[MD] Does a guitar have quality

[ngriffis]

        To Paraphrase: Quality is like an imaginary circle whose
circumference is infinite and whose center is everywhere.

 

        This thread started with that guitar of Tuk's. I would like to add
the idea of "Art" to the discussion. I see it as if  there are three centers
of manifest Quality. One, the guitar is connected to a static quality
contained in how well it was crafted to its' purpose. It is a work of art.
Two, the dynamic Quality manifested in the music created by the interaction
between the musician and the guitar. It too is a work of art. Three, the
innate quality of the musician. Call to mind the welder, the action of
welding and the weld in ZMM. It is like that quality of the welder, the
quality manifested in the action and the quality of the finished weld.
Persig hits the road after leaving the welder's shop. He knows that that
weld is beautiful and trustworthy. It will do what it was create to do. It
has value/quality. He also has witnessed the Quality manifested through the
welder in his ability to create such a high value weld. Finally, he would
recommend that welder to his friends because he knows that the man has high
value as a welder. So, I believe the group might be discussing three
instances of manifest Quality.

 

        The positive or negative static Quality inherent in Tuk's guitar
depends on the efficacy with which the guitar maker, through his interaction
with the materials (organic or inorganic) captured and imbued the guitar
with value. Does it do well that which it was created to do? Does the guitar
make sweet, pure notes. Does it have aesthetic value? Is it solid in its'
construction? I use "static quality" because I think that, until someone
else comes along and modifies the guitar for the better or for the worse,
that piece of art and the Quality that connects to it is fixed. Although,
they say some musical instruments get better with age. Would this then be
called dynamic Quality?

 

        Tuk talked about the Quality that the guitar was connecting to while
the guitarist was playing the guitar. I believe that he said that the
quality stopped being manifest, when the musician stopped playing. I would
differentiate between the Quality manifest in the artist, that manifested
during the act of creating and the Quality manifest in the object that
results from the creative process. So, the guitarist is connected to Quality
in one way. The guitar in another. The music created in the inter-action of
the guitar and the musician is connected to Quality also. The metaphor might
be that we are speaking of three different centers of Quality, three points,
out of an infinite number, present in the circle. 

 

 

Namaste,

Nick