Mr. Ben shared a post.

(If you have a minute, after you watch this video in its entirety, go to Darrius Simmons page and let him know how much you appreciate all the hard work and effort he's obviously invested in his craft... Then, if you want to, read this rant about why it's maybe not a good idea to compliment musicians for being "talented." :-) )

One of the things I talk about a lot is that musical proficiency isn't a talent; it's the result of investing tremendous effort over time.

Many people are reluctant to receive that message. They'll say, "Oh that might be true, but I just don't have a musical bone in my body. For me it doesn't seem to matter how much time I spend practicing, I just never get it."

I'll ask, "Well, how much time have you spent practicing?"

Them: "I took bassoon for 8 weeks in 7th grade, 30 years ago... I didn't improve noticeably in that time, so I just accepted that I'm not musical."

Me: *Facepalm

Talent is a thing you're born with. Everything else is the acquisition of a skill set, which happens because of focused effort over time. An NBA star's height? Talent. Their 80% free throw average? Skill acquisition due to focused effort over time.

You having 5 fingers on each hand? Talent. This incredible human being, Darrius Simmons, composing and performing a beautifully moving piece of original music with fewer total digits than most of us have on one hand? That's skill. It took time and tremendous effort. Darrius wasn't born an amazing pianist, they invested countless hours acquiring the skills necessary to do all of this.

The reason it matters is that NO ONE sounds good when they first start playing music. Not Beyonce, not Miles Davis... Not anybody. And if our kids believe that music is a talent (something they're either born with or not), then the first time they pick up an instrument and it sounds less than great (which it will...), their immediate and logical reaction will be to determine that they don't posses innate musical ability, aka musical "talent."

My request is that when speaking about your own lack of musical proficiency around your kids, you emphasize that you could have practiced music more and become highly skilled, but chose to focus on other things instead. And, for the record, there's no shame in that! I never became a painter or master chef, and wouldn't know where to begin rebuilding a carburetor. That's not because I'm inherently incapable of those things, it's just that I prioritized practicing guitar over acquiring those other skills. Same with you and music.

My second request is that when you see someone with amazing, inspiring musical ability, you train yourself to compliment them on all the time and effort they've invested. Telling them they're so lucky to be so talented actually devalues their effort by making it sound like they were just born lucky to have this "musical gift" already inside of them.

All humans are born with the "musical gift." The work part is optional, and it alone determines how far you'll go on your musical path. *end rant. ;-)

-Mr. Ben

Darrius Simmons

Still got some work to do but I thought it was time for me to share this piece that I made myself🎶🎹❤️ it took a lot of hard work but I feel like it paid off by making these song🎶I hope u enjoy watching and listening 🎶 🎼
#watch
#listen
#share
Goals are temporary until u achieve them❤️Dreams are forever 🎹🎶🙌