"Quote" Simplicity is the final achievement.

[gordee]

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.

Chopin

I read that quote this morning while looking for an article about practice that I had read some years back and I liked the implication. Thought some of you might appreciate it too.

[mr. beaumont]

It's a good one...I like that it can be taken several ways-- the idea that the simple statement beats a lot of notes (which folks always say, but I sometimes disagree with...simplicity is often more effective when balanced with complexity)

But I like how I can also interpret it to mean that once I have practiced that vast quantity of notes, really practiced--woodshedded, you might say, the reward is that making a statement musically becomes a much more simple task.

[soma5]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

It's a good one...I like that it can be taken several ways-- the idea that the simple statement beats a lot of notes (which folks always say, but I sometimes disagree with...simplicity is often more effective when balanced with complexity)

But I like how I can also interpret it to mean that once I have practiced that vast quantity of notes, really practiced--woodshedded, you might say, the reward is that making a statement musically becomes a much more simple task.

I like your interpretation. I tell students that technique is the window that lets the art shine through. You have to have a big enough window or the light is dimmer.

[gordee]

That's a good way to look at it Jeff.

I like that Soma5. There's a lot of truth in that.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by gordee

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.

Chopin

I read that quote this morning while looking for an article about practice that I had read some years back and I liked the implication. Thought some of you might appreciate it too.

Yes - the analogy I like is the jigsaw. While you're learning - putting the pieces together - it looks terribly complicated and you can't see how it all joins up. It's just a mess of different bits of info. When it's finished, you see the image, which is very simple in comparison: you take it all in at one glance, and its coherent and logical.
And, more relevantly (because one's learning is never finished), the more pieces you have, the more you can discern the overall image, and imagine what will go in the gaps. So after a certain point, it begins to approach simplicity.

[bishopdm]

Case in point: Chopin's 24 Preludes. Although you could argue that some of them have a lot of notes, they're still perfect little miniatures.

[Mr Fixit eh]

I like your interpretation. I tell students that technique is the window that lets the art shine through. You have to have a big enough window or the light is dimmer.

I like this.

[Mr Fixit eh]

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.

And I suppose it could be argued that this quote also applies to the end of life. The simplicity of a life well lived for others is the "final acievement".

STeve

[jandrew]

Here's another quote -- applicable to any endeavor:

…If you aim to dispense with method, learn method
…If you aim at facility, work hard 
…If you aim for simplicity, master complexity 
    — Lu Ch’ai (Wang Kai), [chinese painter, ca 17 century]

The really worthwhile and artistic simplicity is found on the other side of the complexity divide.

cheers,
andrew