Peter Drucker on Sacrificing Perfection for Beauty

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

“Performance is not hitting the bull’s-eye with every shot – that is a circus act.”

Peter Drucker

Our goals as guitarists should not be limited to playing the right notes at the right time.

Any computer can do that.

Our goals can extend to our

focus and attention
muscular poise
volume of each note
connection of one note to the next
feeling each string beneath our fingers
rhythmic “aliveness” and momentum
tone quality
and anything else we dream up.

Of course we want to play cleanly and accurately. That goes without saying. We’re always working on that. We consistently study the basics and continue to hone our technique.

But when cleanliness becomes the only goal, it’s a hollow victory. Youtube is full of note-perfect (but perfectly boring) performances.

It’s Citizen Kane all over again. When we get to the top of the note-perfect mountain, we find there’s still something lacking. Note-perfect playing won’t make us happy.

It’s a myth that we can get the notes perfect then add the “beauty” or “expression” later. It rarely, if ever, happens.

Instead, we can add swells and fades to whatever we’re playing right now. We can listen to each note and how it connects to the next right now. We can notice our muscles and our internal chatter right now.

We don’t have to save that for later. It’s the good stuff – why not lead with it?

And if that means we miss a note here or there, well then it’s worth it. It’s better to sacrifice perfection in the name of beauty than to sacrifice beauty in the name of perfection.

The joy of playing classical guitar extends beyond the prize (the perfect performance). It’s the daily journey and how we travel it. That’s where we find the gold. That’s where we discover the humanity, in both the music and in ourselves.

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.

Great advise here. I find I am taking more time with the pieces than I would have in the past as I am focusing on the technique you have taught me. It is slower going at first but has fewer frustrations, is easier and sounds better in the end.

~ Karen Richardson

-Karen Richardson

As I said before, I think your site is outstanding. I have spent my life teaching adults difficult stuff that they really wanted to learn but didn't have the time to learn at the speed we teach university students. Thus I understand only too well how many hundreds of hours you must have spent perfecting your lessons to make my learning as quick and easy as possible.

~ Mike Barron

-Mike Barron