This quote is for those days when nothing seems to go right. I reference it often – far more often than I’d like! – and hope you find it helpful, too.
“Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances don’t fit our ideas, they become our difficulties.”
Benjamin Franklin
Scientist, Inventor, Printer, and American Founding Father
When you can’t seem to buy a victory, try to remember that as bad as things may seem (or be) at the moment, they’re just circumstances…and circumstances change. Be patient, be persistent, and you will triumph!
Now, get back to practicing. ;-)
All the best,
Mark
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This quote gets deeper and richer each time I read it. I hope you enjoy it as well.
“Music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
American essayist, philosopher, and poet
May music continue to startle your wonder.
All the best,
Mark
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Tags: actual, dim, Emerson, music, quote, Ralph, secret, startle, Waldo, wonder
Quote of the Day | Mark January 7, 2010 | 
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This quote matches the experience many of us have on a nearly daily basis. Music is a release, an outlet – one in which we can be creative, stretch our minds and/or physical limits – and be better for it.
“At school I was pretty sociable, but I did like to come home and be on my own and make music and write my dreams down.”
Dido
When you make music, you give yourself permission to dream – even if only a little – and create an island of beauty in the process. Really, who can ask for more than that?
Keep playing,
Mark
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This edition of PartTimeMusician.com’s Quote of the Day is brought to you by composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who obviously knew a thing or two about life and music. 
“Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.”
Although it is rarely used this way nowadays, the word “sensual” here refers to the physical world, or things we experience through our senses. Herr Beethoven identifies something that many of us know instinctively and some even write dissertations about: the connection music makes between that which we can see and that which we cannot.
As you study, practice, or perform your music, remember that it fulfills a much greater role than chasing away silence; whether Twinkle or Tchaikovsky, music helps us reach heights unattainable through physical means.
Keep playing,
Kathy
P.S. – For more information about Ludwig van Beethoven, please see this article as a starting point. While we seldom think of them in this way, composers were real people with often-fascinating lives. Check it out!
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So many times we fall into the trap of believing that the challenges we face are new and unique to us. Not so! While the specific circumstances may be custom-cut for us, the sixth President of the United States observed life’s difficulties and offered a very insightful prescription for how to cure them:
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”
John Quincy Adams
I find this quote particularly helpful due to its very first word: patience. So often we hear of the value of persistence, but “pounding the same nail” repeatedly can lead to a great deal of frustration. We must also do our best to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if true geniuses are still learning their music and instrument, why do we think it should be quick and easy? Rather than become frustrated, apply some patience and enjoy the journey!
Keep playing (and cut yourself some slack!),
Mark
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