Three Years On

http://reflectionsfromthebellcurve.blogspot.com/2011/09/better-late-than-never.html

Three years ago, I asked which of your talents you considered innate and when you first realized this was so. Then I primed the pumps by citing two innate talents of mine. Given the significant number of views the post above has received over the ensuing time, I've reflected frequently on the muted response to it. Are you more modest than I? Do you consider your talents more learned than innate? Are the questions posed not provocative enough, is the post unclear, or did a lot of Internet robots (vs. actual readers) stumble onto it rendering the number of views and my wondering meaningless?

And why am I asking? Well, a reader recently chastised me for giving myself too few "A's" in the series called "My Grade (So Far)''. So I used talent, skill, and aptitude and did a search to see if that feedback held up. Among the posts that turned up those keywords, the one above most convinced me I've been reasonably fair to myself. It also reminded me of a pledge I made in March to re-visit some of my 2011 posts to see what has shifted for me (and you) since then.

On that note, three years on I'm happy to report my sense of my innate musicality has deepened. I still have days of frustration and performances that disappoint me. But the more new guitar students I'm exposed to, the more grateful I am for what was there in me to start. And, I'm still waiting to hear from you about your innate talents.