Does practice make perfect?

Greatnan "makes you better" is more realistic.

I think there has to be some innate talent. No amount of practice would turn me into a wonderful singer. I just muddle through.
Some skills are innate, my DS has it with music and that was clear from age 3.
DD just doesn't have the same deep feeling for it.

Proper encouragement and good teaching helps though.
What you dont want to see is the child who is being pushed in any skills just to fulfill parental dreams.

I am not sure how you would know that you had reached perfection, because it would have to be judged subjectively, unless it was a simple goal, like running a mile in three and a half minutes. Some pieces of music seem to be perfect to me, but no doubt other people would not enjoy them, and the same with some works of art.
I like the saying 'If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly'. (I still sing, alone, in the car!)

Greatnan I just wonder if it is possible to achieve perfection in any field?

I would like to add...in some cases parents who can afford the time and money to provide equipment and get the child to practises and tournaments. My nephew is 12 and is on the tennis treadmill in Australia. He's already in the top 300 for his age range. He plays every day and in regular tournaments. My sister pays for very expensive carbon fibre racquets, membership of the tennis club, lessons and transport/hotels for tournaments He also goes to special training camps run by the Australian tennis association which again don't come cheap. The latest is that when he goes to secondary he wants to go to a tennis academy where they do normal lessons but then have specialist tennis training as well. Everyone is crossing their fingers that he gets a scholarship.

If it pleases you, absent, I will amend the title of the thread to 'Practice makes you better'!

Practice may improve ones ability but I think the talent has to be there to begin with. DD is very musical and has been since a very small child, at six she used to tell me what key the fridge was humming in Had piano lessons from six and became ARCM at 18, she was not pushed it just seemed to be there. DS can play but never had lessons, wonder where that gene came from.

Success and perfection are not the same thing.

I think all the successful people I have heard speak about their lives have acknowledged that they were lucky at some point. There must be thousands of people singing in pubs and clubs or amateur operatic societies who are just as good as Susan Boyle or Paul Potts.
I have come to the conclusion that a natural talent, coupled with a lot of hard work, and a degree of luck, is the recipe for success in most fields.

Luck and genes play their part. Malcolm Gladwell in one of his books argues that the difference between the good and the excellent is also to do with 10,000 hours of practice. e.g. the beatles played a huge number of hours in hamburg clubs before they became successful. But he recognises that being the right place at the right time plays its part. An interesting read.
Outliers is the name of the book.

Does there have to be an expectation of 'getting to the top' for any activity to be worthwhile? For every, say, golfer, who plays competitively there are thousands who play because they enjoy it. For someone to reach the top rank in any field the need to have the right equipment e.g. a good voice and ear Greatnan!, a natural talent AND the drive and determination to succed which will carry them through hours and hours of practice to hone their skills, will get them back on the horse, running in pouring rain, whatever it takes. That drive needs to come from within - no amount of parental or trainer influence will be enough.

My DGC are already having 'taster' lessons and experiences of a wide range of sporty and musical activities which they are totally enjoying. So far none of the coaches has spotted any particular aptitudes (even I have spotted some 'naturals' among their class mates) so they will not take these particular things further. However, all three are now able to stay afloat or go underwater with no fear and DGS, a physically timid boy, now throws himself down shutes, climbs trees, stands on his head after 2 terms at gymnastics. A no pressure, non competitive regime has given a big boost to self esteem and confidence to them all.

I am told that a famous golfer hearing a comment that a particular putt was "lucky" replied "It's funny, the more I practise, the luckier I get". Says it all.

I think it's an inborn talent, lots and lots of practise plus an element of luck.

I think presenting opportunities for children to find out what they could be good at is more important than making them practise something they will never be interested in. Also, when they develop a passion for something, I would encourage them to do other things, too. One of my sons never wanted to practise anything he was good at as a child, but was motivated by his friends when he became an adult, and can play several musical instruments well now. He's also been painting with enthusiasm in the last few years and has got better with practice. With my family, it's been an inborn talent that they have developed with support and encouragement, but no insistence from parents.