There’s No Such Thing as a Talented Musician

Introduction

There's no such thing as a talented musician, especially according to you. Unfortunately, you believe in some unbiblical-genetic-determinism-like theory about how man becomes a musician. So, when you say someone is a talented musician, they probably haven’t achieved too much in the grand scheme of things. If your vision for music is shallow, you can’t tell the difference between what everyone generally should be able to do and when someone really starts to achieve great things.

I would love for you to abandon all notions that “some are born with it, and some aren't.” I would love for you to be slower to acknowledge someone as “talented,” and instead acknowledge they have done something we were designed to do and could all do. If you do this, you will begin to allow yourself and your family to become really good musicians.

I would love for you to believe that everybody you know can play three instruments, read music well, and sing handsomely. That’s an easy ask for 95% of people, because God made us musical. The reason we’re not as musical as we should be is an “us” issue not a “how much talent God gave us” issue. 

Do you look at an eagle soaring through the heavens and think, “What a talented chap.” When you see a squirrel make a crazy jump from your house to a tree, do you think, “Man that kid's got talent?” No. What you’re seeing is normal. Those creatures were designed to do that! What they are doing is glorious, but it’s also what they are meant to do. 

Consider this. If you met someone who couldn't read, would that be normal or abnormal? If you met someone who couldn't write, would that be normal or abnormal? If someone couldn't converse with you because they couldn't understand what you said or say anything intelligent back, would that be normal or abnormal? And without hesitation, we all say abnormal. 

Why?

Because God made us communicative. In other words, he provided all of the parts we need to do great things with words. The Word gave us all a language. And better yet, he’s instilled us with the capabilities to be bilingual. We were made to be fluent in our mother tongue, and the language of music. Therefore, we can stop viewing any musical capabilities as talent and simply our SOP. If we do this, we can all start to treat our musical talent as something we should do something with, instead of squandering it under false notions of talent.

The Right Worldview and Work

The two things you want to get right as you re-wire your thinking about talent in music is worldview and work. First, believe that God made you musical. Singing well and understanding music is for you, just like soaring is for the eagle and jumping with the squirrel. Second, know that, with the right kind of work over the right kind of time you can realize the full potential of your musical skills. In sum, believe that you have musical skills, then put in the work to make them run right.  

There's countless places in the Bible that show us music is a priority and practice of God's people. There are numerous commands in both the Old Testament and New Testament about singing with a glad heart AND a skillful voice, and the study of nature shows us all parts of creation stay caught up in praise to God via their own songs. But, allow me to highlight one story from Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah 12:27 – And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps…”

The children of Israel just came from exile. All their previous kingdoms were slayed. They endured great trauma. The work of building the wall brought on a lot of heartache by fighting thugs, long days of physical work, and trying to stay above corrupt politics. There are a lot of right things to do in that situation, and we’re told they prioritized worship. They celebrated and sang mightily because the joy of the Lord was their strength. They retained much of their musical prowess through uneasy times, so what do you think they would prioritize in good times? Advancing music. Advancing the language of worship. That kind of stalwart commitment must shape our worldview, and it must come to life by our diligent practice. We must be people who use and workout our musical muscles and they will be glorious. If the eagle doesn’t fly, the wings become useless. Working with the grain of our genetics is what we must do, because worship is so precious to us. 

10,000 hours of deliberate practice lead us to mastery in any skill. This means that when you witness a master perform (let’s say a musician), you’re not witnessing talent—you’re witnessing years of maximum effort. 10,000 hours takes us to incredible mastery, but how much does it take to get good? Let’s say you had a 30 minute class, 3 times a week in K-12. That’s a lot of time in one class but by the end you’d only have spent about 700 hours on that subject. And, you haven’t even become 10% of a master yet.

No one would scoff at someone who worked at something for 30 minutes each day for 2 years. That’s only about 300 hours. But, here’s the thing, a lot can be done in 300 hours, and yet it’s still only 3% to mastery achievement.  

If we’re after singing around the house, going to music lessons, and moderate daily practice, we may not get far along in the 10,000 hour progress bar, but what we can do with a little is a lot. So, why don’t you start putting a little in, and see God bless a lot? That’s what He does for us. 

Conclusion

Just because something is natural or innate does mean it is non-glorious. Just because we're realizing our musical talent is normal, and not so unique because that's how God made us, does not make it bland. There’s no such thing as a talented musician, but there is such a thing as someone who cares enough to make music great. All of us Christians are called to be that people. I suggest we start doing that by stop talking about talent and start being about making and practicing music. With the right worldview that realizes we are all richly endowed with music, and the right level of work that always sticks with music, we will be musically great. 

Next time you hear a musician play beautifully, don’t say, “They’re so talented.” Instead, say, “Hasn’t God made us wonderfully? I’m so thankful for the work they’ve put in. I want to work harder myself, asking God to help me grow in my musical talents.” Be the eagle. Be the squirrel.

-Sean Bohnet, Director of BMA