Likely no. But I have friends that are classically trained singers, and if you ask them whether singing requires natural talent or practice, and they’ll let you know.

Like most of my articles, the principle is a relative one, not an absolute one. Talent exists in the extremes, I write because most people live in the middle.

-Scott

There were people when I was growing up who considered me a musical genius, and IQ-wise, I tested as a genius (145).

The more I live and the more I read, the more I consider this to be bullshit.

I am currently an elementary music teacher. And I HATE the word talent! There is not a SINGLE student of the 400 I have, who is more capable than any others of understanding music. This includes those in the gifted class and those in the special education class. If these kids have the right experiences and exposure when they are young, their potential is infinite, which is why I teach elementary and not junior high or high school. Research indicates that age 9 is the approximate point when musical aptitude is determined. What happens before this age has a profound effect on what can happen afterward. And guess what — genetics are determined long before age 9!

I also believe that this philosophy applies to any academic pursuit, not just music. Some people, based on their experience or physical makeup, may find some things easier. But all are capable. A child who grows up listening to music that is more advanced, but still tonal, will be more apt at melody than a child who grows up listening to rap, or to very little music outside TV shows. However, all can learn. This is the basis for my life and my career. I heard a great choir director say, “I could teach a doorknob to sing.” That’s the bottom line.

The most important thing, though, is that the idea of talent is DANGEROUS! It is an excuse for children to fail to learn. “I’m just not good at math.” “I’m tone deaf.” (tone deaf-ness does not exist, by the way — if you think you are tone-deaf, you have believed what some uneducated people have told you — change your thinking, and you will change your singing).

All it does is encourage children to fail. As a teacher, I encourage children to succeed, and I insist that every one of my students (all 400 of them!) does succeed. The idea of talent is directly against this goal.

TALENT IS FALSE. Natural inclinations exist, mostly based on experiences, but any deficiency that these create can (and should) easily be overcome with a little effort.

Its harder for you, but its not impossible. Once you have this insight and discipline. You can do it. People just often do not have the time to spend on little steps. This makes the world relatively not improove. Maybe the day where we can read minds to minds this mass ailment can be remedied and the most efficient thought processes will prevail.