Getting Started with `Ukulele?

First lets answer that age-old question.

Do You Need Talent?

Excerpt from Chuck Anderson's Music — Pursuing the Horizon . A book about the inner life of the musician. It provides guidance, inspiration and a fascinating glimpse into the world of musical development.

Since it is so difficult to define or even recognize, talent, or the lack of it, has created more than its share of anxiety in aspiring musicians. Perhaps the greatest problem centers around the fact that talent is a fact in retrospect. Only after it has been developed does it become obvious that it exists. So how does one know that talent is within him? Is intuition or hope the only recourse? Though there is no way to prove the existence of talent or at least the degree of talent before the fact, there are some general indicators.

Since talent remains a question mark in the developmental phases, doubts are understandable. The time required to develop instrumental proficiency, knowledge, maturity and the freedom to express oneself is slow and often tedious. It is necessary to allow this time to evolve before talent can even be considered. There is one very common fear. What if after physical and intellectual abilities are developed there is no talent or what if it is not great enough? The matter is at best highly subjective. Who decides upon talent? One fact emerges clearly - that which exists within you is uniquely yours. Thus, you strive forward to develop your potential. As it develops, call it talent. If it is not important for you to label it — merely accept it. There is no need to identify or categorize it. No one is responsible for the potential within him. The individual is responsible for the development of his own potential and then only if he accepts the challenge and the importance of developing it.