Josh Waitzkin on Cultivating Quality and Reducing Sloppiness

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

“When you’re not cultivating quality, you’re cultivating sloppiness.”

Josh Waitzkin

In our day-to-day guitar practice, what is “quality”?

To know whether something is quality or not, it helps to know an ideal. Or we can at least have a general sense of what we’re trying to do. The more specific we can be, the higher quality we can bring to each moment.

Quality attention is focused and aware, relaxed and engaged.

Quality movement is intentional and deliberate. It’s in control and uses appropriate tension.

Quality listening means playing slowly enough to hear each note. It’s hearing the actual sounds coming from the instrument, and objectively comparing them to sounds we hear in our “mind’s ear”.

We can also know quality by what it’s not. It’s not sloppiness. It’s not rushing through. It’s not just the “which notes?”, but also how we play them. It’s not mindless and distracted. It’s not flaccid.

As Josh Waitzkin implies with this quote, quality is something we cultivate. We tend it daily. We nurture it.

We gain quality in our music through attention and practice. When we make quality our standard, at any level, we define success by the type of work we do. The end goals of “finishing” specific pieces or speeds are secondary. Our main foci are to stay engaged and hold true each step of the process.

Through quality practice, we make new discoveries. Practice stays fresh and rewarding. And we enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.

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.

I practiced your system for three days, and it solved the I-M alternation problem I had been struggling with since I undertook classical guitar three years ago. Many thanks!

~ Johnny Geudel

-Johnny Geudel

I just started level 1C...I was able to look at a Carulli piece, albeit a simple one, and understand it. And that understanding allowed me to play it much more easily on the first run through, and I expect it will allow me to make it fully musical at tempo quite soon. That's a huge personal victory for me. Until very recently my mindset was: "Notes on a page. Jimi didn't need them and I don't either." But I ain't Jimi, and now I want those notes on a page.

My work in CGS, even at these early levels, got me to that personal breakthrough. And that's given me more confidence that continued work will get me to greater places in due time. So to answer your question: yes, I absolutely feel like I'm making headway and moving forward in my playing. Thank you for that.

~ Matthew Ecker

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