Posted by Bill on January 24, 2003 at 14:13:16:
In Reply to: Re: Breaking through that Barrier posted by Anthony on January 24, 2003 at 13:39:55:
Anthony, thanks.
James Jenkins once told me to compare my playing to my teacher and not my peers. To strive to do things he could do that I couldn't, thereby raising the bar of my aspirations. Comparing yourself to a recording is dangerous because it takes reality out of the equation. Recordings are usually made to reflect perfection in accuracy, but sound reproduction is not accurate. Musicians sound different sitting next to them than they do from the audience. As aspiring musicians, we want to be on stage, not in the audience, so comparing our playing to the finished, polished, recorded, edited, digitally mastered, spliced reproductions is dangerous. Compare recordings of yourself to their recordings, though. That is interesting.
Also, James Jenkins is an amazing individual, and your post reminded me of the advice he gave.