As it equates to guitar, I think there are two types of talent.

1) natural/innate talent. This gives the player an early advantage. they learn quicker, have a better ear, are more musically inclined. We all have some level of natural talent. We've all been exposed to guys with more (I hate those guys ) who seem to just have a knack for the guitar.

2) Acquired talent. This is taking whatever level of natural talent you have and greatly expanding upon it with dedicated practice and repetition.

The two, in my opinion, are intrinsically linked . The more natural talent you have, the easier acquiring talent becomes, but does not limit the amount of overall talent possible.

This is true in many aspects of life. what you lack in talent, you can overcome with dedication

I disagree.

Nothing in this world is innate. Everything must originate and is affected by prior occurrences.

It also applies to birth. For example, on a superficial yet easy to understand level, if a pregnant mother were to execute <EventA> then the baby will be affected and be born with 'musical talent'. On the other hand if <EventB> was executed then the baby may not have 'musical talent'. Thus talent is not 'innate' in this sense.

Therefore talent or "soul" must be able to be developed.

Properties of an individual will determine 'talent', and to my defination is a "term depicting a high level of ability to satisfy the purpose(s) of music."

However,
'High level' is subjective.
The purpose of music is subjective.

It is just difficult to identify the necessary steps to alter the properties of an individual making them 'talented'.

Furthermore I don't think emotion is necessary for the production of 'good' music. It is only emotion that drives humans through very complex still scientifically unknown proccesses to perform in a particular way.

For example, a robot may be able to replicate the exact movements of a master guitarist and if you were to just listen to the recording. You wouldn't know who played it. Last time I checked robots don't have emotions.

having taught guitar lessons for several years and seeing many different peoples approaches to learning, let me pitch in my two cents worth..

i don't really believe in talent, per se. All that i can tell is people have varying levels of obsession. All of my students who have excelled, i mean REALLY gotten it, have been obsessed with playing the guitar. they also have a few common traits. They all:

1. listen to music constantly, always looking for new bands or artists to get into.

2. are self motivated. what i mean by this is they go out an learn things other than what we work on during lessons. whenever someone shows up for lessons and they're like "check out this (whatever) riff i learned this week", i know they're going to do well! people who just do only what they're told NEVER do well!

3. they PLAY. a hell of a lot!!! i've never, EVER seen someone who doesn't spend lots of time with their guitar in their hands show up and constantly improve. and i don't mean someone has to practice, like running scales up and down. just playing, having it in their hands.

if someone makes up their mind to do something, to get good at something, it is on their minds constantly. if a kid really wants to get good at halo, they play halo a lot. while they aren't playing, they'll find their mind wandering toward when the next time they get to play will be. they'll check out videos of halo, read articles about halo, etc. the guitar is no different. i became obsessed with the idea of getting good at the guitar early on, and it was on my mind all the time. it involves thinking about your guitar even if it isn't in your hands at that moment.

in order to get good at something, anything, you must become obsessed! half assing never got anybody anywhere. you can't teach yourself to become obsessed, either. thats just insincere discipline, not a passionate desire to master something. you either have it or you don't. i could care less about Halo, so i never do anything about it. its that simple.

as a side note, though, i do see some people who naturally have a better sense of rhythm and timing than others. almost always, these are people who simply listen to more music than other people. i think just through exposure they've picked up the ability to feel out a beat.

that's my two cents anyway!

To be a good guitarist, one has to have a combination of talent and skill. Talent is something you're born with; something that just comes naturally to you. Skill is something that is learned and developed through practice and knowledge. The mistake most people make is that they use these two words interchangeably, but they are unequivocally and entirely separate from each other.