{"id":165513,"date":"2020-12-01T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=165513"},"modified":"2026-04-06T00:55:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T07:55:49","slug":"tq-arthur-rubenstein-accept-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-arthur-rubenstein-accept-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthur Rubinstein on How to Live a Musical Life Well"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe only begin to live life when we learn to accept it on its own terms.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur Rubinstein (pianist)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Flaky fingernails, slow fingers, short attention span\u2026 we all have challenges in our guitar practice. We have room for upgrades and improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question is not whether everything is right. Because it never is – or not for long. The question is whether we will show up and do the good work anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, we do our exercises and learn our pieces<\/a>. We drill our scales and hone our right-hand patterns<\/a>. But to thrive in the daily practice of guitar, we need more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to accept ourselves as we are, in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not computers. We cannot run a program once and remain consistent ever after. No – we have ups and downs. Some days we play better than others<\/a>. One day we have razor focus, while the next we find easy distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tempting to wish we had started earlier in life, or had more time in the day. We may feel we should be further along by now. We may think other people have an easier job of it. But this is all just story<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we release the stories and accept reality as it is in the moment, we practice better. Without the ramblings of \u201cif only\u2026\u201d or \u201cwhen\u2026,\u201d we can get to the business at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the moment, we can create a clear and attainable challenge. Then we can strive to meet it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can test our recall memory by trying to play our new piece from memory<\/a> (and stay with it past the first falter). We can explore the subtle points of our right-hand movement or left-hand position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, we find ourselves sitting alone in a room with a guitar, working to master our minds and bodies. And it\u2019s just for the sake of the challenge. It\u2019s for the intrinsic reward of learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have it in us to drop the stories and accept our practice as it is<\/a>. Instead of comparing and pining, we can feel the satisfaction of aware endeavor. We can be grateful for the chance to push ourselves, safely and comfortably each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy! \u201cWe only begin to live life when we learn to accept it on its own terms.\u201d Arthur Rubinstein (pianist) Flaky fingernails, slow fingers, short attention span\u2026 we all have challenges in our guitar practice. We have room for upgrades and improvements. … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":165681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\nArthur Rubinstein on How to Live a Musical Life Well<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arthur Rubinstein on How to Live a Musical Life Well\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. 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