{"id":197732,"date":"2021-07-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=197732"},"modified":"2021-07-26T02:20:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T09:20:29","slug":"tq-john-steinbeck-dreadful-beauty-of-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-john-steinbeck-dreadful-beauty-of-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"John Steinbeck on Beautiful Truth and Dreadful Beauty"},"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

\u201cThere\u2019s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

John Steinbeck, East of Eden<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

In Roman times, military generals returning victorious were worshipped as near-gods. They had massive parades that lasted all day long. The general would ride in a chariot through town and country, adored by thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the chariot with him was a slave. And this slave had one responsibility. While the general drank in the glory, this slave whispered in his ear, reminding him of his mortality. \u201cRemember, death is near. You, too, must die.\u201d Momento Mori<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this statement is true. We all die. It\u2019s not the most enjoyable event to contemplate, but it certainly will happen. And we know not when. The young die as often as the old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macabre, perhaps, but there is also a beauty in this truth. It brings more value to the time we have<\/a>. It can put our cares and concerns in a wider context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musically and in our guitar practice, we often avoid hard truths. We may be tempted to put off corrections for some other time. We can entertain ourselves now and do the hard work later. Then later we choose the same logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people are shocked when they record themselves playing<\/a>. The sounds echoing back from the recorder are often different than the sounds we hear in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In real-time, we color the sound with our expectations<\/a>. As in the Paul Simon lyric, \u201cA man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.\u201d We may not be aware we do this, but here is another dreadful truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honest listening is a built skill. To listen with clarity takes practice<\/a>. Video or audio recording helps with this. It allows us to listen without playing. We can give full attention to listening. In time, we can hear reality as it happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the beautiful truth we hear is rarely perfect. It\u2019s full of scratches and bumps. Gaps in the seams and runs in the paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we face the next challenge – to use this information. We can use it to berate ourselves and undermine our motivation and enjoyment. Or we can use it to grow and improve<\/a>. We can use it as the whetstone on which we hone our craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we record again, we\u2019ll hear new areas for improvement. We may, with the right attitude, be proud of how far we\u2019ve come. But we will recognize new possibilities. The work continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also in East of Eden, Steinbeck writes, \u201cAnd now that you don\u2019t have to be perfect, you can be good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One step in front of the next<\/a>, enjoying the parade.<\/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! \u201cThere\u2019s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.\u201d John Steinbeck, East of Eden In Roman times, military generals returning victorious were worshipped as near-gods. They had massive parades that lasted all day long. The general would ride in a … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":197734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Steinbeck on Beautiful Truth and Dreadful Beauty<\/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=\"John Steinbeck on Beautiful Truth and Dreadful Beauty\" \/>\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. Enjoy! \u201cThere\u2019s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.\u201d John Steinbeck, East of Eden In Roman times, military generals returning victorious were worshipped as near-gods. 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