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

Much music teaching seems more concerned with controlling the student than with encouraging the student's own impulses.

[perfectionism leads to] a tendency to apologize preemptively for one's efforts, knowing from experience that there's sure to be something wrong with them.

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

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

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.

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