<p>I'm particularly fond of his trouncing the Mozart-as-effortless-genius meme. But I believe most useful is his emphasis on quality, not merely quantity, in practicing anything: </p>
<p>"The mind wants to turn deliberate, newly learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills. But the mind is sloppy and will settle for good enough. By practicing slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, the strenuous student forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance."</p>
<p>Too many practice rooms are filled with sounds from the exposition of concertos, played thoughtlessly and at full blast, and then when there's a difficult measure or two, the player slows down, mumbles through the passage, then it's back to the races. THIS IS NOT PRACTICING. </p>
<p>N8, I agree with you 99%. But story has it that Mozart picked up the violin at age 4, and just started playing not because he had been practicing, but because he had been hanging around musicians all his young life (and no doubt due to genetic hard-wiring). I do believe Mozart was a true genius. We just have to accept that there are a few out there!! The rest of us, of course, need the 10,000 hours of thoughtful practice.</p>
<p>CLRN8MOM, I agree with you about 99% (and possibly 100%), as well: Mozart was a true genius and there are a few out there. His extensive exposure to music from a young age and his genetic hard-wiring would undoubtably have predisposed him to quick and deep musical learning and development. </p>
<p>However, the story that he was able to produce beautiful music on the violin on first picking it up is just a story. I am certain that he was able to learn to play the violin exceptionally quickly, but I am equally certain that it did not happen instantly and that he put many long hours into practice. While genius is usually quickly evident when a young musical genius begins to learn an instrument, I am unaware of any genius that has been able to play proficiently without a considerable expenditure of time. </p>
<p>Part of the genius is the speed with which improvement occurs, but much of the genius resides in the child’s ability and desire to spend long hours in playing and mastering the instrument. Most young children do not have the attention span or intense focus to benefit much after spending 30 to 60 minutes on a particular activity. The activity becomes boring or even painful and their brain shuts down, preventing further learning for that day. Suzuki teachers often suggest several practice sessions of 5 to 10 minutes for young children. My understanding is that Mozart was able to spend many hours each day learning music when he was very young.</p>
<p>Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent book “Outliers” devotes considerable attention to the myth of instant skills in music (or in any other area). In particular, he examines the stories surrounding Mozart. Gladwell is largely responsible for popularizing the “10000-hours-for-mastery” idea. </p>
<p>Mozart’s age was a credulous one, and unsubstantiable tales abounded and helped sell products like the young Mozart. His father had a very profitable commodity in his son and it seems probable that Leopold or those around him may have exaggerated the rapdity of Wolfgang’s acquisition of his skills in performing and composing.</p>
<p>I highly recommend Gladwell’s book which explores our ideas around high achievers.</p>