“My music is so mine, it's hard to turn it over to someone else. I have to be really involved in the production. It's like someone else taking care of your kids - if they don't treat them well, you're going to be pissed off. I'm actually co-producing [Backwoods] with my guitar player of 20 years, Kent Wells. We make a good combination... I think we're going to have a real good record.” IfsThinkingYearsWellsRealHardCareKidsTurnsMusicRecordsPlayerMinesInvolvedMusic IsTreatsGuitarProductionsCombinationBeing RealGuitar PlayerPissed OffKentGood RecordsBackwoods Author:Dolly Parton
“Do anything you wanna do—but from [the heart]. Music is a thing from the heart, from the soul, just like anything else you do, man. And you can be the best, you can be what you wanna be. That’s right! You can do what you wanna do. I believe—I’m a blues player. I never been a millionaire, but let me tell you something—I think I am. Cause I got this. I’ve got what it take. And I don’t care if you don’t believe me, man, but I know you do. Because this is what it’s all about. Anything you do, if you wanna do it and you love it, you rich. You a millionaire, man.” IfsThinkingKnowsMenBelieveHeartSoulCareI BelieveCausesCan DoRichPlayerMusic IsLet MeDon't BelieveDon't CareI Don't CareBeing The BestBelieve In MeMillionaire Author:Hubert Sumlin
“I was off the scene for a while during the ska period and when I returned and joined the Treasure Isle studio, I came there with a different mood. The musicians picked up on that and we kept on going in that direction. The music became slower, which gave the bass player the time to play more notes. In 1965 I named it rocksteady. The first rocksteady song was 'Girl I've Got A Date'. That one was still a bit up-tempo, leaning towards ska. It turned the tide and made Treasure Isle the number one studio.” FirstsMadeStillsDifferentPlaySongGirlBitsNumbersPlayerPeriodsSceneMusicianMusic IsNotesStudiosMoodTreasureTidesBassTempoIsleBass PlayersDifferent Moods Author:Alton Ellis
“Poetry is music though, unfortunately, not all music is poetry. Because music has other carriers to take its message - beats, lyrics, singers, bass players - anyone in music can rise to make a major statement but in poetry there are only words to do the work. And they do sometimes have to sweat.” SometimesPlayerMajorsMessagesMusic IsBeatsSingersStatementsPoetry IsSweatBassCarrierBass Players Author:Nikki Giovanni
“Basically, you're still sitting there using just the muscles of your hand, really. Of one hand, actually. It's another example of the transfer of literacy to making music because the assumption is that everything important is happening in your head; the muscles are there simply to serve the head. But that isn't how traditional players work at all; musicians know that their muscles have a lot of stuff going on as well. They're using their whole body to make music, in fact.” KnowsWellsStillsImportantWholeFactsBodyHandsStuffPlayerExampleMusicianMusic IsHappeningsSittingTraditionalAssumptionMusclesLiteracyTransfers Author:Brian Eno
“Ideally the point of music is community, not the player. Musicians are simply channels to link the audience to the music and to each other.” CommunityAudiencePlayerMusicianMusic IsLinks Author:Trey Anastasio
“My favorite way of working is if somebody gives me a piece of music, because I'm quite limited as a player, so it's my favorite thing if somebody gives me a piece of music, and then I can write lyrics and melodies.” IfsWayGivingWritingI CanPiecesPlayerMusic IsGive MeMy FavoriteMelodyFavorites Things Author:Sinead O'Connor
“I like the idea of the objecthood of music being destabilized by process and things like improvisation. That's what empowers us; that's how we make each day new as players, as people.” PeoplePlayerMusic IsEmpoweringImprovisation Author:Vijay Iyer
“I trust microphones, speakers and recordings less and less, and no longer buy into the idea that I can recreate at home, or in my earphones, the experience of hearing live acoustic instruments. The orchestra is already a set of speakers that react differently to each player, each room and each concert - it's that high level of uncertainly and unrepeatability that I like. The music is just soaked into the walls of a room straight from the instruments - and it's a one-off deal. The alternative - left speaker, right speaker - is kind of a compromise.” KindHomePlayerWallMusic IsCompromiseSpeakers Author:Jonny Greenwood