Game Recognizes Game

What’s the difference between a top 1% and a top 0.1% jazz pianist? I have no idea.

To a non practitioner, like myself, the difference doesn’t matter, but to the practitioner, it makes all the difference.

I can barely tell a bad jazz album from a good one let alone a good one from a great one. But a jazz musician can tell you all about the difficulty, the nuance, the small details that make the piece special.

For example, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, is one of the hardest songs to play in Jazz. In fact, in the recording of Giant Steps, the pianist has a hard time keeping up with the chord changes I didn’t notice this until it was pointed out. A Jazz musician will have that appreciation for detail, the average fan like me, doesn’t even notice.

There’s a certain appreciation that craftsman have for eachother, even moreso the greats, game recognizes game at the end of the day.

I find that this is the same with writing. I’ve improved at it since, and now I’m starting to appreciate the effort and process that goes into writing a piece. However, I still have trouble distinguishing a good piece of writing from a great piece of writing.

But when I do, that would be a huge milestone for me as a writer.

February 26, 2020


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