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Quote by Stephen Nachmanovitch

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Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art

This book delves into the practice and philosophy of improvisation, illustrating how it can be applied in both personal and artistic contexts. It examines the principles behind improvisation and its impact on creativity, innovation, and the human experience. more

Author

Stephen Nachmanovitch
Stephen Nachmanovitch

Stephen Nachmanovitch is an American author best known for his book 'Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and Work'. His work explores the application of improvisation in art and life, and how it can promote personal growth and creativity. more

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“It can sometimes be a hearbreaking struggle for us to arrive at a place where we are no longer afraid of the child inside us. We often fear that people won't take us seriously, or that they won't think us qualified enough. For the sake of being accepted, we can forget our source and put on one of the rigid masks of professionalism or conformity that society is continually offering us. The childlike part of us is the part that, like the Fool, simply does and says, without needing to qualify himself or strut his credentials.”

“Many musicians are fabulously skilled at playing the black dots on the printed page, but mystified by how the dots got there in the first place and apprehensive of playing without dots. Music theory does not help here; it teaches rules of the grammar, but not what to say. When people ask me how to improvise, only a little of what I can say is about music. The real story is about spontaneous expression, and it is therefore a spiritual and a psychological story rather than a story about the technique of one art form or another.”

“Discovery of purpose is a continuous activity, and revelation of it is an ongoing process... The most fortunate people on earth are those who have found a calling that is bigger than they are, a reason for living that moves them and fills their lives with constant passion, aliveness, and growth. Your soul's true purpose is to be the love that you are!”