Chat with Classical Guitarist Steve Lin, Part I

I had the opportunity to chat with classical guitarist Steve Lin and had a fascinating discussion about Asian American issues, music, and being a classical guitar player. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, and Steve is one of the founders of the Boston Guitar Project.

In preparation for his upcoming concert in the Bay Area on May 10… I thought I’d chat about him about his unique instrument, practicing, and his background.

J: Why guitar?

S: I got into guitar because of Taiwanese pop. As it turned out, my guitar teacher was a classical guitarist, so before long, he encouraged me to try some classical. It wasn’t a big stretch for me because I had already played the violin and the piano for a few years (soooo Asian), but little did I know that the guitar would be a motivating and inspiring force in my life.

The best thing about the guitar is that the guitar is such an icon, as recognizable as milk. What I mean is, whether your genre is pop, classical, jazz, flamenco, etc., there a kinship that exists among guitarists across the board that can not be found among other instrumentalists. As a guitarist, there’s an innate curiosity that motivates us to tap into world music. In a way I feel very lucky to be a guitarist because it allows me to participate in a variety of genres.

This is reflective of my own life—my parents are Taiwanese, I was born in Connecticut, I lived in California for a while, I lived in Taiwan for a while, I now live in Boston, etc. But I also lived in Italy for a while and speak the language. The notion of crossing boundaries has been a part of my life and my music.

J: With the previous discussion on 8Asians about practicing music and childhood, what are your thoughts about practicing?

S: When I was young, I didn’t really know how to practice. Practice requires discipline and attention to detail, and that is something that is very hard to teach to anyone, never mind a kid. I only began to understand what practicing meant when I was an undergraduate at Cal State Northridge. I went through a phase when I got up at 4AM every morning and practiced for 3 hours. After that, I’d fill the rest of my day with 5 to 8 more hours with the guitar.

Today, I’m no longer college student and my life demands so much more. Instead of just studying and practicing, I now need to teach, to track down performance opportunities, to work on CD projects, etc. Basically, I’ve had to rethink how I approached practicing because I don’t have 8 hours per day to devote to the instrument so I’ve had to get smarter about how I use practice time.

But the greater implication is: we often face challenges and changes that force us to re-structure our lives. For me, these have been healthy changes, because it’s a reflection of my growth as a person and a musician. As a result, I’ve had to modify my routines, and that’s just fine.

J: Do you think you’ll force your future kids to practice?

First, I want my future children (if and when I have them!) to listen to a lot of different kinds of music, not only classical, but jazz, world music and modern….and everything in between. I believe that the world will be incredibly global, that having access to diverse cultures, whether it be through music, art, dance, food, or language, will be very important.

Practicing is not about getting the right notes or memorizing a piece, but it is about issues much larger than just music. It’s about discipline, attention to detail, proving to your self that you can sit down for an extended period of time and focus on a relatively small amount of material.

Again, it’s not about getting up at 4 AM, but it is about finding something you like and setting your mind to it. As with almost everything else, It’s about doing something you love and being the best at it as you can.

Part 2…we chat about modern music, the good and the bad, the weird and the ugly…coming tomorrow.