Francis Beacon on Playing Classical Guitar Naturally

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

“Nature, in order to be commanded, must be obeyed.”

Francis Bacon

In his Kitharologous, Ricardo Iznaola offers this quote by Francis Bacon. But as true as it sounds, what does it actually mean?

When we talk about learning and practicing classical guitar, what is “Nature”?

So much in music is thought to be “in the ear of the beholder”. But Bacon suggests that there are deeper truths that govern our art. He implies that it’s only through mastery of these core elements that we create “natural” art and music.

So what are they?

Perhaps we can reference the building blocks of music in general:

1. time (rhythm)
2. pitch (notes)
3. volume (loud vs. soft)
4. and timbre (in guitar, tone quality).

For any piece of music, these are indeed a great place to start. And improving any of these will bring our music to higher levels.

But to create any of the above, we have to use our human bodies. And this brings in more “nature”.

If we use our bodies wrong, we can cause pain and injury. Or at the least, we can limit our abilities to execute the four musical building blocks above.

So “nature” now includes our positioning and form, and how we move our hands. It could also include how well we listen and pay attention.

Looking at music in this light, we can perhaps do best by putting complex patterns and pieces aside, and focus for a while instead on beefing up the basics.

We can slow down and release the need to reach a goal or finish line. Now, we just may find joy and meaning in the small incremental improvements that come with focused practice.

When we focus on the fundamentals, we set ourselves up to one day “command nature”.