Don wrote:Most of these videos are of kids imitating/copying work done by another musician. Not sure if we should equate the ability to replicate someone else's musicianship,vocals, etc (see Arnel Pineda) with being a prodigy/genius. Parrots and monkeys can mimic also but we don't necessarily laud them for the ability.
Once the kid writes some amazing riffs of his own, then we can talk.
Not that the kid isn't talented but prodigy maybe too strong a word.
Okay, okay..... you're right about that. In this particular case, the kid is indeed a prodigy and he's in the Guinness Book for his accolades and abilities, but I was definitely generalizing about the talents of the kids today. Absolutely, it's one thing to copy/mimic someone's act and become really, really, good at it which is what we see a lot of these days on YT. However, there's also no shortage of uber-talented kids who have taken their talents and abilities to heights that are usually reserved for musicians who have spent a lifetime dedicated to their craft and have, over an entire career developed their signature sound/style that's uniquely theirs and theirs alone. Not anymore..... it's like there's this new breed of kids who are mastering an instrument in a few short years.
Now, I obviously mellow-dramatically over stated the above comparison to drive home my point. When we were kids, I don't remember an overrun of highly talented kids making the news every other week with their incredible feats. Then again, we didn't have YT or the Internet so it's possible they were out there, we just didn't know it until they showed up on Merv Griffin or Johnny Carson or the like.
Okay, I get it now..... see what you did there, Don?

You let me walk myself through and find the answer.
