3 Common Myths About Achieving Musical Greatness (And Why They Are False)

Achieving musical greatness becomes impossible when you follow the (false) conventional wisdom that many musicians believe in. Avoid these 3 common myths to get on the right path towards becoming a great musician:

Myth #1. You Must Be Talented To Become A Great Musician

False: musical greatness is simply a byproduct of mastering musical skills and integrating them together. People who have natural talent were not born talented. They figured out on their own how to master the right skills to become good musicians.

Not having "natural talent" doesn't mean it's impossible to become great. Fact is, many of the greatest musicians began with no talent whatsoever. Everyone has the potential to learn the correct musical skills for achieving greatness by working with an excellent teacher.

Myth #2. Musical Greatness Is The Same As Originality

Greatness is simply the ability to express what you want to express accurately and effortlessly. Your expression does not have to be original. For example, a virtuoso pianist who only plays Classical music composed by other musicians. You can also be original without really expressing yourself (if you lack the skills needed to do so).

What matters most is that you have a strong desire to express something and are willing to learn how to clearly express it through music. Once both of these things are in place, you have everything you need to become great.

Myth #3. To Be Musically Great You Must Play Many Styles Well

You can express yourself very well in one style (that you love). Most of the greatest musicians in the world were specialists in a single style (or closely related styles). For example, two great musicians Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen never strayed too far from their respective genres. Musical greatness is about acquiring skills needed to express the sounds you hear in your head and mastering them. Don't believe the false claim that you can only become great if you already have a lot of natural talent. This myth is destructive because it keeps you from even attempting to become better

Instead of making it a goal to become great in several musical styles, work together with an experienced teacher to learn things that help you become a better musician in ANY style. For example: music theory, aural skills, songwriting or live performance.

By avoiding these three myths you remove obstacles in the way of becoming a great musician.

Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, songwriter and a pro guitarist. He uses the best online guitar lessons to train guitar players to reach their musical goals. Go to tomhess.net to get more    guitar playing resources, guitar playing eBooks, and to read more guitar playing articles.



 By T. Hess


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