Education Quote by Marc Ribot

Ribot’s charm here is how casually he lowers the pedestal he’s standing on. “I’m not a really good classical guitarist” isn’t false modesty so much as a declaration of allegiance: he’s not chasing conservatory purity, he’s chasing sound, texture, and a workable method. By naming “working very slowly,” he tips his hand about the real discipline behind his seemingly offhand reputation. Ribot has long been framed as the mercurial outsider - the guy who can make a guitar sound like corrugated metal, street music, or a nervous system. This line quietly corrects the myth: the freedom comes from patience.

The second move is equally telling: he “enjoyed working on these pieces of John’s.” The possessive is affectionate, but it also signals a kind of apprenticeship without submission. In Ribot’s world, canon is something you pick up, turn around, and retool. That’s why the final admission matters: “not written for solo guitar,” yet “easy to adapt.” He’s describing a musician’s version of translation - respecting the original language while refusing to treat the score as sacred property.

Contextually, this sits in a lineage of downtown New York and avant-adjacent practice where genres are resources, not prisons. The subtext is anti-gatekeeping: you don’t need to be “classical” to engage classical technique, and you don’t need permission from instrumentation to make a piece yours. Ribot’s intent is to normalize a working musician’s pragmatism as artistry: slow labor, personal attachment, and fearless adaptation.