scales, improving timing and getting a wide musical influence base.

A great explanation, but more importantly who in their right mind 'thumbs down' this post......keep up the great work Rob!

Definitely agree. Some, as you say, can have a natural predisposition to music which can help, but it is the work which makes the difference. Some can attain the skills in far fewer hours than others, but it is the practice, interest, and dedication which builds a great musician.