Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Pianist and composer, 1756-1791)īorn into a musical family, Mozart was surrounded by music from the start ( 1). I looked at the childhoods of 5 prodigies who went on to have successful music careers: Mozart, Lang Lang, Buddy Rich, Joey Alexander, and Michael Jackson. What made them stand out as prodigies and how were they able to successfully channel that talent into careers? And most importantly, what effect did environment (parents, siblings, location, etc.) have on this development? 5 Case StudiesĪ child is considered a prodigy if, at age 12 or younger, display extraordinary talent - enough to be competitive with adults with many more years of training.

So, I decided to take a look at a couple of profiles of musicians with successful careers who began as child prodigies. overworked child who’s losing their childhood practicing? Then, the comments section becomes a debate between: amazing child prodigy vs. On one hand, we want to applaud the accomplishment, but we also uneasily think of the extensive hours of practice this probably required. What makes a child prodigy? Does it stem from pure talent or specialized, intensive training at a young age? We’ve all seen the viral videos of 4 year olds playing advanced pieces astonishingly well - and reactions are always mixed. On parent involvement, prodigies, learning, music education Please Share With Your Colleague, Families, Students Twitter Facebook Google+ The Makings of Music Prodigies: 5 Case Studies July 12th at 7:40am The Makings of Music Prodigies: 5 Case Studies.

Music prodigy example