I can’t count how many times an adult who just started taking piano or guitar lessons (or is maybe just thinking about it) has told me if only he or she had the talent I have, the offers from Carnegie Hall would be rolling in….Nope. Doesn’t work that way. Or they’ll say something like, “your kids are only ___ years old and look how well they play. If kids can play better than me, I guess I just don’t have the talent.”

And I reply that I’ve been playing the piano for almost 40 years. I started teaching myself when I was about 10. And my kids have each taken at least 10 years of lessons with one of the best piano teachers in the city; they started when they were six or seven. And we’ve all put in countless hours of practice, prepared for many performances. Anybody who has taken six months or a year of lessons, and practiced maybe an hour a week, can’t expect to play like we play. But anybody who plays and plays and plays will surely do as well or better.

The “butt on the bench” hours matter more than the talent.