Musicality: Nature, Nurture & 10,000 hours?

Hey everyone! Hope all is well! Best wishes for a beautiful day!

A favorite discussion of philosophers – nature vs nuture! I’ve become interested in the topic, 1) for reasons of debate and philosophy, 2) to understand how to better develop myself in music, language, sports, etc.

Nurture One’s Nature and Understand the Nature of How to Nurture

Understanding our own specific nature and how we can best nurture our own growth (and those around us) must surely provides the best of both worlds. So what are some of the best ways to develop one’s potential?

too long/didn’t read

I’ve learned to look for the 3rd way as a way to find great solutions to challenges. In other words, I’ve (intellectually, at least) concluded that usually the better options come from combining two (seemingly) opposing solutions – in this case, Nature/Nurture.

Most people when thinking about Nature/Nurture (I think) are actually looking at it through the lenses of their own life.

Of course, it’s also fun to look at the big picture. How are turtles on beautiful islands going about their business 🙂 ?

Examples from Nature

But even in the big picture (of evolutionary biology), many instances of both nature and nurture seem to exist. My favorite three:

1. The environment stimulates certain genetic pathways to express themselves. In other words, nature and nurture are more intertwined than the textbook nature or nurture arguments have suggested. Sure you could argue this is nature and not nurture. But I see it as an unexplored frontier – you won’t know until you try. And try. What might work for one person may not work for another. For example, check out how eating certain foods affects the genetic expression of the food eater.
2. Many animals (besides human beings) actually learn from one another. In other words, they learn from another animal how to fish or hunt or sing a song. Someone recently found that many birds started singing a new song. It didn’t happen overnight, but it seems some birds may learn from other birds. While this is an expression of a bird’s nature, it’s also clear that the birds learn the new melody as opposed to be born with it.
3. For humans, the fact that we learn to walk. Other animals already know how to walk. I’m bringing this up to contrast humans with other animals, but to show that the (fundamental) nature of individual human’s development is strongly based upon learning.

In conclusion, since nature and nurture are much more intertwined, (and unless we dedicate ourselves to these specific scientific issues) why not find what things work best to bring out the most our own nature’s?

80/20 Rule

Sure, it’s true not everyone is genetically predisposed to be in the NBA.

But that’s not my point. My point is:

If you love to play basketball, how can you best nurture your own basketball skills?

In other words, what (20% of) processes result in most of the learning?

Discerning Quality

I agree that there are actually differences between two things. This isn’t to say that one individual is better than another. But rather that one individual has track record of creating certain things/events more so than another.

Most people would agree that, for example, Frank Sinatra sings “better” than most people (myself included :)).

But again the point isn’t that a person will be the best – it’s how can they better develop their own skills?

What Worked for One Person may or May Not Work for Another

While most people learn things in similiar ways, it’s generally accepted that 2 individual may actually best learn in different ways.

Some common ways/elements of learning styles:

• Visual/Spatial
• Kinetic/Experiential
• Aural(Auditory/Musical)
• Verbal/Linguistic
• Logical/Deductive/Mathematic
• Social/Interpersonal
• Individual/Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic/Environmental

Understanding how and why these elements contribute to an individuals learning process can help shape their growth.

To put this another way, most people have certain learning processes that will work better for them than other learning processes. What are these and how does a person find out the best learning processes for themselves (or their students/friend/family/co-workers)>

10,000 hours

The idea of accumulating ~10,000 hours of deliberate practice in a certain area – classical violin playing – seem to have some truth, but other factors probably play a big role, too.

But the message of the studies may have been misinterpreted and extended past the actual conclusions of the studies.

10,000 hours won’t guarantee you become the next Mozart.

In terms of the violin studies, the students who were labeled super-good and good both practiced about the same range of hours over many years. The students that weren’t as accomplished, in general, practiced about half as much as the good and very good students.

Also, the great and very good violinist all attend a very prestigious musical college (“Music Academy of West Berlin, an academy whose violin-training programme boasted an international reputation”). To most people they were already great, though not guru level.

At the same time, (in the study) practice wasn’t what differentiated between the great players and the very good.

To me they were probably all very good. It’s just that the bar is so high that we tend to over-exaggerate the difference for most day-to-day activities.

In other words, most people would be overjoyed to just be competent at a skill that they loved (like violin).

For example, I’ve played soccer and music with people that are truly gifted. There is a difference. But my musical/soccer quests aren’t to be better than the genuises, it’s just to better realize my potential since I hope to play music and soccer for a long time!

You can also check out this article to learn more about practice and 10k hours.

Sample Sizes of Studies

Please keep in mind that the studies’ sample sizes are actually quite small, less than 100 students. And the researchers relied on self-reporting of hours practiced, etc.

It’s another reason to go for it!

The researchers don’t know everything, they’ve just uncovered some truths about certain situations that probably are generally true, but also probably aren’t true in many specific instances!

30,000 Hours

In terms of world-class classical violinists, it appears that more like 20k-30k hours of dedicated practice results in potentially a true world-class level soloist. ~10k hours is generally what highly promising students practiced by the time they were 18-20. In the next 5-10 years, they still needed to continue practicing to become “guru/master” level violinists.

How Many Hours to Competence?

Most people would be more interested in the question: how many dedicated hours do I need to become decently competent?

This is the magic question!

I don’t know the answer. But I don’t think many people do – at least in a general sense.

There’s a range of time it takes. ‘Speed of learning’ depends on tons of different factors. What do you think these factors are?

Some skills are harder than others to learn decently well.

For example, to be a ‘decent’ classical violinist, based on the 10,000 hour studies it probably takes at least 1k-3k hours and several years, starting from scratch.

My Violin Learning Journey

I am learning violin, and it will probably (if I’m lucky) take several years to play decently, and maybe ~500-1000+ hours. But I’ve been playing guitar, piano, singing, and drums, and french horn for years.

Trust the Process

I like the idea of trusting the process. Certain things you can learn in 30 days. IMHO, bigger skills like language, programming, sports, music (for 99.99+% of the people) will take a few years to gain some competence, if you’re starting from scratch.

You just have to show up and put in the focus energy to see the results.

Learning how to Learn Better

Here are my big findings to date on learning better for me:

• Practice a little everyday
• Practice little chunks many time
• Slowly Invest in future skills
• Learn what works best for you
• Practice when you wake up and before going to sleep
• Visualize the Skill
• Practice makes progress – the power of compounded interest
• Enjoy the Process and Have Fun!

‘How’ and ‘What’ More Important Than ‘How Much’

So this the part of the article where I share some ideas I’ve come across about learning to learn.

I’ve been on a multi-instrumental learning kick for a while now. And I believe I’ve learned some ways to learn better, at least for my learning styles. Of course, this is different than learning a first instrument.

And, there’s a hugs difference between becoming decently competent in a skill and reaching ‘mastery’ and ‘guru’-level skills.

Priming the Pump

This is something I don’t hear many people talk about:

• Acclimate Yourself to the Skill in Advance
• Expose Yourself to People with Mastery in that Skillset
• Take a long term approach
• Accumulate small amounts of time invested over a long time
• Learn How that New Skill Relates to Other Skills You Already Have

Acclimate Yourself to the Skill in Advance

For example, I’ve wanted to learn violin/viola/cello for a long time.

One of my musical friends played the piano and the flute, both at good gigging level, plus he’s a composer. I asked him about playing a 2nd instrument (when I only basically played guitar), and he suggested playing an instrument similar to the guitar. He suggested the violin.

I always hoped/planned on playing, and my dreams were re-kindled, so I bought a viola, maybe 10+ years ago. I’ve played around with it off and on for many years. But probably only a few hours in totally.

I never really made much progress. But I learned what was challenging about the instrument. Intonation and playing the bow.

Expose Yourself to People with Mastery in that Skillset

Due to my love of music and some lucky and perserverance, I’ve been blessed to play with many great string players over the years.

While I never really consciously studied their playing and technique, now that I’ve started dedicating some time to the stringed instruments with bows, I keep thinking about how they play and things they’ve said over the years.

I imagine it might be like how a kid grows up around musicians. He/she never really took formal lessons with family members and friends, but instead just absorbed little tidbits throughout the years.

Even if you’ve never had these situations, you can seek out similar situations in person and/or online. They may not seem big at the time, but they may have a cumulative effect over a longer period of time.

Take a long term approach

The key is to invest for future skill growth. Plant that tree 5 years ago 🙂

For me, I’ve been hoping to learn many things, but have realized I don’t have time right now to dedicate to them. And I don’t necesraily need to be a world-class violin player, just competent with broad understanding of music cultivated over many years that I can then apply to violin (or what ever instrument)

Understanding Specifics of a Skill vs What is Transferable

This is another cool thing about acquiring a new skill. Since you’re reading this, you’ve probably already learned to read and how to understand a language. Therefore, you’ve already learned a great deal in your lifetime!

Try relating language to music and sports, for example. You can find plenty in common with how you learned language to how you might learn a musical skill or sport.

If you already have learned a sport or musical skill, then apply what worked well in learning the first skill to the 2nd skill. Rinse and repeat!

True certain parts of the 2 skills (any 2 skills will apply), but other’s won’t. I see it along a spectrum. Differentiate between the two and apply suitable learning methods!

Greasing the Groove

Greasing the Groove – a great way to to nurture a skill.

Pavel T., the founder of the American kettlebell movement coined the phrase, “grease the groove”.

He means practice everyday, at least just a little bit.

Most people’s brain respond best to this consistent practice over time.

In other words:

5 minute a days is usually better than 2 hours once a month

Many teachers recommend the same thing – 5 minutes of practice is way better than a big practice session once a week.

If you know the best things to practice for a little bit of time, you can see good results.

Kettlebells and Violins

For example, I try to practice kettlebells a little each day (the swing and the snatch or jerk). And when I do, I can feel the difference in the ease of the movement.

And I did the same on violin. I tend to practice more now, though just accidently. I usually just intend to practice 5 minutes.

I’ve found the best things to practice first. On violin, long bow strokes to improve tone. And, and simple scales and notes to improve intonation. With a beat or metronome. And now I’ve started using iTabla, which makes both even more fun and relaxing!

• How to Play Drums (for Guitarists)!
• 7 five minute practice ideas
• 10 minutes of intensity
• Make your Own Backing Track (5 Minute Practice Ideas)

Learning Styles

As mentioned above, everyone has their own best ways to learn something.

What learning styles work best for you?

• Visual/Spatial
• Kinetic/Experiential
• Aural(Auditory/Musical)
• Verbal/Linguistic
• Logical/Deductive/Mathematic
• Social/Interpersonal
• Individual/Intrapersonal
• Naturalistic/Environmental

I tend to be more experential, though I do like conceptualize ideas too.

I tend to learn certains better with people, just because it makes it more fun, though I can learn on my own at a slower pace.

In terms of verbal skills, I need to actually speak to learn verbally, as opposed to reading something.

In terms of music, here’s a great example of how verbal skills can improve your time. Count the beat outloud.

• Kindness in Learning Music
• Learning Songs: Listen, Sing, Play
• Advice for Learning to Play Jazz (Bebop, 2nd Line, Swing)

Practice and Conscious/Deliberate Practice

Focusing on particular things in a practice session (over a period of time) can result in great things!

While there’s a virtue in moderation and not going overboard with focused practicing, most people agree that how you practice will affect your long-term results.

In other words, learn to practice what tings help to make you improve best over time.

Bruce Lee and Practicing Little Chunks

Another great idea is to focus on specific elements of a large skill or piece.

A great phrase that embodies this philosophy is captured by Bruce Lee:

Practice Makes Progress

I’d like to write more, but I’m about to go practice!

All the best to you and I would love to hear any ideas you have!

If anything, this is the main takeaway, just “grease the groove”, “trust in the process”, because “practice makes progress”.

Enjoy the Process and Have Fun!

And one last thing!

Enjoy the process – I try to be thankful to have the opportunity to be alive and playing music and sports and experiencing beautiful nature!

And having fun – I find I practice best the things that are fun to practice. Sure, you need to practice the “hard stuff”, too. But a lot can be learned just having fun!

All the best!

• Health, Wealth and Love in Music