“I grew up with a piano, and my aunt taught me chords. I played with bands in high school and I could do like, C chord, G chord, D chord; really simple, rhythm piano.” SchoolSimpleTaughtGrewBandGrew UpHigh SchoolRhythmPianoChordsAunt Author:Cristin Milioti
“Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took up a lot of space musically in the songs was really important to the way Rush developed. Geddy and Neil both were such active players and lot of the time we were all playing like crazy and it was too much and somebody had to reel it in and me being the faceless guy, I would do that.” WayImportantGuySongThreeSpaceToo MuchPiecesPlayerCrazyInfluenceHugeBandActiveChordsFaceless Author:Alex Lifeson
“I was 16 when I came to New York. I had graduated to a tenor banjo in the school jazz band, and it was kind of boring - just chords, chords, chords. Then my father took me to a mountain music and dance festival in Asheville, North Carolina, and there I saw relatively uneducated people playing great music by ear.” PeopleKindSchoolFatherSawsNew YorkBandMountainEarsJazzBoringFestivalsChordsGreat MusicCarolinaUneducatedNorth CarolinaTenorsMusic And DanceBanjosJazz BandAsheville Author:Pete Seeger
“Wherever inspiration comes from, it's like I'll hear a melody and chords, almost a rough structure of the whole thing [song]. I'll just hear it and chase what's in my head. The rest comes from jamming with band, improvising, seeing what comes up as well. I'll come up with it off the top of my head, catch it, sing and hum, and if something is missing, just jam, and that's the [songwriting] process.” IfsWellsWholeInspirationSongProcessSeeingMissingBandStructureCome UpRoughMelodySongwritingWriting ProcessChordsJamImprovising Author:Chris Wyse
“To play with a band all of the time, just about nightly, was good for me because I wrote lots of arrangements and I got a lot of my transposition and chords ironed out.” PlayBandArrangementsChords Author:Allen Toussaint
“The very funny thing about "Like A Rolling Stone" is it was a six minute song, there was no music to read from. And there I was playing this unfamiliar instrument. So I would come in on the upbeat of one. I would wait until the band played the chord, and then as quickly as I could come in play the chord.” PlaySongWaitingMinutesBandSixStonesInstrumentsRollingChordsFunny ThingsUnfamiliarRolling StonesUpbeat Author:Al Kooper
“My love is new music, I tend to go and see a lot of bands, while [co-producer] Mark Cooper spends his time reading the press. It's often the new acts that strike a chord, because they aren't seen on other shows.” ShowsReadingLove IsBandMarkPressesStrikesProducersChordsNew Music Author:Jools Holland
“I didn't write any music at all, and then, I remember Jon Anderson being very insistent saying that there were two kinds of musicians: the ones who wrote music and the ones who didn't. And clearly the ones who wrote music were more superior human beings in his mind. So he kind of nudged me and sort of prodded me into it. I picked it up slowly. Then I learned more about chords and harmony and I just kept adding to that. One of the great things about having good players in your band is that you just ask them questions. You can pick up some good information that way.” WayWritingMindHumansKindTwoRememberAsksHuman BeingsPlayerInformationBandMusicianPicksHarmonySuperiorsGreat ThingsChordsGood Information Author:Bill Bruford
“I think there's nothing better than seeing a three-chord straight up rock 'n' roll band in your face with sweaty music and three minute good songs.” ThinkingFacesSongThreeSeeingMinutesRocksBandYour FaceRock N RollChordsStraight Up Author:Joan Jett
“From the age of 16 on, I brought my guitar everywhere. I just fell in love with learning the guitar, and I wanted to learn songs and chords, and that led to wanting to start a band, and to wanting to do our first show.” FirstsShowsAgeWantedSongBandGuitarChords Author:Donavon Frankenreiter
“People are being more experimental. I hear chords being played that really haven't been on the radio. I love that. I go to my kids' school and see kids playing in bands. It is a sign of what's to come.” PeopleKidsSchoolHavensBandRadioChordsBeing PlayedKids Playing Author:Greg Kurstin