Colum McCann on Making the Journey a Joy (“You must burn!”)

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy!

“The perfection is not so much in the performance as in the journey towards it. This is the joy. You must burn!”
Colum McCann, Dancer

The actor Sidney Poitier shared, upon receiving a lifetime achievement award, “…a simple observation: The rewards were in the journey and there were many.”

In guitar practice, the reward for work well done is more work. Meeting daily challenges is both the job and the joy.

We do have punctuated moments of special triumph. We get pieces to performance level. We have breakthroughs that leave previous limitations behind. We play for others and feel proud.

But these moments are fleeting. And they are the spinoff from countless moments of ordinary practice.

To an outsider, it could sound almost silly- That we could find such engagement in trying to connect two notes smoothly.

That we could play slowly and look for unneeded tension.

That we couldwrestle with a rhythm and then feel exhilarated when we master it.

These daily wins are not grand. They are small and personal. They are the simple pleasure of rising to meet a chosen challenge.

But they add immeasurably to life. These tiny quests bring a richness and meaning that can be difficult to find elsewhere. They allow adventure and trial from the comfort of home, on our own schedule.

The differences between elation and boredom are defined by the challenges we set to.

When we add small variations to our work, we create new obstacles. When we raise the standard another inch (cleanness, consistency, quality, etc.) we have new opportunities for victory.

The path forward on guitar usually doesn’t lay in new exercises or pieces. It lies in looking closer and demanding more of our existing work.

As we lean in, the seemingly mundane transforms into new trails through promising terrain.

Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.

I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
Click here for a sample formula.

Hi Allen,
Greetings from the UK. I would like to thank you for providing such an excellent resource. The effort and skill which has gone into creating this program is very evident. I started classical guitar a year or so ago with a teacher but was unable to commit to same time regular slots each week.

The Woodshed Program was exactly what I was looking for. I have found the site very intuitive and well structured and have taken your advice and started from the very beginning of the program whilst still practising some of the pieces I was already working on. It is clear that I will benefit greatly from these early technical studies. There were clearly weaknesses and gaps in my knowledge even though I am still at an early stage. Once again many thanks for the program and very best wishes.

~ Rodger Paylor

-Rodger Paylor

I have to say, two practices later [after a video review] with the new position - the difference it's made in my playing is... unbelievable, really. It's like many months of improvement overnight.

Everything is so much more secure, left-hand stretches are easier, I feel like I'm getting way more volume for the same effort, the tone is noticeably better all along the neck, and the list goes on.

Thank you!

~ Alexander Mosolov

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