Byron Katie on Forgetting the Past to Better the Future

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

What I love most about the past is that it’s over

Byron Katie

There’s a trap many of us fall into. We start to believe that “This is just how I am.” or “I’m good at this and not at that.”

When an idea comes to mind, we quickly dredge up all previous experiences and decide up or down. Public speaking? I’m not good at that. Hot-headed? That’s just who I am. Can’t change now. It’s nature.

But that’s all malarkey.

We don’t have to stay locked into old notions. We don’t have to limit ourselves to what we’ve done in the past.

So what if we weren’t good at singing 20 years ago. So what if we never learned how to read musical notation. So what if we embarrassed ourselves dancing at prom.

The past is over. We can be whoever we choose to be. Right now.

We can pick up the guitar and focus like a Nobel Laureate physicist. We can stretch like a dancer and train like an Olympian. We can choose how we want our guitar practice to be, and make it that. One day at a time.

This doesn’t mean everything will be easy. Physicists have to manage distraction, too. Dancers fall down and Olympians sometimes feel lazy. They just keep showing up.

Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.

I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
Click here for a sample formula.

I just started level 1C...I was able to look at a Carulli piece, albeit a simple one, and understand it. And that understanding allowed me to play it much more easily on the first run through, and I expect it will allow me to make it fully musical at tempo quite soon. That's a huge personal victory for me. Until very recently my mindset was: "Notes on a page. Jimi didn't need them and I don't either." But I ain't Jimi, and now I want those notes on a page.

My work in CGS, even at these early levels, got me to that personal breakthrough. And that's given me more confidence that continued work will get me to greater places in due time. So to answer your question: yes, I absolutely feel like I'm making headway and moving forward in my playing. Thank you for that.

~ Matthew Ecker

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I am a 61 year old physician, reconnecting with the classical guitar after a hiatus of nearly 40 years. After a couple of weeks [in the program], I’m now producing a much clearer, yet somehow more mellow and beautiful sound. It was really good to feel it happening in my hand, and that it felt more comfortable and somehow “right”, compared to the way I had played before (“curved picking”). The fog started to lift and I found that I was remembering more, and it felt great (also a bit of a relief!), giving me confidence to keep going. Thank you for making your course available - your love of music and the guitar shines through the teaching. I am very happy I found and registered with CGS.

~ Brian Davey

-Brian Davey