Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - What Are the Odds of Becoming a Black Belt? (Blog)

samjbrowne · 02-09-2007, 11:31 AM

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and thought I'd share a thought that occurred to me today.

I am not a "master" of anything in this life but for one thing - I have played the guitar for 12 years now and if such things were awarded for guitar players, I would be beyond a "Black Belt" skill level.

I think back to when I was at the very beginning of my journey through music, and I remember that all I really wanted was to be "good" at guitar. Not an expert, not a rock star, just "good". I wanted to be able to play with a band, do some fancy lead playing like the Smashing Pumpkins, that sort of thing.

I practiced my ass off. I stayed after school every day because I didn't have an electric guitar, and played the crappy school one til I had to go home 2 or 3 hours later.

The years rolled on and I got to play with bands. I got my lead skills down too and could really impress people with what I could do. I started playing for money, as my job, and occassionally made in one night what I would have made working for a week in a regular job.

After 12 years, you might think I'm satisfied with where I am as a musician - essentially, a non-musician would assume I had mastered the instrument.

In fact, the opposite is true : After 12 years, I fully realise that I know nothing, that I am just scraping the surface of what it is to be a great musician. Like Socrates, if I may be so bold as to compare myself, my wisdom in music lies in knowing that I know nothing.

Every so often, as I continue to try and extend myself as a musician through learning new styles, new tricks and new sounds, I feel like I "ascend" to a new level of musicianship. It's hard to define, but it's usually all at once that I realise I am in a new place as a musician. This has happened countless times. Each time, just before it happens I feel like I am finally getting somewhere as a musician. I feel that I really fully understand music, finally, and that I can start to relax about getting better, as I'm already 99% of the way there anyway. Then it hits me and I realise I've just gone up another step on a stairwell that extends far above me, so far I can't see the top.

I guess the point I'm making is we can feel like we're getting nowhere with our personal development, our exercise, new skills like a new language or toastmasters or learning a musical instrument, and then, in my experience, we jump up a level and see things in a whole new light, but it's important to recognise and enjoy that it will literally take a lifetime to get to be a true master of anything, and even then,even if we're the best at that thing on Earth, we'll still be aware that there is yet more to learn...

Enjoy the journey, don't worry too much about the destination...

02-09-2007, 11:31 AM	#37 (permalink)
samjbrowne Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Auckland, NZ Posts: 9	A black belt in rock'n'roll.... I have been thinking about this a lot lately and thought I'd share a thought that occurred to me today. I am not a "master" of anything in this life but for one thing - I have played the guitar for 12 years now and if such things were awarded for guitar players, I would be beyond a "Black Belt" skill level. I think back to when I was at the very beginning of my journey through music, and I remember that all I really wanted was to be "good" at guitar. Not an expert, not a rock star, just "good". I wanted to be able to play with a band, do some fancy lead playing like the Smashing Pumpkins, that sort of thing. I practiced my ass off. I stayed after school every day because I didn't have an electric guitar, and played the crappy school one til I had to go home 2 or 3 hours later. The years rolled on and I got to play with bands. I got my lead skills down too and could really impress people with what I could do. I started playing for money, as my job, and occassionally made in one night what I would have made working for a week in a regular job. After 12 years, you might think I'm satisfied with where I am as a musician - essentially, a non-musician would assume I had mastered the instrument. In fact, the opposite is true : After 12 years, I fully realise that I know nothing, that I am just scraping the surface of what it is to be a great musician. Like Socrates, if I may be so bold as to compare myself, my wisdom in music lies in knowing that I know nothing. Every so often, as I continue to try and extend myself as a musician through learning new styles, new tricks and new sounds, I feel like I "ascend" to a new level of musicianship. It's hard to define, but it's usually all at once that I realise I am in a new place as a musician. This has happened countless times. Each time, just before it happens I feel like I am finally getting somewhere as a musician. I feel that I really fully understand music, finally, and that I can start to relax about getting better, as I'm already 99% of the way there anyway. Then it hits me and I realise I've just gone up another step on a stairwell that extends far above me, so far I can't see the top. I guess the point I'm making is we can feel like we're getting nowhere with our personal development, our exercise, new skills like a new language or toastmasters or learning a musical instrument, and then, in my experience, we jump up a level and see things in a whole new light, but it's important to recognise and enjoy that it will literally take a lifetime to get to be a true master of anything, and even then,even if we're the best at that thing on Earth, we'll still be aware that there is yet more to learn... Enjoy the journey, don't worry too much about the destination...