I recently came across ‘Guitar Zero,’ a book by Gary Marcus about whether musicians are born or raised. It follows the author’s own experience of learning to play the guitar - a lifelong dream - at the ‘grand old age’ of 38. Despite trying and failing many times before, Marcus applies his expertise as a cognitive scientist to work around his limitations, with great success. Along the way, he takes in detours into musical theory, popular psychology, teaching methods, the ageing process and the nature of music itself.
Intrigued, I picked it up to see how Marcus’ guitar journey compared with my own. Our experiences were polar opposites. I had first picked up the guitar aged 15 after becoming disillusioned with the recorder and piano. Much of this was due to my inability to read sheet music, which I had been led to believe was crucial to musical ability. It was fortunate that my dad had a guitar in the house. Otherwise, I would probably have never played an instrument again. After learning some basic chords, I found that I could play music that I actually wanted to hear. Playing - and improving - was suddenly enjoyable. An electric guitar and a somewhat competent stint with a school band soon followed. A few years later I was even paid real money to play a gig. And not a sheet of music in sight!
Unpacking the reasons behind the broad spectrum of apparent natural talent, Marcus concludes that there is no single region of the brain responsible for ‘musical ability.’ This is because music draws on the abilities of lots of different parts of the brain that were evolved for different tasks. Even to listen effectively, we need to be able to understand the relative pitch of notes, which draws on language processing centres, and remember them, which requires memory. To play a musical instrument, we need those skills, plus decent motor control and, when we have practiced enough, another region of the brain packages up previously difficult sequences for easy recall. This is commonly known as muscle memory. And then we get to the creativity needed to compose original works.
Everyone’s brain is different, so it stands to reason that we see a range of outcomes. Some people can play to a high standard without knowing the notes. Others can ‘play’ sheet music in their head but not on an instrument. Session musicians are excellent at replicating the work of others. Some musicians are wonderfully creative. It is where these areas of expertise overlap that we see exceptional musicians that compose symphonies like Mozart, hit out polyrhythmic drum beats like Phil Collins or play guitar upside down behind their backs like Jimmy Hendrix.
Yet while the potential for musical ability - or inability - are ‘hard-wired,’ even the best musicians must learn everything they know. Look at toddlers. They love to ‘dance,’ but even nodding their heads in time to the beat, or singing the right notes, are skills that need to be honed. Only at 5-6 years of age is it possible to detect the first differences. This is probably why some schools still insist on starting every pupil on the recorder, as an early ‘screening’ for their potential.
Most people, however, like Gary Marcus, have to plod away with hours and hours of practice to see even moderate improvement. The hours he puts in, just to get down the basics, are remarkable and a testament to his determination. This is the same level of effort as the best players must invest to stay on top of their game.
Of course, by practising hard, Marcus actually has the time to absorb the notes he is playing, the types of rhythms and strokes on the guitar, how chords relate to each other, and so on. They help him to understand why he is doing what he is doing and give purpose to the practice. On the other hand, I saw theory as a distraction, which is very likely detrimental. The ‘knowing without knowing why’ of this approach is also touched on in the book, particularly how listening to music actually teaches the listener a lot of theory, without them realising, or labelling any of the concepts.
Overall, the book shows that most people know more about music than they think they do and that they too can learn. It finds that the benefits of youth when it comes to learning have been overstated. It is possible to teach older dogs new tricks.
I am coincidentally the same age as Gary Marcus was when he started to learn the guitar. His book has made me look at my guitar playing in a new way, similar to how I felt when I first picked it up. It has encouraged me to be more precise, to think more about what I am playing and why I am playing it. For now, the ‘why’ is mostly for escapism and enjoyment. All the time I’m improving, I’m happy. I recommend it highly. So, if you have a long-lost instrument in the cupboard or loft, get it out. You might enjoy it and will probably be surprised by what you remember.
