Confucius on Real Knowledge and Musical Progress

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance”

Confucius (551- 479BC)

Imagine our sum knowledge as a circle. Everything inside the circle is what we know.

The edge of the circle is what we don’t know – our ignorance.

The more we learn, and the more we experience, the larger our circle grows.

But at the same time, our sensed ignorance (the outer edge of the circle) grows as well.

In music, there is no end. We could study for lifetimes and still not reach the end.

The more we learn, the more there is to learn. The more we practice, the more aware we become of what’s possible.

This creates a scenario that’s surprises many beginning and intermediate players. And here it is: practicing at an advanced level feels just like practicing at the earlier levels.

We constantly push our boundaries, and as such, spend much of our time at the edge of our circles. And it feels the same regardless of how much we know.

The ignorance we feel as beginners remains.

The problems change. The speed increases. The music becomes more complex. But the feeling of “missing something” remains. We continue to question and doubt.

In time, we become more comfortable with the unknown. We accept the duality of knowledge and ignorance. We come to terms with the incremental improvements gained practicing guitar.

We take one daily step at a time. And with each conquered summit we see peaks far larger and further beyond.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance”

Confucius (551- 479BC)