To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.
Robert SchumannRead
Endeavour to play easy pieces well and with elegance; that is better than to play difficult pieces badly.
Interpretation
Focus on mastering simpler tasks with grace rather than struggling with complex ones poorly.
This quote emphasizes the importance of quality over complexity in any pursuit, especially in music. Schumann suggests that performing simpler pieces with elegance and skill is far more valuable than attempting to tackle challenging works without the necessary proficiency.
In practice
In a music lesson, a teacher might quote Schumann to encourage students to focus on perfecting basic songs.
To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.
It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams; to see how his vision communicated itself through his playing, and how, at the end of each piece, he had the sad habit of running one finger over the length of the plaintive keyboard, as though to tear himself forcibly away from his dream.
I am so fresh in soul and spirit that life gushes and bubbles around me in a thousand springs.
Think it a vile habit to alter works of good composers, to omit parts of them, or to insert new-fashioned ornaments. This is the greatest insult you can offer to Art.
You write to become immortal, or because the piano happens to be open, or you've looked into a pair of beautiful eyes.
For me, music is always the language which permits one to converse with the Beyond.
Making a record? You've got to have the song, then you create a record. I think it's the same with a live performance. If the material is strong, you're already 90% there. I always tell young people it's all about the music, the songs. Work on the songs, work on the songs, work on the songs.
Ambient music must be as ignorable as it is interesting.
The bass is the link between harmony and rhythm. It is the foundation of a band. It is what all the other instruments stand upon, but it is rarely recognized as that.
Lenny Breau is one of the true geniuses of the guitar. I suppose he is a musician's musician. His knowledge of the instrument and the music is so vast, and I think that's what knocks people out about him. But he's such a tasty player too. I think if Chopin had played guitar, he would have sounded like Lenny Breau.
I'm from Kenner, Louisiana, where music is played for every occasion in life. There's music for being born, there's music for dying... It's just natural. Families get really good because they play a lot together.
Humans are imperfect. That's one of the reasons that classical and jazz are in trouble. We're on the quest for the perfect performance and every note has to be right. Man, every note is not right in life.
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