Brought to you this hour by

Advertising and Web Hosting on Woodwind.Org!

Doublereed Archive - Posting 000050.txt from 2004/08

From: Oboeeee@-----.com
Subj: [DR-L] Quote of the Day...Missing Jim Mitchell (1938-2004)
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 23:02:06 -0400

"Now life is the only art that we are required to practice without=20
preparation, and without being allowed the preliminary trials, the failures=20=
and botches,=20
that are essential for the training of a mere beginner. In life, we must=20
begin to give a public performance before we have acquired even a novice=E2=
=80=99s skill;=20
and often our moments of seeming mastery are upset by new demands, for which=
=20
we have acquired no preparatory facility. Life is a score that we play at=20
sight, not merely before we have divined the intentions of the composer, but=
even=20
before we have mastered our instruments; even worse, a large part of the sco=
re=20
has been only roughly indicated, and we must improvise the music for our=20
particular instrument, over long passages. On these terms, the whole operati=
on=20
seems one of endless difficulty and frustration; and indeed, were it not for=
the=20
fact that some of the passages have been played so often by our predecessors=
=20
that, when we come to them, we seem to recall some of the score and can=20
anticipate the natural sequence of the notes, we might often give up in shee=
r despair.=20
The wonder is not that so much cacophony appears in our actual individual=20
lives, but that there is any appearance of harmony and progression."

-Lewis Mumford (1895=E2=80=931990) U.S. social philosopher
"The Conduct of Life"

---------------------------------------------------------------------
For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org