Becan is the new liqueur 

John, maybe you need to go search out Linda and John. 

For the most part I'm convinced kids learn faster today than we did back in our day.

Bapu,
 
You are right. On top of that, the imprinting thing. Like ducks that got something like 32 hours to get their act together after birth before they are ruined for life and stuck in a rut.
 
May not be as defined or as short a time, but convinced it happens to guitar players also.
 
Trauma for me about the kid was that I'm used to seeing guitar gods and goddesses on Youtube, but never been on stage with one that blew me six feet under.
 
Her visual was as incomprehensible as the sounds. The tapping thing I will never understand. Van Halen started it mainstream as far as I know.
 
Not only do they learn faster, but if they start with the tap thing, it is the new normal. You don't see too many of us or many long term pros that have been able to take up the technique after getting cemented into habits, establishing a style (style=limitation).
 
God bless our youth and the freshness they bring.
 
John

What's wrong with mediocrity? Once you've achieved it, you're better than half the people out there. I'd call that an accomplishment.

Zeno had the right of it. We can never get beyond half way.

bapu
For the most part I'm convinced kids learn faster today than we did back in our day.

 
You may be biased due to individuals close to you who may "ahead of the curve". I teach middle school (6-8 grade, advanced to special ed) and have for over 30 years in an upper middle class neighborhood. Believe me, kids are NOT learning faster. I am actually frightened by how dense students have become. When I and my fellow senior teacher think to ourselves about the current crop of students, "These are tomorrow's leaders", we shudder. 
 
That's not all, BTW. My wife teaches seventh grade special ed. The problems she sees the students she teaches exhibiting are far more serious. Whereas kids she taught a few years ago had a two-year differential from their expected reading level, it is now not unusual to see up to a five-year gap.
 
Perhaps, most tellingly, these kids have no ethics. Cheating is entirely de rigueur for them; in fact, they do not seem to have any understanding as to why there is an issue with it. This is not entirely surprising: when speaking to their parents of the problem, it is not unusual for them to not show no sign of a perception of a moral problem with cheating either. They are simply unconcerned and are often irritated that they were alerted to the issue, much less that it was necessary to punish their child for the infraction.
 
If you seriously believe that today's kids are brighter, you couldn't be more mistaken. Yes, there are individuals who are advanced for their age. There always have been these students, but even on this issue, their achievements do not often meet what was considered remarkable a few years ago. On the whole, however, students today do not measure up to what their predecessors did several years ago.  I wish I could report otherwise.
 

More kids like her and there may be hope yet for Gibson.

Right, some comfort in Bit's words and when I sober up, the Zeno complex looks interesting and maybe even profound.
 
Wanted to followup on a conversation with Chelsea’s father. Never talked to the young maestro after she wiped all of us off the planet in the jam. Pray that they are back safe in the midwest somewhere by now.
 
Confided in the dad that I was brought to my knees over her talent and could only see good things ahead. What were they doing to forward her dream.
 
Don’t entirely agree with his response, but can understand the concern of a parent. He said “Nothing, trying to redirect her to reality.”
 
The kid has visions of an engineering pathway and is supposedly a wiz in math. She at 12 years old is torn between music and engineering as a profession.
 
She has already entered in several national guitar competitions and didn’t place in any of them. Dominated the local school talent shows, but nothing beyond. She just blew Oregon off the map and looks to her next door neighbor as way better than she is.
 
The dad said he lives on a very long city block. He said every basement has a professional recording studio. Every house has some up and coming protege musician ready to carve a career.
 
Problem is the sheer overkill magnitude of the amount of media out there. You could be Allah incarnate but lost in the noisy volume of struggling players trying to be heard in a vast sea of distractions.
 
Told the dad that I will be the first one to buy her CD. Dad’s concern. After royalties taken out from my support purchase, nothing left but less than a fourth needed to buy a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts. How many will buy after me and for how long.
 
Unfortunately, he has a point. Another brilliant artist maybe unable to gift the planet because of ultimately having to dump her vision to pay rent, food, utilities.
 
John

bapu
For the most part I'm convinced kids learn faster today than we did back in our day.

You may be biased due to individuals close to you who may "ahead of the curve". I teach middle school (6-8 grade, advanced to special ed) and have for over 30 years in an upper middle class neighborhood. Allow me to assure you, kids are NOT learning faster. I am actually frightened by how dense students have become. When I and my fellow senior teachers think to ourselves about the current crop of students, "These are tomorrow's leaders", we shudder. 
 
That's not all, BTW. My wife teaches seventh grade special ed. The problems she sees the students she teaches exhibiting are far more serious. Whereas kids she taught a few years ago had a two-year differential from their expected reading level, it is now not unusual to see up to a five-year gap.
 
Perhaps, most tellingly, these kids have no ethics. Cheating is entirely de rigueur for them; in fact, they do not seem to have any understanding as to why there is an issue with it. This is not entirely surprising: when speaking to their parents of the problem, it is not unusual for them to not show any perception of a moral problem with cheating either. They are simply unconcerned and are often irritated that they were alerted to the issue, much less that it was necessary for someone to punish their child for an infraction.
 
If you seriously believe that today's kids are brighter, you couldn't be more mistaken. Yes, there are individuals who are advanced for their age. There always have been these students, but even on this issue, their achievements do not often meet what was considered remarkable a few years ago. On the whole (from advanced down to special ed), however, students' accomplishments today do not measure up to what their predecessors did several years ago.  I wish I could report otherwise.
 
Please do not speculate that my comments are due to bitterness resulting from my many years of teaching. Nothing could be further from the truth; I love each and every one of my students. I cannot, however, allow my affection for them to color what I know to be the case: the great majority of them are not as intellectually acute as those that went before.