“You're always in a tunnel that you can't see the end of. But there's something that took place on this movie that I don't think we expected and that was that once we decided that the entire cast would be real retired opera singers and retired musicians... and these people the phone hadn't rung for them for 20 or 40 years even though they can deliver.” PeopleThinkingYearsRealEndsWould BeMusicianDecidedCastsPhonesExpectedSingersOperaBeing RealRetiredTunnelsOpera Singers Author:Dustin Hoffman
“Artists, whether they're classical musicians or pop musicians, they have always been the reflection of society, and in many ways a healing part of whatever is wrong in society, and I think it's important for us to continue to do that, and I don't see enough of it today.” ThinkingWayImportantEnoughTodayArtistHealingMusicianReflectionPopsClassical MusicPop MusicClassical Musicians Author:George Duke
“In the 70s, GEORGE CLINTON and PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC and EARTH WIND & FIRE, we were very serious about our music and who we were trying to touch. I think that's why the music of the 70s has not died - because it has a rejuvenating quality to it.” ThinkingTryingEarthQualityMusicFireSeriousWindMusicianDiedClintonTouchingSeventiesParliamentRejuvenation Author:Maurice White
“I always hesitate when people call me a musician.I have had no musical training. I can't play anything. I really think of myself as a performer. It's always been writing for me. I evolved with my band in rock 'n' roll through poetry, not through music.” PeopleThinkingWritingI CanPlayRocksBandMusicianTrainingMusicalCall MePerformersRock N Roll Author:Patti Smith
“We have oral traditions in Mali, and songs are passed down and around this way. I think in the US you can play all the time in your own room and never see another musician your whole life. We can't understand that in Mali.” ThinkingWayPlayWholeSongRoomsMusicianTraditionDown AndWhole LifeOral TraditionMali Author:Vieux Farka Toure
“I think so much of our society is geared towards mainstream media and pop culture and so forth. And there's a huge divide between the artist and the fan. And with indie culture that wall is removed. You actually do see the musicians walking around enjoying the show. It's a distinctly different culture and for the 99% of Nirvana fans that caught up with them with Nevermind, my book is gonna give them a whole different take on Kurt [Cobain] and the band.” ThinkingGivingBookDifferentWholeShowsArtistCultureEnjoyFansMediaHugeWallWalkingBandMusicianCaughtPopsOur SocietyDividesMainstreamCaught UpPop CultureDifferent CulturesMainstream MediaCobainNevermind Author:Bruce Pavitt
“I know people who believe in ghosts but don’t believe in themselves. It’s kind of sad. Okay you don’t think you’ll ever make it as a musician, but last night you saw a translucent caveman.” PeopleThinkingKnowsBelieveKindLastsNightSawsMusicianOkayDon't BelieveGhostLast Night Author:Mitch Hedberg
“I worked really hard to develop me as an artist and as a musician. I have so many different influences and play so many different instruments, I don't think anyone knew what to do with me!” ThinkingDifferentHardPlayArtistInfluenceMusicianInstruments Author:Elle King
“Playing the sex object may not be dangerous for Miley Cyrus, with her bodyguards to protect her, but for a 13-year-old girl hanging out at a party at night, it can be. So I think it's fair to say to musicians: "Objectifying yourself is not the best choice."” ThinkingYearsMayNightChoicesGirlSexPartyDangerousObjectsProtectMusicianFairsHanging OutBodyguardMileyObjectifying Author:Keli Goff
“I think musicians are always supportive of each other because they want the groove to keep going on. They just basically want to play music.” ThinkingWantPlayMusicianKeep GoingSupportiveGroove Author:Linda Ronstadt
“I've had a very different career than a lot of other musicians. I went through the major labels. I was signed to two major labels and bands. I've toured with Aerosmith, and I've had records on the charts, songs in the movies. If you had checklist of things a person wants to accomplish in music...I've done a lot. And I don't mean that in an egotistical way; I never take it for granted. But you can't think outside the box unless you know what's in the box.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayWantMeanPersonsTwoDifferentDoneSongCareersRecordsBandMajorsMusicianBoxesAccomplishGrantedLabelsEgotisticalOutside The BoxThink Outside The BoxChecklistsAerosmith Author:Michael Angelo Batio
“I think the majority of musicians are interested in truth.” ThinkingMusicianMajority Author:John Coltrane
“I have to perfect my beard every morning and it takes a long time. I think a lot of musicians are into graphic design and art. I decided to be a little bit of an artist on my face.” ThinkingLittlesLongArtFacesArtistBitsPerfectMorningDesignLittle BitMusicianLong TimeDecidedEvery MorningBeardGraphicGraphic DesignDesign And Art Author:Craig David
“I can't remember ever being really bored. I find life very interesting, actually. I think some other musicians are always looking for something to give them an idea, but I find I have to reject 90 percent of my ideas because they don't live up to some self-imposed standard. That's also why I don't make a record once a year. I throw so many things out, and I have to have something to say.” ThinkingGivingYearsI CanIdeasSelfRememberInterestingRecordsMusicianStandardsPercentBoredRejectsBeing RealVery Interesting Author:Tom Verlaine
“I don't know where I would be without music. Even if I wasn't a musician, I think music is God. In a lot of ways, it's my saving grave. It's been my religion since I was a little kid.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayLittlesWould BeKidsMusicianMusic IsGravesSavingLittle KidWithout Music Author:Allie Gonino
“I've done an incredible amount of painters. It's an area, for me, where there's more mystery left. I've photographed so many musicians, I've been in studios so often, I know the whole process. The mystery's gone from it. I think it's important to keep mystery into our lives. There's a longing connected with it.” ThinkingKnowsImportantDoneWholeLeftProcessGoneOur LivesMysteryAmountMusicianAreasLongingIncrediblesStudiosConnectedPainter Author:Anton Corbijn
“When I write stuff that's provocative, I want people to think about that, too. I'm in between a pop musician and an artist in that way. I want people to be part of the music as they listen, but I also want them to think: What was that?” PeopleThinkingWayWantWritingArtistStuffMusicianPopsPop MusicProvocative Author:Jenny Hval
“I don't think successful musicians were really put on this planet in order to have a great time, pat themselves on the back and say, 'Oh, what a clever boy I am!' I think that, like most artists, we were put on the planet to suffer just a little. And we do.” ThinkingLittlesArtistSufferingOrderBoysSuccessfulPlanetsMusicianCleverGreat Times Author:Ian Anderson
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” ThinkingWisdomMotivationalSoundSilenceMusicExpressionListeningQuietMusicianMusic IsMusicalPhilosopherHearingNoiseComposerSilence IsDeep ThoughtListening To MusicClassical MusicJazz MusicMusic LovePlaying MusicGreat MusicComposingExpressiveJazz MusicianI Love MusicInspirational MusicPower Of MusicArt And MusicArt MusicFunny MusicMusic LifeWorld MusicGreat MusicianMusic And LifeFamous MusicianMusic Is LifeMusic EducationSound And MusicMusic Is My LifeComposing MusicMusical LifeJazz And LifePoetry And MusicWords And MusicMusic And LoveHearing MusicMusic And HealingGreatest MusicMusic HealingSounds Of SilenceSpiritual MusicFun MusicFavorite MusicGreatest MusicianMusician LoveCool MusicCreative MusicAcoustic MusicToday's Music Author:Aldous Huxley
“My dad was a musician, and that was his first love, and I think probably, to be really honest, it was my first love as well.” ThinkingFirstsWellsHonestDadMusicianMy DadFirst Love Author:Kim Basinger
“You don't have to be musician to listen to music, and you don't have to be a filmmaker to go to the cinema, but somehow when we think of science, we think of it only as an academic discipline.” ThinkingDisciplineMusicianCinemaFilmmakerAcademicListening To Music Author:Dallas Campbell
“I'm a jazz musician by education and vocation, but I don't think jazz should [ dictate] what I want to do.” ThinkingWantShouldMusicianJazzVocationJazz MusicJazz Musician Author:Dave Douglas
“I don't understand why we have to experiment with film. I think everything should be done on paper. A musician has to do it, a composer. He puts a lot of dots down and beautiful music comes out. And I think that students should be taught to visualize. That's the one thing missing in all this. The one thing that the student has got to do is to learn that there is a rectangle up there - a white rectangle in a theater - and it has to be filled.” ThinkingShouldDoneBeautifulFilmWhiteOne ThingMissingStudentsTaughtPaperMusicianTheaterDown AndFilledExperimentsComposerDotsBeautiful MusicRectangles Author:Alfred Hitchcock
“If it wasn't for the British musicians, a lot of us black musicians in America would still be catchin' the hell that we caught long before. So thanks to them, thanks to all you guys. You opened doors that I don't think would have been opened in my lifetime. When white America started paying attention to the blues - it started opening a lot of doors that had been closed to us.” IfsThinkingLongHas BeensStillsAmericaGuyBlackWhiteAttentionHellDoorsMusicianLifetimeCaughtBritishOpeningThanksPay AttentionOpened Doors Author:B. B. King
“I think music piracy is forcing many people to look at the live aspect of the record industry as an income and in many ways that's what sets apart good music and musicians from the fly by night pop sensations.” PeopleThinkingWayLooksNightRecordsIndustryMusicianAspectPopsIncomeSensationsPiracy Author:Ben Howard
“If I wasn't a musician... I think I'd just be endlessly traveling.” IfsThinkingMusician Author:Ben Howard
“The only thing I wouldn't like to do is to play roles as a musician. I'm not sure that I would be comfortable doing that, and I'm not sure I'd be very good at it. I think I would be better served, and would be a better partner, if I was in something outside of myself.” IfsThinkingPlayWould BeRolesComfortableMusicianVery GoodPartnersNot Sure Author:Larry Mullen, Jr.
“Drummers shouldn't just think of themselves as drummers. If you're going to be a musician, you should expand your horizons, compose things, and work with other instruments.” IfsThinkingShouldMusicianInstrumentsHorizonDrummer Author:Stewart Copeland
“I still look to music to heal and bind; I still think the musician can be a trusted object offering his fellow-man solace but also a reminder of human excellence.” ThinkingMenHumansLooksStillsObjectsMusicianFellowsExcellenceHealOfferingTrustedRemindersFellow ManSolace Book:Unfinished journey Source: Unfinished journey
“And there are certain songs that are really timepieces and shouldn't be touched. But some of them are a celebration of good humour and sensibility and I think that's okay. I don't care about the past, I'm a musician with ambition.” ThinkingCarePastCertainSongHumourAmbitionMusicianOkayDon't CareI Don't CareTouchedCelebrationSensibilityGood HumourTimepieces Author:Robert Plant
“From the small clubs of the Harlem Renaissance where he began playing saxophone to world tours for the biggest of the big bands, Benny Carter redefined American jazz. From the start, his fellow musicians said the way he played the sax was amazing. They say that about me, too. (Laughter.) But I don't think they mean it in quite the same way.” ThinkingWorldWayMeanSaidBigsBandMusicianLaughterFellowsJazzClubsRenaissanceCarterSaxophoneHarlemHarlem Renaissance Author:William J. Clinton
“For a while I wanted to be a professional baseball pitcher, and then I wanted to be a musician and then sometimes I think I'd like to start a store for gift-wrapping Christmas presents... But I feel I could do most things I set my mind to, except mechanical things, I'm not very good at that.” ThinkingFeelsMindSometimesWantedMusicianBaseballVery GoodStoresPitcherWrappingChristmas PresentBaseball Pitcher Author:John Malkovich
“I think that today, in Europe at least, people don't tend to think so much about the instrument that is producing the music; they are more interested to see if the musician actually has something to say.” PeopleIfsThinkingTodayMusicianEuropeInstruments Author:Michala Petri
“I basically love classical music. I love a lot of musicians playing together and the whole culture of that whether it's Indian or it's Western. But in India, I think it's limited to filler music unfortunately. That's one thing I want to push in India where we have the infrastructure of an orchestra where you play Indian melodies with an orchestra and something different for a universal audience. It requires a lot of work from me.” ThinkingWantDifferentPlayWholeTogetherCultureAudienceOne ThingMusicianUniversalIndiaWesternIndianMelodyOrchestraInfrastructureClassical MusicFillersPlaying Together Author:A. R. Rahman
“I always say that you should just listen to it and see what you think it sounds like it is. I don't think it should be labeled. Most musicians feel like that. No one wants to put their music in a category. But, I don't think it's all over the place. I don't go from metal to jazz, or anything crazy.” ThinkingWantFeelsShouldSoundCrazyMusicianJazzCategoriesMetalsJust Listen Author:Tinsel Korey
“When I'm alcohol-free now and even to see the world around me, I appreciate it, but I never truly enjoy too much of it maybe because I feel like I'm a working musician. There are some joyous moments, but I will not think a joyous moment.” ThinkingWorldFeelsMomentsEnjoyToo MuchMusicianAppreciateAlcoholJoyous Author:Stan Getz
“Of course we've lost so many superstars who've made jazz what it is. We've lost so many musicians who created new things and changed the way we think about music and who took jazz to a new level. So jazz is suffering from that. But we still have a lot of incredible people playing jazz in the world. We have a lot of people leading the way.” PeopleThinkingWorldWayMadeStillsSufferingCoursesLostChangeLevelsMusicChangedCreatingMusicianJazzIncrediblesNew ThingsSuperstarPlaying JazzLeading The WayCreating New Things Author:George Benson
“I like characters. I like spirited characters whether they exist in fiction or real life. Whether they're the invention of artistic people or directors, musicians. I think music and art and fashion designers inspire me and I like characters.” PeopleThinkingArtRealCharacterFictionFashionInspireDirectorsMusicianReal LifeInventionArtisticDesignerFashion DesignerSpirited Author:Marc Jacobs
“I don't think of myself as "a lesbian musician." It's not one and alone. I think of myself as a musician.” ThinkingMusician Author:Michelle Chamuel
“I think my biggest musical hero growing up was probably Ian MacKaye he set a great example for all of us local musicians. Still to this day I see him as the best example of a right-on musician.” ThinkingStillsGrowing UpGrowingExampleHeroMusicianMusicalLocalsThis Day Author:Dave Grohl
“I don't really like to call myself a brand, and I don't like to think of myself as a brand. I'm a singer, a songwriter, a musician and a performer. And an actress, and all the other things that I do. When you add it all together, some might call it a brand, but that's not my focus.” ThinkingMightTogetherFocusMusicianAddActressesSingersBrandsPerformersSongwriters Author:Beyonce Knowles
“Usually people think that it is the musicians who create the music, but in fact it is music who creates the musicians.” PeopleThinkingFactsMusician Author:Robert Fripp
“I think playing night after night is when you get a lot better as a musician because you need to add different levels of intensity and experiment a little bit with the existing songs just to keep everything interesting.” ThinkingNeedsLittlesDifferentNightSongBitsInterestingLevelsLittle BitMusicianAddExperimentsIntensityDifferent Levels Author:James Walsh
“I think right now is when we need to hear different voices coming out of all parts of the world. You can't just hear the politicians and the military leaders. You have to hear from the taxi drivers. You have to hear from the painters. You have to hear from the poets. You have to hear from the school teachers and the filmmakers and musicians.” ThinkingWorldNeedsDifferentSchoolVoiceLeaderTeacherMilitaryPoetPoliticianRight NowMusicianPainterFilmmakerDriversComing OutTaxiSchool TeachersMilitary LeaderDifferent Voices Author:Michael Franti
“We always have a basic structure for a piece of music, but we encourage the musicians to elaborate on whatever they feel at that particular moment. There's a definite conversation happening on stage. I think it is very important for us as creative musicians, to instantaneously describe any energy that is visible at that time.” ThinkingFeelsImportantMomentsEnergyCreativePiecesStageParticularConversationMusicianHappeningsStructureVisibleDefinite Author:Lisa Gerrard
“First of all I think that is true, if you are a musician, particularly on the comeback that you do have to end up in one of these musical centers somewhere to be viable, salable and so on.” IfsThinkingWayFirstsEndsMusicianMusical Author:John Sebastian
“Being a musician, you want to be able to do the hardest stuff there is. People would think it's classical, but in classical, it's all on the page and the difficulty is keeping up with the music.” PeopleThinkingWantAbleStuffMusicianPagesDifficultyHardest Author:Brian McKnight
“There's times I've been quite nervous doing session work, such as when I'm asked to play the violin in a 'country and western' style or a 'gypsy' style. I'm not very good at that sort of playing at all. I think it's important as a session musician to have your own voice.” ThinkingImportantCountryPlayVoiceStyleMusicianWesternVery GoodNervousSessionViolinGypsy Author:Ric Sanders
“I only say this because a lot of people seem to think that if you're a musician you want to be a celebrity. But most musicians in the world aren't celebrities, and pretty much everything about the concept of 'celebrity' is a complete load of bollocks anyhow.” PeopleIfsThinkingWorldWantSeemsMusicianConceptsLoad Author:Brooke Fraser
“I don't really think of these as projects. I think of them as bands. I have tried to not just convene a group of musicians and make one record or make one gig and just drop it. Each of them develop over time. I have been really fortunate to keep a band like the Sextet together over three very different albums. Each time, the goal got more deep for me in terms of how I wanted to write for those people. So it is really about trying to develop ideas and trying to have a consistent focus on a way to come up with new ideas in music that I want to do.” PeopleThinkingWayWantWritingTryingHas BeensIdeasDifferentWantedTogetherThreeGoalTermRecordsFocusGroupsBandProjectsMusicianCome UpAlbumsFortunateConsistentNew IdeasGigs Author:Dave Douglas