The 10,000 Hour Rule

When doing research about The Beatles and whether in fact it was their lyrics that made them a world wide phenomenon I read a lot of articles online that agreed with the statement I was putting forward, however I also came across many that didn’t. One of these was Malcolm Gladwell and after watching the video below called ‘Prodigies’ or not?’ I was intrigued as to what his book Outliers had to say about the subject as he delves into it more in depth in his book. In summary, Gladwell believes in something he calls “The 10,000 Hour Rule.” Gladwell quotes neurologist Daniel Levitin, who say’s “scientific studies show that 10,000 hours are required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert — in anything”.

This applies to The Beatles because many think that “the fab four burst onto the world stage in the 1960s, seemingly lifted from their hometown of Liverpool and dropped into the world's biggest venues. But theirs was not an overnight success. One of the Beatles' early gigs was performing near military bases in Hamburg, Germany; they would perform for eight hours a day, seven days a week. They did this for 270 days over the course of 18 months. By the time the Beatles enjoyed their first commercial success in 1964, they had performed 1,200 times, which is more than most bands today perform in their careers. When the Beatles first left for Germany, they weren't very good. But by the time their Hamburg stints ended, they sounded like no other band in the world. They were well on their way to getting in their 10,000 hours.”

I personally do not think that this is the sole reason why The Beatles became as successful as they were but it certainly helped. I loved this book and think that Gladwell brought many good points to my attention. Watch the video believe and let me know what your opinions on the matter are…