Is self-discipline the best talent?

Is talent a gift or a journey? Are some people born excellent at music? Or is all of our musical ability learnt?

At the Foundations for Excellence conference, held at Dartington College in February 2013, Professor Dave Collins from the University of Central Lancashire presented to delegates the idea that ‘bio, psycho and social factors’ all play a part in determining levels of attainment. He was coming from a sporting background, but was asked to deliver the keynote speech on the basis that his findings could be applied to music and dance.

I was brought up to live by the universal truth that talent is a journey and not a gift: if they practise hard enough (and have equal opportunities) anyone can achieve as good a standard as anyone else. So Professor Collins’ statement was quite radical for me – to think that some biological factors, determined at birth, might affect attainment. But do long fingers really give you a superior ability to play the piano?

At the same conference, a panel of six young musicians who had graduated from South West Music School convened to take questions from the audience about each of their musical journeys. It was notable that they all agreed that self-discipline had been a crucial component in order to achieve a higher level of musicianship. That is self-discipline to practise, to pursue development opportunities and to prioritise music over other interests.

Theodore Roosevelt said that “with self-discipline most anything is possible”. But is self-discipline something ascribed at birth? How do you learn self-discipline? Is it learnt earlier in life than musical skill? Do some people have a ‘self-discipline shortfall’ which can’t be made up?

In her evaluation of Youth Music Voices (Youth Music’s singing project for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad) Jo Saunders (2012) found that the young people who were most likely to persevere, succeed and improve were those who from the start of the project “both (i) believe they are capable of achieving within a specific domain, and (ii) commit to the aims and values of the project”. This leads me back to my original beliefs, as these are both non-intrinsic attributes that can be taught and learnt.

To return to Professor Collins at Foundations for Excellence, he suggested that self-discipline is so important in determining attainment that we as educators and parents should be aware of the difference between telling a learner “you are really good at that” (implying intrinsic ability) and “you tried really hard at that” (rewarding effort). A distinction I had not before considered.

These are some of my thoughts on talent. What are yours?