Edward Gibbon on Sailing Through Guitar Practice

[Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy!]

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“The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” 

Edward Gibbon

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Question: How do high-level guitarists make everything look easy?

Answer: They do what is necessary, and don’t do what is not.

Over time, we learn to navigate the twists and turns that arise in our music. We collect practice methods and ways to solve problems.

We gain experience with the most common challenges. This way, when we come to a tricky spot in a piece of music, it’s not new. We’ve seen it before.

We discover how much tension is useful, and how much is not. We learn to stretch without injury and leap without fear.

This does not mean that music is not hard to play. A piece of music can still push a player to the edge of her abilities. But there’s a framework in place to manage the obstacles.

And before we reach this high level, where our quiver is jam-packed with tools and tricks? We collect them. We use each piece not as an end unto itself, but as a step in a longer journey.

To rise to higher levels, we deepen into the basics. We become intimately aware of the variations on the basics. We practice using our formulas and methods. And we experiment using these in new situations.

The hardest piece in the world is still played one note at a time. And the challenges lay in moving from one note to the next.

Leadership coach Dusan Djukich says, “If there is no solution, there is no problem.”

In our practice, our task is to find solutions and execute them with consistent reliability. It is to notice where we are going wrong and to set it right.

Both music and practice happen in a single moment – the present one. The better attention and intention we bring to the moments of our practice, the better our music.