Item — HN Reader

When I was 18 years old and a new classical guitar student, I was very fortunate to hear the Maestro in concert. I even got to meet him briefly afterward because my music professor had some connection to him.

I was blown away at the time by what was possible and that, even though he was very old at the time and had to be led out onstage by the arm, needed help getting seated, and had the guitar placed in his lap, what he could still play was so far advanced of anyone in my class who were all in attendance.

The temptation (and I have felt this many times since then after hearing various guitarists) could have been "I should just quit now because I'll never be that good." But I'm glad I didn't succumb to that and decided that "I'd rather not sound like anyone else" and still feeling pleasure and accomplishment from playing on my own terms.

2 comments

I wonder if our professors knew each other?

My classical guitar instructor was well acquainted with Segovia, and he himself, was a student of Julian Bream. However, my instructor was without a doubt one of the most angry people I think I have ever interacted with. He was somewhat better known for his arrangements and less so as a performer.

> "I should just quit now because I'll never be that good."

I never had to think about this because my instructor would often tell me this. XD

Mastery comes with age, no way around that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pi7WcHqBNU - Here are some bits of wisdom from Japanese master chefs, both young and old.

In light of this, it's weird how the software industry, especially startup culture, is so rife with age discrimination.

Experienced people see through b.s. and push back. Less experienced people are simply easier to exploit. And whether or not the current job market allows us proper perspective, a large part of our working population is exploited. That’s how capitalism works in practice.