If you send up a weather vane or put your thumb up in the air every time you want to do something different, to find out what people are going to think about it, you're going to limit yourself. That's a very strange way to live.
Jessye NormanRead
I like so many different kinds of music that I've never allowed myself the limitations of one particular range.
Interpretation
Embracing diverse musical styles leads to a richer experience.
Jessye Norman's quote highlights the importance of openness to various musical genres, suggesting that limiting oneself to a single type restricts personal growth and enjoyment. By appreciating a multitude of styles, one can cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of art in its many forms.
In practice
During a music appreciation class to encourage students to explore various genres.
If you send up a weather vane or put your thumb up in the air every time you want to do something different, to find out what people are going to think about it, you're going to limit yourself. That's a very strange way to live.
My parents said to us, practically on a daily basis, that we were as good as anyone else on this earth, and that we would simply have to work harder in order to show that.
Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself.
I am grateful that my horizons were not narrowed at the outset.
As for my voice, it cannot be categorised - and I like it that way, because I sing things that would be considered in the dramatic, mezzo or spinto range.
It is still more likely that a woman's power would be seen as aggression, and a man's power would be seen as assertion.
For me, writing stories is one way of feeling connected to the universe and God.
I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
If you want to write you should learn the alphabet. You write and write and in the end you hava a beautiful, perfect alphabet. But it isn’t the alphabed that is important. The important thing is what you are writing, what you are expressing. The same thing goes for photography. Photographs can be technically perfect and even beautiful, but they have no expression.
I grew up in a family that believed that art should be used as an instrument for social change.
We’re all children of Kubrick, aren’t we? Is there anything you can do that he hasn’t done?
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.
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