It is an occupational hazard of the aspiring musician to practice too much. While we require a baseline physical aptitude, music demands a lot of time inside one’s own head. The premium on memorisation attracts personalities with an ascetic disposition, who will forsake most other pastimes and pleasures without second thought. I often fit this […]
Attention Musicians: Go to the Gym! Read More »
What is ‘Mastery’? Mastery is about fulfilling your own intrinsic potential. It is not simply the commitment to or achievement of a goal but rather a constant pursuit. “It’s about the journey not the destination” is a neat platitude that is often trotted out in the aftermath of a failed exam or missed goal, but
A Passionate Pursuit Read More »
For me, security and beauty are not compatible. When you seek beauty, you have to forget security, and you have to go to the rim of catastrophe. There you find the beauty. If a musician makes a mistake, a crack, because he risks everything to get the most beautiful thing and he fails, then I
The “Wild Beasts”, or Les Fauves, were a group of early 20th century artists who revolutionized painting with their intense, non-naturalistic colour and energetic brushstrokes. Led by Henri Matisse, the group shocked the 1905 Salon d’Automne with a radical, emotional style that prioritised vibrant individual expression over academic, realistic depiction. Their shared vision – their
Where Have All The Dreamers Gone? Read More »
