You're a Child Prodigy

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Talent is not enough. You have to work hard throughout your whole life to develop whatever you were given. As a prodigy, was there a moment where you deliberately recommitted yourself and decided you weren't going to quit? Or was it just inertia, you kept on going? What will you do next? Well, each and then i'll still ask you one final question. I think every artist missed it during these two years. And i very much was excited to be back on the road last month at 90 second street in york. That's an absolutely highly recommend concert for all listeners.

Is genius born or made? For Croatian-born classical guitarist Ana Vidović the answer is both. Born into a musical family, she began playing guitar at five and was quickly considered a prodigy. But she’s seen first-hand how that label can trap young talents into complacency, stifling their full development. She’s also had to navigate changing business models and new technologies, learning for instance how to balance an online presence with her love of performing for live audiences.

She joined Tyler to discuss that transition from prodigy to touring musician and more, including how Bach challenges her to become a better musician, the most difficult piece in guitar repertoire, the composers she wish had written for classical guitar, the Beatles songs she’d most like to transcribe, why it’s important to study a score before touching the guitar, the reason she won’t practice more than seven hours per day, how she prevents mistakes during performances, what she looks for in young classical guitarists, why she doesn’t have much music on streaming services, how the pandemic has changed audiences, why she stopped doing competitions early on, what she’d change about conservatory education for classical guitarists, her favorite electric guitarists, her love of Croatian pop music, the benefits and drawbacks of YouTube for young musicians, and what she’ll do next.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded December 27th, 2021

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