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 We look up to incredibly talented and successful people like the Beatles, Mozart, and Sinatra, and we assume there is such a thing as pure genius. Malcolm Gladwell begs to differ, as usual.
In Gladwell's latest book, "Outliers," he explores what it takes to become accomplished at your craft -- any craft from music to computer science.
In the early 1990s a psychologist named K. Anders Ericsson and two colleagues conducted an experiment at Berlin’s Academy of Music. Violinists at the school were divided into three groups: the stars, the good performers, and those who were unlikely to ever play professionally and would probably become music teachers. All the violinists were asked the same question: "Over the course of the years, ever since you picked up a violin, how many hours have you practiced?"
The Results
All of the violinists had begun playing at around age five, and they all played about two or three hours a week during the first few years. However, around the age of eight, an important difference began to emerge in the number of hours spent practicing.
By age 20, the stars in the group had all practiced about 10,000 hours over the course of their lives; the "good" students had practiced about 8,000 hours; and the future music teachers only about 4,000 hours.
The study suggests that it's not hard work or genius that distinguishes one performer from another. It's simply the amount of time one puts into learning and perfecting one's craft -- about 10,000 hours as it happens.
The Beatles' 10,000 Hours
Before the British Invasion -- before John, Paul, George, and Ringo were household names -- The Beatles traveled from Liverpool to Hamburg Germany to perform in strip clubs in the red light district. Live bands at strip clubs were common at the time.
And the strip clubs in those days had what they called "all-night entertainment," which meant that there was stripping and live music all night long, non-stop. Bands from England were recruited because there was opportunity to perform (and um, lots of girls). The Beatles ended up playing over 100 nights in a row, performing for about six to eight hours each night!
Most musicians today don't perform that many hours in their lifetimes. It's no wonder the band became so tight. There just aren't opportunities like that for bands today. Most practicing is done at home, alone, which is also valuable, but to have the opportunity to perform live that much would be hugely beneficial (and of course tiring!).
Mozart was raised in a musical family and began composing music when he was just a child. Sinatra had opportunities to perform on regular NBC radio shows where he could refine both his singing style, but also have the opportunity to read scripts -- announcements, jokes, and advertisements -- which may have provided him with valuable experience for his acting career later in life and for the off-the-cuff antics of the Rat Pack's live performances.
Cancel your cable TV!
So 10,000 hours is all it takes? I don't know if it is quite that simple, but I'm working on it. And I recently cancelled my cable TV so that should add many hours to my practice time. I'm also learning Spanish and I have about 9,500 more hours to go on that... and counting.
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