Agree.
One video I always get a big kick out of is this Adam Neeley vlog where he's in the bass chair for a computer game awards ceremony. I have a friend with a kid who's an aspiring musician. In fairness, he's a very good bass player and guitarist for a kid who just turned 15. But he's in a family that's raved about his "incredible talent" since he was seven. And he's gotten a little full of himself since he started high school to the point of referring to himself as "hardcore professional."
So I showed him this video. It's typical of the sort of thing a real professional session musician can expect if he or she takes on a call. When it was over I asked him if he felt, being a self-described "hardcore" professional, he could handle a gig rehearsal like that, playing that number of songs in that range of styles, with other musicians (and a composer-musician) of that caliber on short notice and still nail it?
His eyes got wide while watching it. And when it was over he acknowledged he still had a ways to go before he could consider himself (in his words) "a real professional."
Hopefully he'll stick with it. He's got genuine talent and drive. All he needs is the education and experience to go with it.
Anyway, this is the video:
awesome example!
two thoughts -
1. the type of stuff in that video, for me at least, is closer to "normal" than it is to "exception." I get asked to play stuff like that (not specifically video game stuff, but charts that are that difficult to play / read) shockingly often.
2. i now enjoy a full career in music education and only take gigs i like/want. i recently was speaking with a co-worker, who has been a school orchestra director for 30 years. the topic of families who rave about their children's talent came up. neither of us have
ever had a student be significantly above average if the family describes their "talent" or anything to that effect. the most advanced kids, playing full cello suites in 6th grade and that sort of thing, are kids who's family will generally say things like "he/she really loves it." telling a young musician that they're "great" is in a strange way a bad thing - accomplishments must be recognized, but filling someone's head with ideas about being "Great" when in reality they're close to incompetent (even if they do have natural talent that hasn't been honed yet) is a dangerous move.
back to music school,
for sure one of those side benefits was just this - i went in thinking i was good - look at me, i know every jaco lick, i can play you victor wootens solo pieces note for note, i can improvise anything and for any amount of time, my grooves are the best..... and i came out knowing that i have an idea how to play, but it's just an idea... ray brown actually knew how to play... not me... and it set me on the path towards taking steps to be whatever a "real" musician should be.
in short, being a great musician will mean not having an ego - weather that means that parents aught to be careful with what type and how much praise, or the ego needs to be demolished post-development, when you meet folks like john pattitucci they don't have any feeling of "i'm great" in their DNA. it's a lot more like "wow i'm happy to be here."
