{"id":34192,"date":"2018-08-21T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarshed.foureyes.com\/?p=34192"},"modified":"2020-10-22T07:20:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T14:20:46","slug":"tq-john-muir-everything-is-connected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-john-muir-everything-is-connected\/","title":{"rendered":"Naturalist John Muir on the Ecology of Guitar Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0 Find more here<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

John Muir<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Each of us knows (to some extent) what we want.<\/p>\n

As we pick up our guitars and play, we become aware of areas we could improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf only I could play faster\u2026\u201d \u201cIf only I was more flexible\u2026.\u201d \u201cIf only I was stronger and had more stamina\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever we notice, we assume that\u2019s where we should put our energy. If we want more speed, we should practice speed drills. If we want flexibility, we should do stretching exercises<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For any desire, there\u2019s an obvious answer.<\/p>\n

But the obvious answer is rarely going to get us where we want to go. And the reason for this lies in today\u2019s quote from the great naturalist John Muir:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

This means that speed cannot be separated from strength and flexibility.<\/p>\n

To maintain accuracy at high speed, we need precise and reliable finger movements. We need our hands to synchronize like a Swiss watch. We need to master the on\/off switch of muscle tension.<\/p>\n

And for any of the above, we need keen observation skills. We need focus and awareness. We need curiosity and the ability to respond to new information.<\/p>\n

And to develop these, we need to slow down<\/a> and look past the obvious answers.<\/p>\n

And all of this takes time.<\/p>\n

Of course, we want what we want, and we want it now. We\u2019re only human, after all.<\/p>\n

So perhaps the master-skill in all our classical guitar training is the ability to keep the long game in mind – to see whatever we\u2019re working on<\/a> now as part of a larger progression towards mastery.<\/p>\n

In each practice, we can hold ourselves to our highest standards as we know them, and resist the urge to take short-cuts. We can gauge success by our levels of focus and awareness in the moment. And we can break the habit of judging ourselves against some future ideal.<\/p>\n

We can make it a game of steady, incremental improvement.<\/p>\n

Before we know it, we get what we want. And as a bonus, we enjoy the journey even more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0 Find more here. Enjoy! \u201cWhen we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.\u201d John Muir Each of us knows (to some extent) what we want. As we pick up our guitars and play, we … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2973,"featured_media":34181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\n[Quote] Naturalist John Muir on the Ecology of Guitar Practice<\/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=\"Naturalist John Muir on the Ecology of Guitar Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar.\u00a0 Find more here. 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