Marilyn vos Savant Quotes

Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it. And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.

I am playing the violin, that's all I know, nothing else, no education, no nothing. You just practice every day.

Talent is a dreadfully cheap commodity, cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work and study.

If you have a great love of singing, supported by others' fondness for your voice, then it is worth making every effort, of making every sacrifice, to achieve your goal. A great voice will easily find teachers who are willing to help a struggling young talent, and the ways of the Lord are infinite.

It takes more than talent to get to the top.

Easy is not a option..No days off..Never Quit..Be Fearless..Talent you have Naturally..Skill is only developed by hours and hours of Work

Don't think that you can just rely on natural talent because there are going to be times when you get a little tired and that's when your skills come into play to help you make look easy.

Behind every brilliant performance there were countless hours of practice and preparation.

I always tell girls who say they want to start a band but don't have any talent, well, neither do I. I mean, I can carry a tune, but anyone who picks up a bass can figure it out. You don't have to have magic unicorn powers. You work at it, and you get better. It's like anything- You sit there and do it every day, and eventually you get good at it.

The great piano virtuoso Paderewski was once playing before an audience of the rich and the royal. After a brilliant performance, an elegant lady waxed ecstatic over the great artist. She said, "Ah Maestro, you are a genius!" Paderewski tartly replied, "Ah yes, madam, but before I was a genius I was a clod!" What he was saying was that his present acclaim was not handed to him on a silver platter. He, too, was once a little boy laboriously practicing his scales. And even at his peak, behind every brilliant performance there were countless hours of practice and preparation.

But just because you love something, I added to myself, doesn't mean you'll ever be great. Not if you don't work. Most people stink at the things they love.

One thing you notice is, there's a lot of people with raw talent, and then there's people who take that talent and work hard.

If you've been playing for a few years, especially in a group context, you'll see if you have the ability or the passion to want to carry on. It's something that you have to be dedicated to and you've got to love, no matter what happens.

To stay a great singer or guitar player, you've got to do it 24/7. That's what I do.

If you don't have talent or preparation for whatever you want to do, you will not be successful in anything.

Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work.

It seems like I always had to work harder than other people. Those nights when everybody else is asleep, and you sit in your room trying to play scales.

My dad always said that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard enough.

You might not feel good, and you might not want to practice, but you still go out there and practice as hard as you can.

The only secret of magic is that I'm willing to work harder on it than you think it's worth.

When I was about forty-three years of age, I had a private secretary with a beautiful baritone voice. I told him I would give anything in the world if I could only carry a tune. He laughed and said, 'Anybody who has a voice and perseverance can sing.'

One of the things Mother said to me, 'You want this, you're going to practice.' And I know how to practice.

The only way to learn writing is by writing. Talent, as charming as it sounds, amounts to no more than 12 per cent of the process. Work is 80 per cent. The remaining 8 per cent is 'luck' or 'zeitgeist' - in short, things that are not in our hands.

I couldn't have accomplished the things in my career if I didn't practice, and the worst part about that whole thing is when a kid comes up to me and says 'Allen, I don't like practice, either.' I've got to straighten that kid right then.

I don't think I'm the most talented musician or the best singer, but I work really, really hard.