Natural ability??

[Ant Wellington]

Is the MP?

[thepontif]

You are correct, sir! How you been?

[nickbass79]

Do you guys think skill is different than ability?

[Ant Wellington]

Been good, MP. In Atlanta. Just left Nashville. Home today. Back in Atlanta on Wednesday. Philly coming up. I'm doing something with John Pat.

How have you been? We have to hook up soon. Talk preamps.

-aw

[thepontif]

Cool, though I think I'd rather talk music!

[Ant Wellington]

We'll talk music. But I NEED a preamp!!!

Let's hook up soon. Who you working with these days.

[thepontif]

Been doing some interesting stuff lately.

Did a record here with Prasanna and Rodney Holmes a while back.
Did a record with Patitucci and my brother on drums...I played piano.
Did my new record with Joe Locke, Geoff Keezer, Mauricio Zottarelli, and Seamus Blake.

Lately more on the jazz tip.

As for the more funky side, I just did a couple gigs with Ricky Peterson, Nicky Moroch, Gene Lake, George Whitty...a big bunch of guys. I always feel like a little bit of a fish out of water on that gig (Sanborn with or without Sanborn), but I love doing it.

Have a good bit of work coming up in my studio here. I'm getting that whole thing really figured out.

Been involved in a bunch of brain research at Johns Hopkins.

Been writing a lot. Spending lots more time making music and lots less time building preamps. Just because I'm good at it doesn't mean God put me here to do that

Vic and I had a nice long talk last time I saw him and he really encouraged me....said, "when you're genuinely pursuing your passion in life, life has a way of taking care of you." Seems to be true! Preamps don't make me happy. Money does, but it seems like when you don't love the way you make money, you don't make much anyway.

Basically, just trying to put one foot in front of the other. New record will be out in September/October. It's coming out GREAT!

[Jack Clark]

Originally Posted by Ant Wellington

Don't tell me 'fast fingers' that's not a musical ability. That's mechanical.

Seems to me that that's dismissive and that it would eliminate discussion contrary to your view by categorically rejecting it in advance.

Fast fingers is most certainly a music ability when applied to a musician who needs fast fingers for a musical instrument.
Fast fingers is most certainly a magic ability when applied to a magician who needs fast fingers for a magic trick.
Fast fingers is most certainly a bookkeeping ability when applied to a bookkeeper who needs fast fingers for a keypad.

The ability to concentrate on the particular task you are performing at the time is an ability that is advantageous to all three of the above occupations. Varying combinations of different natural physical, mental, and emotional abilities predispose us to natural abilities in given areas.

The trick is to identify those natural abilities and the areas they facilitate, select an area you also enjoy, then work your ass off to be the best you can be. Some of us never do identify any such area, so we work our asses off in mediocrity and anonymity.

Naturally, these are IMO, since if I were giving you someone else's opinion I'd say that.

[Ant Wellington]

Yo MP, sounds like you got some things figured out. I'm happy to hear that.

Keep me posted. And let's really hook up soon. I've been trying to buckle down in my record.

-aw

[Ant Wellington]

Yo Jack C,

You TOTALLY misunderstood what I was saying.

I was definitely NOT saying that having fast moving fingers wasn't a desirable trait.

What I WAS saying was that fast fingers wasn't natural musical ability no more than jumping high is natural basketball ability.

I learned how to type very fast in junior high school. I attribute my fast fingers to that. It comes in handy playing music.

peace,
anthony

[sayman]

Originally Posted by thepontif

Been doing some interesting stuff lately.

Did a record here with Prasanna and Rodney Holmes a while back.
Did a record with Patitucci and my brother on drums...I played piano.
Did my new record with Joe Locke, Geoff Keezer, Mauricio Zottarelli, and Seamus Blake.

Lately more on the jazz tip.

As for the more funky side, I just did a couple gigs with Ricky Peterson, Nicky Moroch, Gene Lake, George Whitty...a big bunch of guys. I always feel like a little bit of a fish out of water on that gig (Sanborn with or without Sanborn), but I love doing it.

Have a good bit of work coming up in my studio here. I'm getting that whole thing really figured out.

Been involved in a bunch of brain research at Johns Hopkins.

Been writing a lot. Spending lots more time making music and lots less time building preamps. Just because I'm good at it doesn't mean God put me here to do that

Vic and I had a nice long talk last time I saw him and he really encouraged me....said, "when you're genuinely pursuing your passion in life, life has a way of taking care of you." Seems to be true! Preamps don't make me happy. Money does, but it seems like when you don't love the way you make money, you don't make much anyway.

Basically, just trying to put one foot in front of the other. New record will be out in September/October. It's coming out GREAT!

Sounds like a great life.

I used to love money but now I realize it's a dependency.

[Jack Clark]

Originally Posted by Ant Wellington

Yo Jack C,

You TOTALLY misunderstood what I was saying.

I was definitely NOT saying that having fast moving fingers wasn't a desirable trait.

What I WAS saying was that fast fingers wasn't natural musical ability no more than jumping high is natural basketball ability.

I learned how to type very fast in junior high school. I attribute my fast fingers to that. It comes in handy playing music.

peace,
anthony

I don't think I misunderstood what you were saying at all. I just disagree with you. Contrary to your view (just expressed), I do indeed believe that jumping high is a natural basketball ability. Not the only one, but one of many which—if possessed by the same individual—together evidence that that individual has natural basketball ability. Of course, whether he does anything to develop that natural basketball ability—by playing the game, for instance—is another thing.

[Ant Wellington]

Yo Jack C,

And I disagree with you. But that's neither here nor there. Fortunately, our disagreeing doesn't make either of us a better or worse musician. Or affects either of our credibility.

But I'm curious,...is jumping high only a natural basketball ability? If not, what other natural ability can jumping high be? And,...are people who can jump high 'naturally' better basketball players than people who can't jump high? And how does jumping higher make someone a better basketball player?

Starting to sound very vague to me. But it's easy to be vague.

peace,
anthony

[jmac]

Originally Posted by Ant Wellington

I've been trying to buckle down in my record.
-aw

Sorry to insert myself, but this line cracked me up. You're never home. lol

[Ant Wellington]

Yea John,

That's the difficult part. But I wrote a song while I was just on the road. But I think I'll be home more in August and September. I'm really missing my students and my recording studio.

How's your band's record coming?

Are you doing a lesson this Sunday in Philly?

-aw

[MattP]

This is a great discussion. I want to weigh in with my thoughts on natural talents.

I agree with Anthony that hard work is the most critical factor to success in any endeavor. However having some natural abilities can help things along. A person that can jump high isn't guaranteed to be a great basketball player. However, if that person chooses to use that natural trait in the endeavor of playing basketball, it's something that doesn't have to be worked on. The hours of practice can be spent on other things.

If a bass player has naturally fast fingers, the bass player doesn't need devote as much practice time to that aspect of playing. That frees up time to concentrate on other activities. The bass player still needs to put in the hard work, but may end up farther along than someone who put in the same amount of work without any starting advantages.

Both bass players still need to be working on the right things, in the right ways. If the fast finger bass player spends a lot of time rehearsing fast fingers; neglecting ear training, theory, etc., then that natural advantage may go to waste and the zero advantage bass player can end up a much better player in the end.

[thepontif]

Regardless of any of this, the fact is that no matter what your natural propensities are, in order to be great at something, you'll almost certainly need to develop skills you don't naturally have. I really think that this is a huge factor because it speaks to some problems in the public's perception of "talent" and ability.

I am so sick of hearing about how this one or that one is so talented. You don't develop talent. You may CULTIVATE it, but it's already there for whatever reason...maybe not born with it, but when you discover what your "talent" is, it's probably just a discovery of what you're natural proclivities are.

That says nothing about skill, which you must develop. To simply call Vic Wooten "talented" is to sell him short. I can probably find you lots of people who are as "talented" as [insert famous musician here] who will never hold a candle to [him/her/it] in terms of what they can actually do. Vic Wooten worked his ass of for YEARS and YEARS. I remember being in college in 1989 and hearing about him, but it was decades before he really took off as a major force in and of himself. Calling him talented is to dismiss all of the mundane hours of work that he had to put in to get where he is, both musically and otherwise.

Another problem with "talented" comes when you start to mix the word "innovative" in with it. Just because someone comes along and does something differently than everyone before him doesn't mean he is an innovator. i.e. Jaco. The innovations Jaco offered to music, and particularly to the bass, were a result of "how it happened". He did not really continue to search for new ways to express himself. He was pretty much doing the same thing when he died as he was when he started. And that was what came naturally to him. He was a catalyst for innovation, but not an innovator.

Unless a very narrow range of natural ability is sufficient to get your musical job done, the notion of what is natural and what is not is really sort of a moot point at the end of the day. Unless you simply build your career around your limitations, which is, to some degree, putting the cart before the horse, IMO.

[Ant Wellington]

You're the Pope! I'm gonna' side with you every time.

Seriously, that's EXACTLY what I said in my early post.

You're one of the best musicians I know. When I hear you play,...I hear the WORK you put into it. And I see over and over again how much Victor works at music. And nobody on planet practices as much and as 'deliberate' as Regi Wooten. And the nurturing and environment those guys grew up in is a major factor.

And I've been teaching professional musicians and music teachers for almost 20 years. The better students are better for reasons that can be 'chronicled'(couldn't think of a better word).

peace,
anthony

"Smells Like Funk"

[thepontif]

Originally Posted by Ant Wellington

You're the Pope! I'm gonna' side with you every time.

Seriously, that's EXACTLY what I said in my early post.

Oopss....

I guess I missed that.

Good to know we agree, though!

[jmac]

Originally Posted by Ant Wellington

Yea John,

That's the difficult part. But I wrote a song while I was just on the road. But I think I'll be home more in August and September. I'm really missing my students and my recording studio.

How's your band's record coming?

Are you doing a lesson this Sunday in Philly?

-aw

The recording is coming along well. Thanks for asking.

Yes, I'll definitely be there Sunday.