William Westney Quotes

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

  William Westney

  Practice, Rooms, Ingredients

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

  William Westney

  Mistake, Needs, Next

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

  William Westney

  Chance, Music Practice, Chances Are

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.94, Amadeus Press

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

  William Westney

  Judging, Want, Lasts

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• 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.

  William Westney

  Acceptance, Oasis, Self

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.135, Amadeus Press

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

  William Westney

  Self, Study, Natural

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.214, Amadeus Press

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• The reason so many of us lose our bearings about practising early in life is that we practice in living rooms with other family members in earshot - and healthy practice would simply sound too obnoxious, intrusive, repetitious and unmusical for others to hear without annoyance.

  William Westney

  Practice, Healthy, Sound

  William Westney (2003). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”

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• 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.

  William Westney

  Art, Moving, Rivers

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.222, Amadeus Press

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• 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.

  William Westney

  Adventure, Joy, Facts

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.169, Amadeus Press

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

  William Westney

  Lapses, Notes, Mishaps

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• If you have played "six times wrong, one time right" the problem is not quite corrected.

  William Westney

  Six, Problem, Music Practice

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• [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.

  William Westney

  Knowing, Effort, Apologizing

  William Westney (2003). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”

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

  William Westney

  Teaching, Students, Impulse

  William Westney (2006). “The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self”, p.43, Amadeus Press

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