Success Beyond The Score

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, in ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’

This quote invites me to reflect about the process inherent to creativity. What comes before what when learning how to be an artist —musician or otherwise. Why is it like this, and how it conciliates with the notion of "learning by doing."

• How does the idea expressed by this quote make you think about your creative process?
• How does this impact your music journey?

I would love to read what you think.

"What we play is life."
—Louis Armstrong, in ‘His Own Words: Selected Writings’

When I came across this quote, it prompted a lot of thoughts and ideas. I am interested in knowing what it brings to your mind. Try listening to some of the timeless songs of Louis Armstrong, which are his thoughts put into practice, to reflect.

What does "what we play is life" mean to you, as a musician? You can tell me here.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.”
—Henry S. Haskins in ‘Meditations in Wall Street’ (William Morrow & Co.)

We tend to remain occupied with what has happened in our past and what may happen in the future, instead of looking at what we have to contribute to the world with our music in the present.

Instead of worrying about the mistakes of our last performance, and getting anxious about the mistakes we could make in the future, we should be focusing in what we can do right now to practice and improve, and what we can deliver to the audience when we are with them.

Any thoughts? Share them with us.