Paulo Coelho on How to Gain Musical Experience

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Enjoy!

“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.”

Paulo Coelho

When we’re young, we try on different identities. We bounce from one world-view to the next. We experiment with fashion, language, expression.

As we grow, we look back and think, “Well that was silly.” or “Did I really do that?”

This is all part of the grand game. It’s how we grow up. When we try new things, we succeed or we fail. But either way, we gain experience.

In our music, we do the same. Or we can.

It takes time and experience to make mature musical decisions. It takes work to slow down in just the right way, to bring out a certain note just so, to infuse energy and meaning into a series of notes.

We can follow recipes for these things. We can apply formulas and methods. And these are a wonderful place to start.

But we also need to experiment. We need to, as author Paulo Coelho said, be brave and take risks.

In the safety of our homes, practicing in isolation, bravery seems unnecessary. But to try new things, to be expressive in new ways – these things are scary. They feel dangerous.

It’s much easier to just play the notes and keep our blood pressure steady. It’s much easier to do the logical work and avoid the more human elements of music.

But with the courage and risk come new experiences. In time we become more comfortable exaggerating the swells and fades, playing faster than prudent, and singing and conducting to clarify new ideas.

Experimentation is the cost of admission to the world of experience.