This was posted on Facebook by a fellow Chiffer, and I think it bears exposure here…
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/its-just-a-fking-little-16th-note-but-you-have-to-play-it/
That was sure food for thought. I’m such a very private person and it’s never crossed my mind how much of me is revealed in my music. Yikes! I’m tempted to develop an incognito style.
I think if I’d ever had a teacher like that I would have broken the violin over his &%$ng head. 
Pretentious, obstreperous git.
But probably correct!
I had a teacher that spent a whole lesson (an hour plus) with the first note of the first bar of the Mozart oboe concerto with some students - made me feel good that he only spent 5 minutes or so on it with me before being satisfied. Now my teacher would not gone into such a long speech about ‘life’. But he wouldn’t have let a note go by if not perfect, especially the first note.
When it is your classical music teacher, you are paying him to be a pretentious git.
Ah, so that’s what “only connect” means… 
Excuse me sir… you just scribbled in my f-ing book! 
Oh, now that’s good! 
Yeah, I’m not sure why the negative reaction. The teacher obviously heard something that needed correcting, and responded with what seems to me like good, simple, direct advice. That’s what he’s supposed to do. Sounds like it helped, and gave food for thought. Good job.
What’s not to like about that advice? I spent 6 weeks trying to play a Bb tuning note on my trumpet in a way that satisfied a teacher. We pay them to be attentive to the details and they should be. Yeah, I know some traditional music thrives on sloppy playing, but the good stuff does not. YOu have to get things right and you have to learn what “right” is. Later, if you are lucky, you’ll discover that there are different definitions of “right.”
I really his advice to play ‘through’ the music. Thinking about it I definitely need to do that more. I even saw this the 'smorning when I recorded myself as I was working on a hornpipe learnt at the weekend. The notes were there but I wasn’t playing through them enough to make anyone care.
Great advice and not pretentious.
I thought I was playing well until I read that.