Advice: musical/compositional talent?

I almost always have a song playing in my head. If I wake up in the middle of the night, something is on. It's always crystal clear, I can pause, adjust the eq (focus on drums, guitar, whatever).

If I hear a few bars from a song I haven't heard in a decade, I can play it almost perfectly from start to finish.

The only exposure to musical training I've had was music class in grade 7. I was on the xylophone. Learning to read from the sheet music was boring so I figured out the pieces tonally (if that's the word? I memorized which notes to hit at which times) and played along.

Would you say that sounds like someone who has a brain wired for music and maybe music composition?

If I have a talent, why haven't I explored it yet? Not sure, I don't think I realized I (may have) had a talent until recently. I've come close to taking piano lessons dozens of times since public school, just got sidetracked with other hobbies for some reason.

I tried to learn chess. I read an article that said master chess players - people naturally wired for chess - remember almost every move of every game they've ever played. It's not hard for them, it's just how their brain works.

Music is the only thing like that for me. I hear a song on the radio once and it's stuck in my head and I'm thinking 'that section would be way better like this...'

I guess I'm looking for some opinions, does it sound like I have a brain wired for music? Is it worth reading books and taking lessons etc.

I'm a little tired of diving into a hobby, putting years of effort into it to find I'm not suited for it and could never really be great at it.

Thanks in advance,

Hi there, recently I have read the book titled Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. It has one chapter which discuss about people who have gained Musical Talent when they are older and a chapter about Music Talent. I thought perhaps if you get to read this book, you would be a step closer to the answer.

I almost always have a song playing in my head. If I wake up in the middle of the night, something is on. It's always crystal clear, I can pause, adjust the eq (focus on drums, guitar, whatever).

If I hear a few bars from a song I haven't heard in a decade, I can play it almost perfectly from start to finish.

The only exposure to musical training I've had was music class in grade 7. I was on the xylophone. Learning to read from the sheet music was boring so I figured out the pieces tonally (if that's the word? I memorized which notes to hit at which times) and played along.

Would you say that sounds like someone who has a brain wired for music and maybe music composition?

If I have a talent, why haven't I explored it yet? Not sure, I don't think I realized I (may have) had a talent until recently. I've come close to taking piano lessons dozens of times since public school, just got sidetracked with other hobbies for some reason.

I tried to learn chess. I read an article that said master chess players - people naturally wired for chess - remember almost every move of every game they've ever played. It's not hard for them, it's just how their brain works.

Music is the only thing like that for me. I hear a song on the radio once and it's stuck in my head and I'm thinking 'that section would be way better like this...'

I guess I'm looking for some opinions, does it sound like I have a brain wired for music? Is it worth reading books and taking lessons etc.

I'm a little tired of diving into a hobby, putting years of effort into it to find I'm not suited for it and could never really be great at it.

Thanks in advance,

It sounds like it, but then there may have been many environmental factors you didn't notice. It's hard to understand why somebody constantly has music playing in their head; what causes them to be in this position? However, I can't really comment on this as I'm not a neuroscientist, but the topic certainly interests me!

I wouldn't worry so much about whether or not you are 'talented', but the fact is you sound like you are in a position to develop your skills. Your position is remarkably similar to mine when I started composition and although I can't quite get in your head to check how good your mental composition skills are, I can tell you from personal experience that composition is worth exploring if you can already write in your head!

What kind of music do you wish to write?

My advice would be to get sequencer program like Cubase, since you can use it to write music without music theory skills.

However, on the side you should learn to read and write music proficiently and if you put in enough work, one day you will be able to go straight from your head to paper.

Good luck...!

If I hear a few bars from a song I haven't heard in a decade, I can play it almost perfectly from start to finish.

Hi there, recently I have read the book titled Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

It seems to me that you may have an ability called perfect pitch. Google it. Or maybe just a really good relative pitch.

Anyway, grab an instrument and get to it. If nothing else, being able to play guitar or piano or whatever for a bunch of friends at home parties is very gratifying. Play around with it and see what becomes of it. If you like it, stick with it.

By the sound of it you have a good "aural skills" and a fairly detailed sound imagination. That's all great and will certainly initially make some musical things easier for you to learn and do than for other people.

Whether that means your brain is "wired for composition" however, is a totally different question. Ear training is only small part of the technical side of this, what matters much more is your personal strong desire to create music. You can have the best skills in ear training and similar skills, but those are just helpful tools, which don't just define whether a person is a composer or not. "Compositional talent" is a very dubious concept, and almost impossible to nail down, and definitely not restricted to certain clearly defined characteristics.

It may certainly be true that people with certain skills discover an interest in composition more easily than people who struggle with certain technical aspects of it. But in the end it comes down to whether you want to do it. Don't just compose because you think it will be "easy" for you (as it probably won't, regardless of your skills), don't just compose because you think you have all the necessary skills (because there always will be some aspects of composition every composer has to struggle with). Compose because you want to compose, and see those skills as a welcome aide.

It really doesn't matter if someone decides not to be a composer, but do something different instead. If you set out on a career as a composer you -never- know whether you will be "successful", whether you're truly "cut out for it" etc. "Diving into it and risking to realize you'll never be 'great' at it" is just something you have to accept as a possibility. Being a composer is never a "safe" choice.

So, my advice is: Don't make everything dependent on whether you're guaranteed a successful "career" in composition. Just try it out, experiment, write some stuff down (or work on it then record it) and see whether it captivates you. If you then feel you want to make more out of it, by all means, study it, do it more, set out to become a composer or whatever. If it doesn't, do something you prefer instead.

Would you say that sounds like someone who has a brain wired for music and maybe music composition?

You definitely have a brain wired for music.

Whether or not you have talent for composing is a completely different question, though. Maybe you do and maybe you don't. The only way to find out is to go ahead and start writing your own music.

If I have a talent, why haven't I explored it yet?

That doesn't prove a thing.

I've started composing when I was 20. Before then, I had no interest in composing music. Just like you, I was very musical as a kid, but I never thought of actually composing anything. And then, at age 20... BOOM! The muse started flowing. And I hope to God that I have at least some talent in the area, because I've been composing for 15 years now :D

To this day, I have absolutely no idea how and why this happened. My point is, you're never too old to start composing, especially if you've never tried it seriously before. You'll never know what you have in you, until you actually try to squeeze it out of yourself :)

I'm a little tired of diving into a hobby, putting years of effort into it to find I'm not suited for it and could never really be great at it.

Why do you care about "being great"?

If you enjoy it, do it. One of my hobbies is painting, which I regretfully have absolutely no talent for. And guess what? I love it, even though I have no hope at becoming "great". And I find tons of joy in improving my technique, even though in my case "improving" means progressing from lamer to lame :blush:

So even if you don't become the next Beethoven, don't feel down. You can always strive to be the best Laroque you can be.