A Title; Not a Finish Line
We often hear the word 'Master-' in Music. When recording some piece or song in a studio, we often 'master' the final mix to fine-tune details before finalizing it to a record. Once you have matriculated high enough, you are earned the title of a Master's in Music, and may call yourself that from that point on. Most musicians attend what are called 'Master-classes', where we are given the opportunity to observe, perform, and be critiqued by someone recognized as a virtuoso- a Master.
The first question from there is, when have I reached this title of Master? When, as in how much time? In 2008, Canadian Journalist Malcolm Gladwell had proposed the '10'000 Hour Rule' in his book 'Outliers' , claiming that to become world-class in any skill, one must deliberately and correctly practice for greater than or equal to 10,000 hours in order to become a true 'Master'. While some studies have been done since then, finding that this isn't obviously an exact metric, the idea is sound - keep doing something well long enough, you will become a Master.
While this is a rational, near romantic way to think about something very obvious, I find it to be misleading, and slightly.....illusionary. Think about it, how endless is the world of music? How endless is any subject? For as much as we know, we know infinitely less about what we don't know. So for me, here's a more realistic way of phrasing it;
Keep doing something well long enough, you will have earned the title of 'Master'.
This is a slight, but crucial difference.
While most people aspire towards the heavens, it appears through this paradigm that most believe the goal is to cross a finish line, or reach the summit of a mountain. As in, when you hit the level of 'Master', that's it. You're done; you've done it, you no longer have to worry, or do it again...
That just seems boring.
Phrased like this, doesn't this mindset seem naive? If this is reality, why are 'Masters' still out there trying, growing, researching, practicing, becoming more? This is because realistically, it's not the end. There is no finish line. It's just a never-ending, cumulative growth.
This seems less boring, in my opinion.
Not a Peak, but a Plateau
In addition, this mindset of there being an end seems depressing and harmful. We often refer to something or someone as having 'peaked', reached the highest they will go. If you subscribe to this sort of mindset, you're shooting yourself in the foot before you can even start climbing.
Instead, it's more accurate to consider it like a plateau. When someone hits this level of 'Master', the 'peak' becomes more of a landing spot, or a stepping stone. Then before you know it, another higher plateau appears, and from there someone who wants to will keep climbing. It feels simple, but too often people will climb simply because they believe there is an end-goal to achieve; another trophy to put upon the mantle. When they realize it's truly infinite, they get discouraged, and this is where most promising musicians find themselves burning out.
Please don't misunderstand, I don't mean to trash any title's that someone has worked hard to earn, Master or otherwise; all in all, if you have worked long and hard to become fluent and masterly in something, donning a title that recognizes that fact is logical. There is logic that at a collegiate level, you earn an M.M., making you a 'Master of Music'. Even Chet Atkins, the man given the title 'Mr. Guitar', handed out four C.G.P.'s, or his degree-equivalent given to those worthy of being called a 'Certified Guitar Player'. Ultimately, this makes sense because we want to know who, if anyone, deserves to be called this; who has worked hard enough, sacrificed enough, payed their dues, accomplished great things and risen above to earn the sacred title of 'Master'. It ends up being very few and far between.
Conclusion
In the end, I can only argue this;
Sage, Guru, Virtuoso, Master - these are just titles that are given to us. We never truly master anything. Mastery is not a goal, it's just an ideal we can use to keep moving forward. We learn, we try, we either succeed or fail, and then we do it again. And this is how we grow, unhindered.