May 13, 2005 at 4:16 PM

With all the excitement about the upcoming Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, my thoughts have been drawn more and more to the similarities between Jedi and Violinists.

Mind you, I'm not a rabid Star Wars fan; I would't be caught dead in a costume (even though I did buy a working R2D2 robot for the fun of it).

In any case, the similarities between Violinists, Jedi, and Zen Masters is uncanny.

The connection between The Force and Zen has already been discussed elsewhere (e.g., http://www.scifidimensions.com/Jun01/forcetaobutterfly.htm and http://www.exn.ca/starwars/taoism.cfm ) but I don't know if anyone has expounded on the relationship between Zen and the Violin.

I wonder if there's a book out there about this? "Zen and the Art of Violin Playing," perhaps?

Anyway, enough rambling. Without further ado, here are my

Top Ten Jedi Quotes for Violinists

10. "Be patient." -Obi-Wan Kenobi

9. "You must unlearn what you have learned." -Yoda

8. "Your insight serves you well." -Obi-Wan Kenobi

7. "Stretch out with your feelings." -Obi-Wan Kenobi

6. "Don't center on your anxiety... Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs." -Qui-Gon Jinn

5. "Control, control. You must learn control." -Yoda

4. "Let go." -Obi-Wan Kenobi

3. "Quiet your mind." -Qui-Gon Jinn

2. "Concentrate on the moment. Feel. Don't think. Use your instincts." -Qui-Gon Jinn

...and of course, the piece de resistance...

1. "If you choose the quick and easy path, you will become an agent of evil." -Yoda

Haha. Just kidding! Actually, it's --

1. "Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try." -Yoda

From Greg Lee
Posted on May 13, 2005 at 10:49 PM

Interesting. Some of this stuff reminded me of the Matrix philosophical stuff as well. Little wisdom quote stuff. Mmmm yes.

From putch panis
Posted on May 20, 2005 at 12:59 AM

I've yet to see Episode III. I'm really more inclined to the first trilogy of Star Wars and liken it more to Christianity than Zen. But hey, those words of wisdom do apply to the violin.

May the force be with you.

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May 13, 2005 at 4:16 PM

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