Elvis on Picking Up the Guitar and Getting to Work

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

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“A little less conversation, a little more action, please”

Elvis

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On guitar, given the choice between doing something and doing nothing, doing something is usually the better choice. And this is truer the less advanced we are or the less we’ve practiced recently.

In an ideal world, every note and every movement is intentional and strategic. Every minute of practice leads us forward on a direct route to mastery.

But it’s folly to turn ideals into expectations (for ourselves or for others). It’s a recipe for disappointment.

Instead, we can work toward the ideal, while doing what we can. And to work toward ideal practice means creating or adopting a practice plan. It means scripting at least part of our practice beforehand.

We often hesitate to practice if we don’t know exactly what to do first. So a plan for the first few minutes is useful. And this plan is best made in advance.

But if we don’t have a practice plan, it’s best to simply pick up the guitar and do something. Anything will do.

Then afterward we can work on a better plan for next time.

We build guitar skills over months and years. And as with any such pursuit, frequent and consistent practice is the biggest lever.

It can be tempting to put off practice in favor of searching for new lessons or ideas. We may feel pulled to hop on the internet rather than do what we already know to do. The allure of shiny new pieces and exercises beckons.

But this should only happen after practice. Otherwise, we may not practice at all. And we may still feel successful for doing something music-related. We get the internal rewards without any of the actual benefit. This often leads to more of the same, and eventually we quit guitar altogether.

Elvis famously quoted, “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.” So it is with practice. We can distract ourselves browsing and shopping, but eventually, it comes down to time spent playing.

The remedy and solution is to touch the strings. Even if we do the same thing we did yesterday or last year. It may not be perfect, but it moves us in the right direction.

As a starting point, technique practice is useful early in a practice session. We can work on scales, right-hand patterns, reading music, chords, and other guitar skills. These encourage us to become more aware of our bodies. They can help us focus and point our attention.

We can decide on a general routine for the first few minutes of practice. When we repeat this daily, it becomes easier to pick up the guitar and get started. And getting started is the number one job for any practice session. It marks the day a success, regardless of what or how long we practice.