On the practice subject - in college I studied in the double bass studio for a few years. He always said that his goal was to teach us how to practice. He told us that we'd probably forget everything that he actually said, but if he taught us how to practice properly we'd be able to learn anything if only we knew the proper way to practice. He'd also make us tell him exactly what we were going to do after each lesson in order to be ready for the next lesson. A lot of what he taught us, i've found, could be applied to other areas of life.