Quotes from Kenny Werner

Nothing in music is hard, just unfamiliar.

In many cases, the decision to study music has robbed them of the ability to play music. They have lost respect for music that comes from within because they have been programmed to feel "unworthy".

If one's life depends on doing something right, as in the case of the tightrope walker, one will practice on a much deeper level.

Mastery is playing whatever you're capable of playing-every time-WITHOUT THINKING.

Intellect has to surrender to instinct when it is time to play.

In fear, we expect; with love, we accept.

We are all part of a universal game. Returning to our essence while living in the world is the object of the game. The earth is the game board, and we are the pieces on the board. We move around and around until we remember who we really are, and then we can be taken off the board. At that point, we are no longer the game-piece, but the player; we've won the game.

The thing that becomes true about you is the thing you think the most often.

hell on earth is waking up with expectations every morning and going to sleep disappointed in yourself every night!

Seeking new levels of technical mastery should be a life long pursuit - not because you want to impress, but to facilitate any direction the great spirit inside you wants to go.

On the other hand, without excess mental baggage, playing music produces a feeling more exquisite than the sweetest nectar this world has to offer. It is the sound, smell and taste of grace.

Görünürde bir müzisyen iyi çalman?n peÅŸindedir ama asl?nda neyin peÅŸindedir? Ä°ster övgü olsun ister yakar?, her ÅŸark? sevgiliye daha çok baÄŸlanmak içindir. ... Çünkü insan neye özlem duyduÄŸunu bilmese de özlem hâlâ varl???n? sürdürüyor.

Müzik parmaklar olmadan çal?n?r, kulaklar olmadan iÅŸitilir.

I don't want to play the way Monk played, I want to feel the way Monk felt when he played.

After all is mastered, the inner being may manifest, unimpeded by the vehicle's (i.e., the performer's) lack of knowledge. In this light, training oneself to the highest possible level may be regarded as an act of worship to that inner being.

The easiest way to do art is to dispense with success and failure altogether and just get on with it

Fear closes all doors to the true self, that brilliant center where the ecstasy lies.