prodj101 Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 so? is it passed down? I mean would miles davis be more likely to father a musical genius than george bush? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 all the research that i have read indicates that musical ability is a genetic trait.... the physical aspects of musicianship...fingering, etc. are a learned behavior but the ability to hear pitch accurately is a genetic trait.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 Oh hell yeah! Leopold fathered Wolfgang Amadeus, Johann Ambrosius fathered J.S. Bach, and J.S. fathered C.P.E, Johann Christoph, Wilhelm Friedemann, and P.D.Q. (ha)! I got my artistic (and very little musical) talents from my old man, so yep...I'd say it's in the genes. Hell, I even got my Cornwalls from dear ol' dad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 I think the most important factor is dedication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted July 27, 2003 Author Share Posted July 27, 2003 argh, it's just that me and my mom got in a big arguement over it tonight. I suppose I just took it the wrong way. it just seemed the way she was saying it was that it all came from her and my 5 years of work meant nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 musical talent....like many other things is worthless unless you put in the time and effort to develop the physical skills to make it work... so..you are right... your time and effort are worth something... and your mom is right too.... the basic talent came from your parents.... (or grandparents, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 To preface my remarks, I'm a pianist/guitarist/singer with a degree in music performance. I think musical aptitude is inherited, but aptitude is only that, and if not acted upon, will result in nothing. Bach's father was a very competent musician, as was Mozart's father (to name just a couple of famous musicians). There are many more such examples. And then there's the Del McCory Band... woo hoo! .... Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Loudon Wainwright III and his son Rufus Nat King Cole and Natale Cole Elvis and Lisa Marie and those are just the famous ones. My father's family has nary a musician of any ability among them. My mother is a gifted pianist and singer. Until recently I never knew my mother's extended family (a long story involving my maternal grandmother being pissed off with her immediate family and vowing never to speak with them a LONG LONG time ago, before I was born), but while attending a family reunion I discovered among my cousins, great aunts and uncles, etc etc... 3 organists/choral directors, 2 composers, 4 bluegrass pickers, several more piano players, nearly everyone sang and could read music. In fact, I found out that they all liked to get together and play and sing for fun. My great great grandfather on my mother's side was a scottish fiddle player. did it start there? It was like finding my 'real' family. However, talent without practice will always result in a mediocrity. You can have it 'in' you, but if you don't let it out, it is the same as not having it at all. Exposure is also a factor. I think I like the styles of music I do because I was exposed to them first by my mother and later by my peers. In the same vein I believe appreciation for music is also due to exposure. So is appreciation for good music reproduction. Of course, nothing beats live, so all of the hi-fi quests are an attempt to place the musician right in your living room (or whatever your listening space is). I think some folks sit in a theater and don't give the sound a second thought, and many of them are content to blast car radios to the point of distortion and not notice the trash that assaults their ears. I sit there and hear phase shifting, lions roaring deep in the mix, echo, etc. I notice how music builds a scene, sets a mood, quotes a well known piece of music. When I play at church I can hear the slightest hum in the sound system and don't rest until it is gone. These forums are visited by folks who have an appreciation for sound, and that is musicianship in its own right. Whenever I've played in situation where I've had to hire an external sound man (for most gigs I was the sound man as well as the keyboard player) I always made sure to audition him/her because they could help us or hurt us. If the sound sucked, then there was no way we would sound decent. It was always *THAT* important. And, of course, the best sound systems always had smooth horns. While I don't know anything about Miles Davis' progeny, if any, I've heard plenty about Jenna and Barbara, W's spawn. Musicianship, in the volumes I've read about the first family and their many adventures, has never been mentioned. my $.02, Forrest ---------------- On 7/27/2003 10:30:54 PM prodj101 wrote: so? is it passed down? I mean would miles davis be more likely to father a musical genius than george bush? ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike82 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I also vote for the you're-born-with-it folks. I've loved music since I've been a little kid and audio since about 13-14 yo (I'm 48 now). I played in school band since 5th grade. I think I have a good ear. Like Woo, I can hear hum, problems, etc. BUT I don't have $#!t for talent when it comes to playing instruments. I took lessons, practiced my *** off, etc., but I was only ever "pretty-good". I could never break through that wall where I could really play. As Russ said, the research is showing that musician's brains are "wired" differently than us common-folk. And yes, talent without development, practice, etc., results in mediocrity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin_tx_16 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 My dad was a par Saxaphone player (played every variety I believe), my mother was a first chair clarinet player, my brother was a par saxaphone (baritone and tenor) player and I was a first trumpet/cornet player, as was my Aunt. I think you inherit some of the traits. Say you get larger than normal lungs because your family is from the french alps where they adapted themselves to the low oxygen content in the air. Things like that ya know. At the same time, music is math with rhythem. You don't just put a mouth peice to your mouth or a keyboard to your hands and you know what to do. You either listen and can play (i can play by ear) or you read notes which you have to learn and learn to predict (i can do that too, but not so well on the piano of all instruments...) It's a little bit of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Hard to say - My wife and I both are ridiculously bad artists - great listeners. Our daughter seemed to have no problems from the start and is a decent clarinetist, flutist and piano player with limited professional training. The gene had to have been so recessive in us that it will only be discovered in the full genome mapping of the individual... I am sending her to college in a couple of weeks - we will miss the piano filling the house with sound - I am sure her dorm will enjoy the keyboard she is taking with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike82 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Henry: You sure she's your daughter? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen328 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I believe you are born with the potential. I also believe that post which are too long take to much time to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen328 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I believe you are born with the potential. I also believe that post which are too long take to much time to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen328 Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 Especially when you double post (oops) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted July 28, 2003 Share Posted July 28, 2003 I too believe you are born with it although you still must work hard to reach your potential. My father is tone deaf. My mother is a gifted pianist. I can play but not all that well and I worked very hard at it. I do have a very good ear though. My wife's family has some incredibly skilled musicians and therefore, I believe that is why my daughter is a wonderful pianist, singer, actress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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