I always seem to have a student or two that are above average. They aren't necessarily smarter or more talented than the others, but they are more focused and seem to enjoy it more. I don't need to spend lesson time trying to keep them motivated. They have that covered.
Currently I have about ten students that fit that category. That's way above normal. As I was thinking about it the other day I realized that I've had that occur about 4 or 5 times in my career. Clumps (for lack of a better word) of advanced students who enjoy learning things that most of the others find boring.
Most of these students today are in middle-school. Past "clumps" (I think that is the better word) have been high-schoolers, college students, and (surprise) mature adults. In the case of the younger students, many have gone on to become professionals. They've studied at some of the most prestigious colleges and conservatories and have won many awards.
Then my thinking drifted toward "clumps" in general. Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti were all born in 1685. And there were other amazing baroque composers that were within a few years of age.
Mozart and Beethoven were only a generation apart. They actually met when Beethoven was a child. Beethoven's teacher was Salieri, Mozarts principle competition and nemesis if you believe the hype. Not a big "clump" but a profound one.
In the small pond of classical guitar, the original big fish were Carulli, Giuliani, Aguado, Sor, and Carcassi from about 1770 to 1853. All but Giuliani lived in Paris briefly at the same time. Giuliani was in Vienna hanging out with Beethoven.
These "clumps" are not confined to classical music. The jazz age gave us Armstrong, Gershwin, Ellington and many others. We've also seen clumps of dance innovators, and "modern" artists. The pop artists of the sixties gave us not only "clumps" of astounding song writers, but also "clumps" of virtuoso musicians.
Historically there have always been some very good artists with perhaps one stand-out. But the "clumps" seem to be fairly rare. I don't know if other occupations have this phenomenon. And I don't really know what causes it. But I'm grateful for it's occurrence in my studio.