Rethinking Genius

I want to explore the concept of persistence.  Persistence is something that I get asked about a lot, from parents in particular.  It's a perfectly reasonable question on the surface.  How do I keep my child motivated? It's such a simple question that I think people expect a simple answer in response.  Especially if even the mention of the very word "practice" has the ability to create cataclysmic, world-ending tantrums.  It's natural at such moments to question your own sanity.  Why force to happen that which does not want to be forced? And herein lies the issue with that sort of thinking: it implies that persistence is something that should  come easily.  But it doesn't.  Not for anyone. To put this into perspective for the non-musicians... let's talk about the gym.  The gym, I feel, is the perfect adult example.  We age.  It happens.  And as we age life gets in the way.  We get busier and our bodies maybe don...

When it comes to learning an instrument, the power of touch cannot be emphasized enough.  Consider how fast and sensitive touch is compared to another sense like sight.  If you touch a hot stove by accident you instantly pull away.  Your hand moves so fast that your skin does not even have time to burn. By comparison, sight is much slower.  Has someone ever thrown something in your direction (a ball, car keys, etc...) and you are watching it fly through the air toward you yet you still don't react in time to catch the object? A trademark of the Suzuki Method is that students learn to play without sheet music at first.  This is primarily to allow for the ear to develop.  But it's also to allow that sense of touch to mature.  Despite the sensitivity of touch (or perhaps because of?), it is the one sense that can easily get cancelled out by all the others.  As soon as the other senses are engaged, touch usually takes a back seat. For example, a...