A little over 100 years ago, a famous physicist said that time is relative. It is axiomatic that Yoda and his BFF’s did not/does not/will not experience time in the same manner those of us who are Earthbound do.
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The best advice I’ve ever read
- Thread starter Geepers
- Start date
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,941
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I'm not getting that at all. Not a fan of black and white thinking. If its impossible, it can't be done. Period. Everything I play today was at one time impossible. Some of it is still difficult, but I can play it. Some difficult things I can even play well. That doesn't make it easy. What am I missing?
I appreciate the analysis that Pedullist posted -and if someone can interpret it in less than 50 words I'd love to read it cause I am too dense to see how it connects to the original statement. Not a knock on you, Pedullist.
Everyone is born with the same innate abilities, therefore everyone can be:
An MLB Pitcher
An NFL Quarterback
An Olympic Gymnast
A Steven Hawking Level Theoretical Physicist
A Fighter Pilot
David Gilmour
Mm...kay.
An MLB Pitcher
An NFL Quarterback
An Olympic Gymnast
A Steven Hawking Level Theoretical Physicist
A Fighter Pilot
David Gilmour
Mm...kay.
Play in an effortless manner free from tension.
While this is obviously a lot easier said than done, it's a good reminder to concentrate on posture, technique, breathing, etc. when practicing.
That's another way of saying if you shoot for the stars, you're bound to hit the moon.My copywritten saying goes:
"As I stride down the Road to Perfection, I am bound to stumble across Excellence".
How many times have you seen a player doing something "impossible" but making it look "easy"?
Keep in mind that nothing is impossible, especially if you've just watched somebody doing it.
There's nothing you can't do; there's just stuff you don't know.
Keep in mind that nothing is impossible, especially if you've just watched somebody doing it.
There's nothing you can't do; there's just stuff you don't know.
Without explanation , hyperbole is not a usable lesson. Clearly the OP feels it communicates an important idea about music. But all of the posts here , interpreting it a bunch of different ways, shows how poorly communicated whatever this fantastic idea is.
I thought was related to Anthony Wellington's Four Rooms Allegory
But looking into Havas, it seem she was a pioneer is developing safe violin techniques in the 1960s, at a time when musician related injuries were not often given attention. Given that, and the quote from @Pedullist ; I think it relates to technique and physical stress.
“playing the violin is never difficult; it is either easy or it is impossible”
easy = safe an comfortable technique
difficult = uncomfortable; unsafe technique
impossible = impossible technique
In other words you want to thoughtfully approach technique so that it is relaxed, comfortable and accurate
And not 'power through" technique that is strenuous, uncomfortable, unhealthy and frustrating
But as I said...no explanation...
I thought was related to Anthony Wellington's Four Rooms Allegory
But looking into Havas, it seem she was a pioneer is developing safe violin techniques in the 1960s, at a time when musician related injuries were not often given attention. Given that, and the quote from @Pedullist ; I think it relates to technique and physical stress.
“playing the violin is never difficult; it is either easy or it is impossible”
easy = safe an comfortable technique
difficult = uncomfortable; unsafe technique
impossible = impossible technique
In other words you want to thoughtfully approach technique so that it is relaxed, comfortable and accurate
And not 'power through" technique that is strenuous, uncomfortable, unhealthy and frustrating
But as I said...no explanation...
We all dont come built the same way, some of struggle physically to get our fingers to make the movements, some its to hear/recognize pitches, etc, its not always easy, its not always something that was already there.
But with effort in the right way we can all improve, maybe not to the same levels but improve.
All I know is that every difficult song I start out learning becomes easy, once I learn it. In the meantime, it is always difficult.
Her first violin teacher made her sing every piece with note names while clapping the pulse with her hands before she was allowed to play it on the violin.
This traversed into her relaxing the entire body and using the inner ear to hear the notes before they are played.
Reminds of when Bruce Lee said:
"‘Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."
This traversed into her relaxing the entire body and using the inner ear to hear the notes before they are played.
Reminds of when Bruce Lee said:
"‘Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."
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Take with a pinch of salt, but the point is well made. Everyone has potential to realise.
A long time ago (not in a galaxy far far way) someone told me "it's easy when you know". Anything that can be done can be learnt. Set goals for yourself, not boundaries. And don't compare your achievements to others.
A long time ago (not in a galaxy far far way) someone told me "it's easy when you know". Anything that can be done can be learnt. Set goals for yourself, not boundaries. And don't compare your achievements to others.
I was going yo say: "everything is possible". Tell me I can't do something. Watch!
I really like this quote, and find it inspiring.
I have the impression that many of jazz's foundational artists were not schooled musicians. Some didn't read music at all. Years later jazz schools grew and people studied the music and proposed grand theories of hormonal complexity and why it "worked" and how to replicate it.
But the map is never the journey. If you spend too long studying the map, you might miss the first step, while others are dancing ahead...
Just my 2c. Thanks for sharing, OP!
I have the impression that many of jazz's foundational artists were not schooled musicians. Some didn't read music at all. Years later jazz schools grew and people studied the music and proposed grand theories of hormonal complexity and why it "worked" and how to replicate it.
But the map is never the journey. If you spend too long studying the map, you might miss the first step, while others are dancing ahead...
Just my 2c. Thanks for sharing, OP!
The best advice I’ve ever read so far (playing nearly 50 years):
Chick Corea's "Cheap but Good Advice"
1. Play only what you hear.
2. If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.
3. Don’t let your fingers and limbs wander — place them intentionally.
4. Don’t improvise on endlessly — play something with intention, develop it or not, but then end off, take a break.
5. Leave space — create space — intentionally create places where you don’t play.
6. Make your sound blend. Listen to your sound and adjust it to the rest of the band and the room.
7. If you play more than one instrument at a time — like a drum kit or multiple keyboards — make sure that they are balanced with one another.
8. Don’t make any of your music mechanically or just through patterns of habit. Create each sound, phrase, and piece with choice — deliberately.
9. Guide your choice of what to play by what you like-not by what someone else will think.
10. Use contrast and balance the elements: high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, tense/relaxed, dense/sparse.
11. Play to make the other musicians sound good. Play things that will make the overall music sound good.
12. Play with a relaxed body. Always release whatever tension you create.
13. Create space — begin, develop, and end phrases with intention.
14. Never beat or pound your instrument — play it easily and gracefully.
15. Create space — then place something in it.
16. Use mimicry sparsely — mostly create phrases that contrast with and develop the phrases of the other players.
Chick Corea's "Cheap but Good Advice"
1. Play only what you hear.
2. If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.
3. Don’t let your fingers and limbs wander — place them intentionally.
4. Don’t improvise on endlessly — play something with intention, develop it or not, but then end off, take a break.
5. Leave space — create space — intentionally create places where you don’t play.
6. Make your sound blend. Listen to your sound and adjust it to the rest of the band and the room.
7. If you play more than one instrument at a time — like a drum kit or multiple keyboards — make sure that they are balanced with one another.
8. Don’t make any of your music mechanically or just through patterns of habit. Create each sound, phrase, and piece with choice — deliberately.
9. Guide your choice of what to play by what you like-not by what someone else will think.
10. Use contrast and balance the elements: high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, tense/relaxed, dense/sparse.
11. Play to make the other musicians sound good. Play things that will make the overall music sound good.
12. Play with a relaxed body. Always release whatever tension you create.
13. Create space — begin, develop, and end phrases with intention.
14. Never beat or pound your instrument — play it easily and gracefully.
15. Create space — then place something in it.
16. Use mimicry sparsely — mostly create phrases that contrast with and develop the phrases of the other players.
