. .the most crucial ingredient by far for success in music is . . .what happens in the practice room.

Music study presents a natural, here-and-now route to selfknowledge and self-integration.

If we're not actively making things better, chances are we're making them worse.

When the good student chooses the honest path, free of perfectionism and faking, music study becomes something refreshingly new: a calm oasis of self-acceptance for those who are so used to driving themselves and trying to please others.

Learning itself is a fulfilling adventure at all points in the process. In fact, psychologists have listed learning as one of the basic, universal joys of human experience.

Don't attribute mishaps to a lapse in concentration - if you missed the note you don't know it.

Mistakes are . . . immensely useful. . . they show us . . . where we are right now and what we need to do next