{"id":75007,"date":"2019-12-17T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=75007"},"modified":"2020-10-22T03:18:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T10:18:57","slug":"tq-sydney-j-harris-idealist-cynic-realist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-sydney-j-harris-idealist-cynic-realist\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney J. Harris on How to Be a Musical Realist"},"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

“An idealist believes that the short run doesn\u2019t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn\u2019t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.” <\/em><\/p> Sydney J. Harris<\/em> <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Each time we sit down and pick up our instruments, we have the opportunity to craft our life of music. We either practice or we play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we work on specific exercises or techniques, we improve over time. And not only that, we also get the daily satisfaction of meaningful work. We overcome obstacles, solve problems<\/a>, and meet challenges<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPractice\u201d is the act of working on specific things with the goal of improving them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also need \u201cplay<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of \u201cplay\u201d is to enjoy the moment and the act of playing. We practice so that we can play. We play to give meaning and context to practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One purpose of practice is the daily satisfaction and focus. Another is to facilitate play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have limited practice minutes each day. How we use them will determine how satisfying that daily time feels. And it will make play more rewarding over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to ensure a joyful life of music, is to practice – to work on specific things<\/a>, with complete attention. And sometimes just play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What specific things should we work on? This changes over time. It almost doesn\u2019t matter – so long as we work to improve something specific. And that what we work on is appropriate for our current skill-level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could be changing chords<\/a>, connecting<\/a> notes, or sight-reading<\/a>. It could be learning new notes in a piece of music<\/a>. Or polishing<\/a> music we already know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any given day, the content is less important than the level of attention and the clarity of the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we do today, and how we do it, will pave the path for tomorrow and beyond.<\/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! “An idealist believes that the short run doesn\u2019t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn\u2019t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.” Sydney J. Harris Each time … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2973,"featured_media":75008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tuesday-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\nSydney J. Harris on How to Be a Musical Realist<\/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=\"Sydney J. Harris on How to Be a Musical Realist\" \/>\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! “An idealist believes that the short run doesn\u2019t count. A cynic believes the long run doesn\u2019t matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.” Sydney J. Harris Each time ... 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