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

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

Music, the most abstract and uncanny art, is an eternal river of sound moving through time. We can free ourselves from whatever may be holding us back, and join that flowing river.

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

Robotic correctness is the last thing judges want to see or hear

[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