“I got a new 4-track cassette recorder a year or so after high school. For a while I would just stare at it thinking, how am I going to do this if I don't play guitar or keyboards? How am I going to write and record a song if I don't know how to play any instruments? I mean, I played the violin, but I didn't know anything about how to work a 4-track.” IfsThinkingKnowsWritingYearsMeanPlaySchoolSongKnow HowRecordsHigh SchoolInstrumentsGuitarTrackStaringViolinKeyboardsRecordersCassettesAfter High School Author:Petra Haden
“I just recorded in studios, you know, people pressed the buttons for me. So I just started recording the bass lines and guitar parts with my voice, covering classical pieces, or just making up melodies so I could learn how to use it.” PeopleKnowsUseVoiceLinesPiecesGuitarStudiosMelodyButtonsBassCoveringMaking Up Author:Petra Haden
“Eventually I had so many little melodies and ideas that, you know, that they were all songs to me and I threw in a few cover songs like Enya's "Watermark," Bach, and my dad's song, "Song for the Whales."” KnowsLittlesIdeasSongDadMy DadMelodyWhalesCover Songs Author:Petra Haden
“I didn't know how write a song, (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, bridge, verse), etc., and I didn't know how to write lyrics, so that's when I thought, well, I don't have to write a song with all those verses and choruses or lyrics. I can just sing everything the way I want to. So I sang all the instruments with my voice and just went with it.” KnowsWayWantWritingWellsI CanSongVoiceKnow HowInstrumentsBridgesEtcVersesChorus Author:Petra Haden
“You have to be a poet to know how to write a song with lyrics.” KnowsWritingSongKnow HowPoet Author:Petra Haden
“My forte is playing along and singing along to music I love. I mean, who knows, maybe I could develop that knack or develop that ability to write, and I do actually co-write with people and friends, which is fun, too, because then I don't have to worry about writing lyrics, because for me writing lyrics is impossible.” PeopleKnowsWritingMeanFunAbilityWorryImpossibleSingingKnackForte Author:Petra Haden
“I didn't know who Meredith Monk was, and I knew about Laurie Anderson but I didn't know her music that well.” KnowsWellsMonk Author:Petra Haden
“I put out Imaginaryland, I heard a lot of, "Oh she's copying Laurie Anderson," and I was like, wait... but I don't know her music! Maybe - didn't she have a song called "Superman"?” KnowsSongWaitingHeardCopying Author:Petra Haden
“I played violin from when I was about eight to thirteen, so I could read a little bit, but if you put a piece of music in front of me now, I would probably know the notes, but not the timing, how they're supposed to be played, and I just don't know how to read chords. If I'd stuck with it, I'd probably have more jobs.” IfsKnowsLittlesJobsBitsKnow HowPiecesFrontsLittle BitNotesEightStuckSupposed To BeTimingChordsViolinThirteen Author:Petra Haden
“Everyone knows about The Who, but I didn't. I knew the popular songs like "I Can See For Miles." So that was the first song I worked on because it was the catchiest and easiest.” KnowsFirstsI CanSongMilesPopular Song Author:Petra Haden
“I've already done two cover albums. I don't know, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to do another, but I just did the Led Zeppelin song for fun, and I thought I could do it kind of quick since songs that I love a lot I can do fast.” KnowsKindI CanTwoIdeasDoneSongFunCan DoAlbumsGood IdeasZeppelins Author:Petra Haden
“It's my favorite movie score and because I had such a crush on Christopher Reeve. The music made me love him even more. You know when you hear music in a movie and it makes you fall in love with the characters? That's what happened.” KnowsMadeCharacterFallHappenedFalling In LoveMy FavoriteCrushScore Author:Petra Haden
