Play, creativity, art, spontaneity, all these experiences are their own rewards and are blocked when we perform for reward or punishment, profit or loss.
Stephen NachmanovitchIf I "try" to play, I fail; if I force the play, I crush it; if I race, I trip. Any time I stiffen or brace myself against some error or problem, the very act of bracing would cause the problem to occur. The only road to strength is vulnerability.
Stephen NachmanovitchIf we are transparent, with nothing to hide, the gap between language and being disappears. Then the Muse can speak.
Stephen NachmanovitchPlay is the taproot from which original art springs. It is the raw stuff that the artist channels with all his learning and technique.
Stephen NachmanovitchI no longer sought skill, flexibility, strength, endurance, muscle tone, and quick responsiveness as means of imposing my will on the instrument, but rather of keeping an open and unrestricted pathway for the creative impulse to play its music straight from the preconscious depths beneath and beyond me.
Stephen Nachmanovitch