Hot Tuna
August 26, 2009
It’s always a struggle to know when to keep working and when to move on. Similarly, what’s the right balance between learning and application – how much do you need to know about something before you start actually applying what you learn?
In one of my regular attempts to resurrect my long-dormant and very rusty guitar playing, I happened to come across the web site for the Fur Peace Ranch in Southeast Ohio.
Founded by legendary guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) and his wife Vanessa, it offers a variety of intensive guitar-study weekends, along with a host of concerts featuring many of Jorma’s old friends from “back in the day.” (In case you don’t know – or can’t remember who Jorma is, click here for a quick video with an instantly recognizable song he originally recorded way back in 1966.)
He’s truly one of the masters of what’s now known as “fingerstyle” guitar. When asked in an interview a few years back how he described himself as a guitar player, he said, “I consider myself an intermediate-level guitar player with a lot of experience.”
Now part of that was genuine humility, but part of it was a somewhat accurate assessment of the level of his technical expertise on his instrument. I’m not saying he’s not a good guitarist – he’s outstanding, and his acoustic album, “Quah” with Tom Hobson is an absolute masterpiece. But he’s not lightning fast like, say, Spanish guitar legend Paco de Lucia, or Tommy Emmanuel from Australia.
The point is you really can’t just pick up a guitar with no training whatsoever and be truly successful. On the other hand, though, you can’t study theory your whole life and never actually play the instrument.
In business, people fall into these two traps all the time: either starting a business without a clue of what’s involved, or spending so much time on business plans that they never start the business at all, falling victim to “analysis paralysis.”
By all means, take advantage of the opportunities you have to sharpen your skills. But there’s no better classroom than the real world. Find the right balance, and you’ll make beautiful music in your business.
Comments
Got something to say?
