The age-old debate of whether or not musicians are born or made continues to spark controversy and heated discussions among music lovers and experts alike.
While some argue that musical talent is an innate gift that cannot be taught, others believe that Anyone can become a musician with proper training and dedication.
Some musicians are born with musical talent in their genes, while most musicians are made through consistent training and practice. However, ultimately, the ability to create beautiful music comes down to a combination of innate talent and hard work.
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Reasons Why Some People are Born Musicians?
Certain families are predominantly made up of musicians. And I’m sure you are familiar with some of them. Off the top of my head, I can mention the Jackson 5, Von Trapp Family, and the Jonas Brothers.
If you study the paternal and maternal family history of most musicians and singers, you will find several musicians within.
The primary reason why certain families are dominated by musicians is simply that musical genes run in such families. Experimental studies have proven that genes play a crucial role in the musical ability of individuals.
In addition to these studies, research by the University of Helsinki has discovered that musical ability is 50% inherited.
This research study was conducted on a sample test of 224 individuals from 15 different families of musicians. It is then not surprising that so many musicians come from musical families.
If you have interacted with many musicians, you probably heard of the term “musical ears .” This concept of “musical ears” is not a myth.
Studies have shown that some people are born with an ear for music. Such people have the ability to learn music quickly. To this set of people, the act of creating music is the most natural thing. In fact, a lot of them are self-taught musicians.
This ability to instantly identify the pitch of a note being played is not easy for most people, even for many musicians with natural talents. A few musicians have the skill to identify what note or chord is being played quickly.
Check out the demonstration of perfect pitch by an 8-year-old which went viral.
Such people have an easier time learning the different parts of a song quickly. They are able to create music by intuition as well. Thus, they can reach higher levels of artistic and technical expertise in relatively little to no time. And they are able to grasp musical techniques and concepts easily and at young ages.
Reasons Why Most Musicians are Made?
Though some musicians are born with musical gifts, most are born without them, and they have gone on to become great musicians.
Their successes as musicians can be attributed to the fact that they put in the work necessary to become musicians.
In fact, most of the musicians we have today attained such heights due to their consistency in practice and training sessions. And they also got the relevant musical instructions they needed to improve their skill.
That is why people who are dedicated enough and devote lots of time to practice are able to turn into great musicians.
It is worth noting that even those that are naturally gifted at music also take music classes or learn from other musicians informally to understand the concepts of music. In a way, it is learned.
Another thing to note is that experimental studies have shown that children who are introduced to musical training undergo a certain level of brain development that makes them understand and appreciate music better.
Thus, though some studies have drawn a strong link between genetics and musical ability, even if someone is born with a perfect pitch ability, they can only name a note if they have learned about the musical scale.
Such people only pick up musical concepts quicker through observation and reasoning. Thus, they need to spend lots of time observing and thinking through whatever they come across. This means every musician puts in lots of hard work in order to acquire their skills.
Can Anyone become a musician?
Anyone can become a musician, provided they put in the necessary effort to learn musical concepts and practice consistently.
One important thing to note is that even though people make the creation of music look very easy and straightforward, many of these successful musicians attribute their success to their tedious practice sessions and training.
They do not attribute it to their natural ability. This means Anyone can become a musician as long as they are willing to do the work. Even gifted musicians need to learn large portions of new music quickly.
Therefore, if you spend a large portion of your time perfecting your music craft, you will definitely develop into a great musician.
In addition to all these, you need to have a passion for music to be a great musician. This is because, with passion, you will be able to put in the work needed to become a musician.
As the saying goes, “the road to mastery requires patience. This means becoming a musician takes it. Thus, you need to have a flaming desire to drive if you want to become a musician.
Therefore, becoming a musician is something that can be learned, and anybody can learn to become a musician. You do not need to be born with a musical gift or be talented to become a musician.
All that is required is to be exposed to relevant instructions and explanations that will provide the foundations needed to develop your musical ability. This will set you on the way to being a musician.
Conclusion
There is enough evidence that proves that some people are born with extraordinary musical gifts. However, music is not entirely genetically selective. What this means is you do not need to be born with musical gifts or genes before you can become a musician.
You can become a musician if you put in enough work and practice. In fact, you can even go on to have a great career as a musician. Attributing musical exploits only to talent and genetics takes credit away from the time, effort, and hard work that went into the musical creation.
Hello, I’m Elijah. A writer on Geek Musician, based in Ghana-West Africa. I am a writer with a passion for research and reading. I usually spend my free time playing chess or watching movies. For more info, check out my about me page. Or read more of my articles here.