Tal Wilkenfeld, who's like her?

[SoVeryTired]

So, to sum up the thread so far, regardless of my talent I could be a renowned and succesful bassist if I was an attractive young rich white female?

Hmmm, it'll take some surgery. And a forged birth certificate...

 

[Kwesi]

So, to sum up the thread so far, regardless of my talent I could be a renowned and succesful bassist if I was an attractive young rich white female?

Hmmm, it'll take some surgery. And a forged birth certificate...

LOL! You've got my support !

 

[bass12]

This is a mind trick people use to explain why they haven't realized their own potential. Hard work pays off and the result makes you look like you have a natural talent. Look into the past of any great musician and you'll see lots of hard work to make stuff look easy or natural.

Nonsense. I work with kids. Some have definite "natural" talent and others don't. It has zero to do with hard work.

You need chops to sound good and chops aren't all about playing fast or soloing.

Please define "chops".

 

[Marial]

Please define "chops".

 

[bass12]

Well in that case I guess it's fair to say that Tal doesn't have chops...

 

[miles'tone]

I just wish I'd had her work ethic when I was young.

 

[cnltb]

Never underestimate the power of money and it's ability to grease wheels.

true.
but regardless...to get any good it needs work and to get where she got it needs luck as well, and talent, and a winning personality,I'd guess.

And...in her case daddy seems to have made an investment rather than having wasted the money. She took it and used it well it seems.

 

[cnltb]

Nonsense. I work with kids. Some have definite "natural" talent and others don't. It has zero to do with hard work.

I think it does, but also with interest(maybe that's where 'natural) comes in?).
If a kid is interested in something, working on that something will come easier and success will come quicker to this kid than to the one working on the same thing without being interested in it.

 

[bass12]

I think it does, but also with interest(maybe that's where 'natural) comes in?).
If a kid is interested in something, working on that something will come easier and success will come quicker to this kid than to the one working on the same thing without being interested in it.

No. I've seen kids who've had no previous experience on, for example, a drum kit, sit down and sound musical. And that's just one example out of many. Now, I'm not saying "natural" ability is something a kid is simply born with (although some definitely seem to possess aptitudes right out of the box) - how a child is raised has a lot to do with it - but hard work? Uh, uh. Of course, without some hard work any player will stall and fail to reach his or her full potential, but to suggest that the notion of "natural ability" is simply an after-the-fact explanation for unseen "hard work" is simply wrong.

 

[cnltb]

No. I've seen kids who've had no previous experience on, for example, a drum kit, sit down and sound musical. And that's just one example out of many. Now, I'm not saying "natural" ability is something a kid is simply born with (although some definitely seem to possess aptitudes right out of the box) - how a child is raised has a lot to do with it - but hard work? Uh, uh. Of course, without some hard work any player will stall and fail to reach his or her full potential, but to suggest that the notion of "natural ability" is simply an after-the-fact explanation for unseen "hard work" is simply wrong.

But even when sitting down and play a note or beat on an instrument for the first time, a kid can show more or less interest in it-be more or less open to he experience and therefore sound different.Upbringing will come into it-a lot is often explained when one meets a student's or pupil's parents for the first time...
Natural talent is not a myth, of course but from teaching youngsters now for a good 20 years I have come to describe exactly this as 'interest'.( simplified of course)

 

[bass12]

But even when sitting down and play a note or beat on an instrument for the first time, a kid can show more or less interest in it-be more or less open to he experience and therefore sound different.Upbringing will come into it-a lot is often explained when one meets a student's or pupil's parents for the first time...
Natural talent is not a myth, of course but from teaching youngsters now for a good 20 years I have come to describe exactly this as 'interest'.( simplified of course)

"Interest"? Could be. Certainly in some cases I would agree. But I've seen enough kids who were clearly interested but still didn't have any kind of a "knack" for music. Again, I would use the word "aptitude" more than "interest" and, yes, aptitude can definitely increase one's interest. Regardless, I agree that a lot is often explained when one meets a child's parents. I definitely side more with the notion of "nurture" rather than "nature" on this one.

 

[BassXgirl]

She can play no question. I bought her debut CD But, I'm not blown away by her material so far.

Btw, that cd was recorded 6 years ago. She's continued to grow and get even better. She had also only been playing bass about 2 years when she recorded that cd. I haven't heard many bassists of two years writing and playing like that.

 

[wishface]

There are all kinds of advantages a player might have - the most common of which is probably "natural" talent.

With respect, I think you underestimate just what kind of advantage that kind of money confers. 36k (i still find that hard to believe) is a huge sum of money wtihout even factoring in exchange rates. That will pay for a decent instrument, a place to live, recording gear. If you factor in talent and opportunity (such as being in a musical environment like a good music school) then you really do have a solid advantage. That she made that work is to her credit, but you cannot underestimate the factors that worked in her favour to get her to the point where her talent could be spotted and used. And yes, as grossly unfair and probably even sexist as it sounds, that she's a pretty young woman will help. That's the music business for you. Would she be where she is if she was overeight and blessed with bad skin?

 

[king_biscuit]

With respect, I think you underestimate just what kind of advantage that kind of money confers. 36k (i still find that hard to believe) is a huge sum of money wtihout even factoring in exchange rates. That will pay for a decent instrument, a place to live, recording gear. If you factor in talent and opportunity (such as being in a musical environment like a good music school) then you really do have a solid advantage. That she made that work is to her credit, but you cannot underestimate the factors that worked in her favour to get her to the point where her talent could be spotted and used. And yes, as grossly unfair and probably even sexist as it sounds, that she's a pretty young woman will help. That's the music business for you. Would she be where she is if she was overeight and blessed with bad skin?

Sorry, 36k is nothing Lucky (trigger King of the Hill reference).

 

[cnltb]

Tal Wilkenfeld,who's like her?

 

[Roy Vogt]

With respect, I think you underestimate just what kind of advantage that kind of money confers. 36k (i still find that hard to believe) is a huge sum of money wtihout even factoring in exchange rates. That will pay for a decent instrument, a place to live, recording gear. If you factor in talent and opportunity (such as being in a musical environment like a good music school) then you really do have a solid advantage. That she made that work is to her credit, but you cannot underestimate the factors that worked in her favour to get her to the point where her talent could be spotted and used. And yes, as grossly unfair and probably even sexist as it sounds, that she's a pretty young woman will help. That's the music business for you. Would she be where she is if she was overeight and blessed with bad skin?

I understand what you're saying here. I have a friend who is a very attractive woman singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist. Her Dad left her a sizeable trust fund and inheritance and she and her husband parlayed that into two very successful Music Businesses, she has played on several major tours, etc. Everyone gets dealt a little different hand. I had to pretty much get things for myself, putting myself through Grad School with a Teaching Assistantship and gigs, Undergrad with gigs and Summer jobs, etc. I do take some pride at doing it myself, but again everyone gets a different set of assets and liabilities and what we do with it is Life.

 

[WalterBush]

I'm sure that there were people in Tal's life who told her that she couldn't make it as a bassist, because no one cares about bass; it's not like it's lead guitar or something. I'm sure there were people who told her that no one would take her seriously, because she was young and pretty. Had she been unattractive, there would have been people who told her that it was all about image, and she should go get plastic surgery or some such. If she'd dressed in a burka, I'm sure some people would have told her that she needed to sell her body more if she wanted to make it in the music industry. There's always somebody, usually unsuccessful, who's willing to pass along advice on what someone else is doing wrong.

Really, after hearing her play over the past coupla years, and reading peoples' responses to it here on TB, I give her credit above and beyond her playing, for not listening to people who told her she couldn't be successful. I'm positive there were plenty of people who wished they were in her shoes who are still trying to figure out how she did it. Hint: don't listen to negative people. I'll bet Tal didn't.

 

[cnltb]

What interests me, and so far I've not found much of an answer is; Why does she get soooo much attention here on TB?

Soo much more than some other bassists...might one reason for it be that people are asking themselves the same question, really?

 

[Modulus1906]

Q: I like Tal's playing, who else sounds like her?

A: What?!? Tal must have mesmerized you with her boob to want to listen to her. She's not that good and a million guys are better than her. In fact, if she was a dude nobody would think anything of her playing and you're sexist for not realizing that.

TB is too funny.

Agree with you. I posted in a recent thread how cynical people can be in these kinda threads over simple questions where people are just having fun and want non-hostile feedback. Just a lot of BS lecturing and hostility going on to where answers wind up not resembling the original question.

I'm still waiting on the guys in this thread speculating that Tal is purposely holding her bass high because of "sex appeal" reasons to tell us what should she do differently as a woman? Can you answer this question specifically without "backpeddling" and resorting to generic talk about how "some in this world" do use sex appeal for advancement. You guys sounded so certain that you knew her motivations, but you back it up with generic talk about things we know already. Just say you were wrong man d&^n.

 

[Modulus1906]

My wife and I saw her on TV, backing Jeff Beck, and my wife said, "why does she hold her bass all up high like that?"

And I said, "I don't know, but maybe we should try it. That girl blows us away!"

-SILENCE-

Funny, I believe you are confessing that your wife had "other motivations" in asking the question but took the indirect route. Did your response relegate you to sleeping on the couch that night?

She actually does not hold her bass high...the body of the bass hits her midsection which is about "right". People perceive it to be higher because she's a woman but it's really not.