Colum McCann on Making the Journey a Joy (“You must burn!”)

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

“The perfection is not so much in the performance as in the journey towards it. This is the joy. You must burn!” 

Colum McCann, Dancer

The actor Sidney Poitier shared, upon receiving a lifetime achievement award, “…a simple observation: The rewards were in the journey and there were many.”

In guitar practice, the reward for work well done is more work. Meeting daily challenges is both the job and the joy.

We do have punctuated moments of special triumph. We get pieces to performance level. We have breakthroughs that leave previous limitations behind. We play for others and feel proud.

But these moments are fleeting. And they are the spinoff from countless moments of ordinary practice.

To an outsider, it could sound almost silly- That we could find such engagement in trying to connect two notes smoothly.

That we could play slowly and look for unneeded tension.

That we couldwrestle with a rhythm and then feel exhilarated when we master it.

These daily wins are not grand. They are small and personal. They are the simple pleasure of rising to meet a chosen challenge.

But they add immeasurably to life. These tiny quests bring a richness and meaning that can be difficult to find elsewhere. They allow adventure and trial from the comfort of home, on our own schedule.

The differences between elation and boredom are defined by the challenges we set to.

When we add small variations to our work, we create new obstacles. When we raise the standard another inch (cleanness, consistency, quality, etc.) we have new opportunities for victory.

The path forward on guitar usually doesn’t lay in new exercises or pieces. It lies in looking closer and demanding more of our existing work.

As we lean in, the seemingly mundane transforms into new trails through promising terrain.