Guitar zero : the new musician and the science of learning / Gary Marcus

Includes bibliographical references and index

Tuning up -- Take me to the river -- Learning to crawl -- It don't come easy -- Talking heads -- Back to school -- School of rock -- True talent -- Into the groove -- Onstage -- The worst song in the world -- Knowing without knowing -- Take it to the limit -- Heavy metal -- Epilogue.

The author describes how he was able to learn to play the guitar in midlife in spite of a limited musical aptitude, revealing what he learned about the brain's capacity for musical proficiency at any time of life and how his findings challenge commonly accepted beliefs about musical talent and training.