The debate over the nature of creativity is an old one: is musical talent something that you are born with, or is it something that anyone with practice and dedication can acquire?<\/p>\n
This is a question that musicians like Star Marley, Malibangana Empire, Mumderanji Lungu, Lucius Banda, The Black Missionaries, Miracle Moffat, among others, can answer.<\/p>\n
After the late reggae legend and band leader for the Black Missionaries, Evison Matafale, died, people thought that his talent would be buried along with him but, to their surprise, the surviving band members continued with the mission.<\/p>\n
Even though it is debatable as to whether the band is living up to the capabilities of Matafale, the truth of the matter is, through their music, people remember the fallen hero.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Soldier Lucius Banda has also lived beyond his brother\u2019s dream by making a name for himself as his music has inspired many.<\/p>\n
Miracle Moffat has started off so well but will she continue the legacy her mother left? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n
However, things have not been the same with Star Marley, a brother to the late Vic Marley. After Vic Marley passed on, his younger brother Star Marley promised to continue from where his elder brother left off.<\/p>\n
But things did not work out the way he promised because his music has not survived the taste of time. Star Marley only released a few songs and, in the process, killed his brother\u2019s dream. This can also be said of musician Mumderanji Lungu, son to the late Stonald Lungu.<\/p>\n
Gospel Musician Allan Ngumuya argued that musical talent is either innate or acquired through practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, it depends because you can be born in a musical family but be not interested in singing or practicing with your family. It can be difficult for the parents, if they are the ones who have the talent, to pass it on to their children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ngumuya believes that for someone to inherit musical talent then he must show interest in music.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one is born in a family which is gifted with musical talent and he is showing interest in learning, then he easily grasps the talent. Remember that musical talent is not something like a disease which one inherits unknowingly,\u201d Ngumuya said.<\/p>\n
Ngumuya also pointed out that if the surviving members did not appreciate his talent then it is buried with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Black Missionaries are promoting the songs that their father, the late Robert Fumulani, recorded a long time ago because of the interest they have in his music. Through the Black Missionaries, Fumulani\u2019s spirit lives on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, this indicates that artistic talent is, to some degree, hereditary.<\/p>\n
Balaka-based musician, Cos Chiwalo, agrees with Ngumuya that musical talent could either be hereditary or acquired through practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could say it depends on determination, how the parents loved the art as well as how the children took it. There are those artists that inherit musical talent from their parents or relatives and there are those that start from scratch. For instance, I was not born in a family that had musical talent. I learned how to compose and sing through my interest in the art,\u201d Chiwalo said.<\/p>\n
Chiwalo thinks that musicians that take over from their parents or relatives but do not succeed lack strength of mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are people who take things for granted. In most cases, they lack seriousness and, because they did not get the secrets behind their forefathers\u2019 musical talent, it becomes hard for them to sustain the talent that\u2019s why they come and go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The debate over the nature of creativity is an old one: is musical talent something that you are born with, or is it something that anyone with practice and dedication can acquire? This is a question that musicians like Star Marley, Malibangana Empire, Mumderanji Lungu, Lucius Banda, The Black Missionaries, Miracle Moffat, among others, can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42180"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42182,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42180\/revisions\/42182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}