“Well, I've heard a lot of people, but I think I would say a Brazilian musician named Hermeto Pascoal was one of my biggest influences. Through the years he mastered the keyboards. He use to play the organ Hammond B3, flute, saxophone, percussion and guitar. He is one of the most complete musicians that I ever met. Not too long after we came to the United States, Airto Moreira introduced him to Miles Davis, who recorded three of Hermeto's compositions on his album "Live Evil.” PeopleThinkingYearsWellsLongStatesPlayUseThreeEvilUnitedUnited StatesHeardInfluenceMetsMusicianGuitarAlbumsMilesOrgansCompositionKeyboardsThrough The YearsSaxophoneFlutesPercussion Author:Flora Purim
“You know I really don't like to think about the fact that I'm a girl in relation to the music industry. I was just a kid who wrote down thoughts to organize her brain and that turned into music, like any other writer or musician... so, I happen to be a girl. I don't consider that part of it really.. It may disappoint some feminists out there that I don't want to harp on women and men being equal.” ThinkingKnowsMenWantMayFactsHappensKidsGirlBrainIndustryEqualMusicianMen And WomenRelationFeministOrganizeDisappointMusic IndustryHarpsBeing Equal Author:Lacey Mosley
“The music that I play is much more accepted in America. Do you know what I mean? Americans recognize and not necessarily country music. I go to a lot of places in Canada and they go "I don't like country music" and they think I'm a country musician. When I am a country musician but not a country musician like they think of.” ThinkingKnowsMeanCountryPlayAmericaMusicianAcceptedCanadaDo You Know Author:Fred Eaglesmith
“Well I'm not a storyteller, as far as telling stories which relate to experiences in my own life. That's not what I do. I write songs which have a narrative and attempt to make sense and tell a story - sure! But whenever I hear the word "storyteller" I think of a children's musician.” ThinkingWritingWellsChildrenStoriesSongMy OwnMusicianRelateNarrativeMake SenseStorytellerMy Own LifeTelling Stories Author:Freedy Johnston
“I've approached music with the understanding that knowledge is available regarding tones and their effect upon the body. I think the father of that knowledge was the mathematician Pythagoras who lived several thousand years ago. Pythagoras was also a fine musician and he knew specifically what tones would affect which parts of the body.” ThinkingYearsBodyFatherUnderstandingEffectsFineThousandMusicianYears AgoAvailableToneMathematicianThousand YearsParts Of The Body Author:Paul Horn
“Basically, this industry is mostly run by men, and I think women have a harder time...I've had enough of the "Women in Rock" issues of magazines and all of that. There's no reason why we should have our own separate little genre; that's just ridiculous. Besides, what is the genre? I certainly don't fit into the whole "Lilith" thing (thank God), but I am a female musician. And there are enough other great females in music that don't have to fit into it, either.” ThinkingMenShouldLittlesReasonEnoughWholeRunningIssuesRocksIndustryFitMusicianFemaleShould HaveHarderRidiculousMagazinesGenreReason WhyNo ReasonThank GodHad EnoughLilithGreat FemaleFemale Musicians Author:Princess Superstar
“People will less and less need to put an identity on genres, such as "hip hop," "electronica" and so forth. That's what I try to do with Princess Superstar. Why should a musician be limited to only one form or one genre of music? And so, I think the same will hold true for the whole male/female categorization.” PeopleThinkingNeedsShouldTryingWholeFormIdentityMusicianFemaleMalesHip HopHipsGenreHopsPrincessSuperstarCategorizationGenres Of MusicMale Female Author:Princess Superstar
“Musicians in my day had nicknames. My name was "Satchel Mouth," like a doctor's satchel. When I went to England this fellow was strictly English, and he was editor of the newspaper there. He shook my hand after I got off the train and said, "Hello, Satchmo." So right away my trombone player said, "Mmm, the man thinks you have mo' mouth than Satchel Mouth." So I was stuck with it, and it turned out all right.” ThinkingMenSaidHandsNamesPlayerHe ManMusicianMouthsDoctorsEnglandFellowsTrainStuckNewspapersEditorsHelloNicknamesTrombone Author:Louis Armstrong
“I love those moments on stage, on screen and in life when you dispense with language, when you sort of transcend it in a way, and certainly the experience of falling in love, I think, defies words, which is why poets, painters, musicians, actors have tried to describe that feeling, writers have just tried to put words to that.” ThinkingWayMomentsFeelingsFallActorsLanguageStagePoetMusicianFalling In LoveScreensPainter Author:Cate Blanchett
“Stereotyping and generating brands around musicians I think contributes to their eventual demise.” ThinkingMusicianBrandsStereotypeDemise Author:Squarepusher
“I don't think you can learn to be a complete musician. That has to come from within, and it entails a lot of sacrifice.” ThinkingSacrificeMusician Author:Yngwie Malmsteen
“Wyclef is a musician that tried to unite as many musicians at once as possible. I am trying to be successful at that. The greatest challenge is that, I just got arrested for protesting in NYC for cutting the school budgets... And I think that it's important to stand up. Schools are important.” ThinkingTryingImportantSchoolChallengesSuccessfulCuttingMusicianBudgetsBeing SuccessfulArrestedNyc Author:Wyclef Jean
“I think you have to know exactly what you want. Whether you want to be a guitar player or a musician, you have to be really focused on it if you really want to do it.” IfsThinkingKnowsWantPlayerMusicianGuitarFocusedWhat You WantGuitar Player Author:Jonny Lang
“My criticism hasn't necessarily been informed by the critics I've read. The conversations I've had with friends and fellow musicians have shaped my thinking more than the work of any critic.” ThinkingConversationMusicianCriticismFellowsCritics Author:Sasha Frere-Jones
“A lot of musicians are good cooks, and a lot of cooks are musicians, but I think that may just be a result of the creative impulse finding several means of expression. Probably an equivalent number are visual artists, woodworkers or compulsive liars.” ThinkingMayMeanArtistResultsNumbersCreativeExpressionFindingsMusicianCooksImpulseVisualsLiarsVisual ArtGood CookVisual ArtistCompulsive Liar Author:Steve Albini
“As a filmmaker‚ like any artist‚ when something affects me emotionally I think about it in those terms. It's my way of dealing with my thoughts‚ my fears and my hardships. I think the same can be said with any artist. For a musician‚ you're going to write a song about something that affects you emotionally.” ThinkingWayWritingSaidArtistSongTermMusicianMy WayFilmmakerHardshipMy Thoughts Author:Ryan Coogler
“I know a lot of people that have had fake Twitters... actors and musicians that I know. It's sort of a problem. There are all these people that sign up thinking that they're getting somebody's real thoughts when it's just some guy.” PeopleThinkingKnowsRealProblemGuyActorsMusicianFake Author:Zooey Deschanel
“To be a musician is a great privilege but it is also a very great responsibility. One must think that to be a musician is a gift - a gift from Nature. There is no great merit in us except in loving this gift with respect and devotion and doing everything possible to honor that gift by work and more work. We must work with conviction and humility, searching for beauty, simplicity, and the Truth. And it is for us musicians to do all in our power for a better world. Music must carry the message of beauty, of love and of peace.” ThinkingWorldResponsibilityHumilityHonorMessagesMusicianSimplicityPrivilegeConvictionDevotionMeritWorld MusicGreat Responsibility Author:Pablo Casals
“I don't think being a musician makes me a role model at all. But I do believe that I have responsibility to offer people a helping hand when and if I can, just the same way that others have helped me. I think that it's important to keep that cycle going, and to give back to whatever your personal definition of community is.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayGivingBelieveI CanImportantHelpingHandsCommunityResponsibilityRolesOffersMusicianModelsDefinitionsCyclesRole ModelsGiving BackHelping Hand Author:Thalia Zedek
“I think one of the reasons I'm successful as a musician is that the first like 30 shows I played, I played with no monitors standing in front of guitar amps in a shitty, smoky warehouse where people were screaming and wasted, knocking over my gear. So shows after that seem pretty easy!” PeopleThinkingFirstsReasonShowsSeemsEasySuccessfulFrontsMusicianStandingGuitarGearsKnockingWarehouse Author:Grimes
“People run away, pull their hair, go off in different directions, nodding their heads and going, "Oh, God." I am slightly disheveled, I think. I'm really pleased that I am, because otherwise I could be in a really, really dull and boring place now, as a musician, at least.” PeopleThinkingDifferentRunningHairMusicianBoringDullRunning AwayDifferent DirectionsNodding Author:Robert Plant
“I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I want to try it again and again, and a lot of times my fellow musicians have to hold me back and say, "Nah, I think we got it."” ThinkingWantTryingBitsMusicianFellowsAgain And AgainPerfectionistHold Me Author:Mary Chapin Carpenter
“Sometimes I joke around that if I weren't a musician, I would be a power lifter. I don't think people expect it from me because I'm little.” PeopleIfsThinkingLittlesSometimesWould BeMusicianJokes Author:Mirah
“I guess a certain contingent of the musicians in London at the beginning of the '70s were fed up with denim and the hippies. And I think we kind of wanted to go somewhere else.” ThinkingKindWantedCertainMusicianLondonFedsSomewhere ElseHippieFed UpDenim Author:David Bowie
“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” ThinkingInspirationalMatterMotivationalHumanityCultureHealingMusicExpressionMusicianMusic IsNo Matter WhatMusicalHealTouchedHealedMusic LoveGreat MusicExplosivesI Love MusicInspirational MusicPower Of MusicMusic SoulMusic LifeWorld MusicFamous MusicianMusic Is LifeMusic EducationMusic LoverClassic MusicSound And MusicPoetry And MusicLove HealsWords And MusicMusic And LoveMusic And HealingGreatest MusicMusic HealingLove And HealingFun MusicMusic CultureGreatest MusicianMusician Love Author:Billy Joel
“Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.” ThinkingPositionMusicianUnlikelyIrs Author:Billy Joel
“I think every musician is different, every artist is different, and in a perfect world people would be able to pursue their own path and have the inspiration and the drive to, and the energy and dedication to take their path to its fruition. I don't really believe in formulas.” PeopleThinkingWorldBelieveDifferentInspirationWould BeAbleArtistEnergyPerfectPathMusicianPursueFormulasDedicationA Perfect WorldFruition Author:Emily Haines
“Most of the EDM tracks right now are not very musical, they have one note that keeps playing. You really don't need to be a musician to do records like this, so I think me playing guitar for so many years and listening to rock 'n' roll and real music helps me when I work with vocalists like Lana Del Ray and Miley Cyrus.” ThinkingNeedsYearsRealHelpingRecordsRocksListeningRight NowMusicianNotesGuitarMusicalTrackHelp MeRaysRock N RollPlaying GuitarVocalistReal MusicMileyEdm Author:Cedric Gervais
“It's definitely about the rhythm of the words and how they sound together, writing one sentence and then another and another and cutting something immediately if it doesn't feel true. I come from a family of musicians and - while I have no musical abilities of my own - I think I inherited a good ear.” IfsThinkingFeelsWritingTogetherSoundMy OwnAbilityCuttingMusicianEarsMusicalSentencesRhythmOne SentenceMusical Ability Author:Mary J. Miller
“I don't think that those things [so called common practice] ever truly existed in the way that we like to believe that they do, the way we learn about them in music history class. Those things are defined at least decades after they happen. And even then, it's a fallacy because when you're in the moment, when you're in a thriving scene of musicians, inevitably everyone is going to be doing something completely different from everyone else” ThinkingWayBelieveDifferentMomentsHappensCommonClassPracticeSceneMusicianDecadesDefinedFallacyHistory Class Author:Missy Mazzoli
“I think performers are all show-offs anyway, especially musicians. Unless you show off, you're not going to get noticed.” ThinkingShowsMusicianPerformersRock N RollShowing Off Author:Elton John
“Usually, I think it's best to play the song for them once and have them mix it up on the spot, because when the logical mind gets too involved, I think it kills a lot of magic. I just think the subconscious mind is so much smarter, and unfortunately, people do not trust their subconscious. A lot of people just don't access to all of that, the secret genius that's inside of them. And it's so much easier to get it out of a musician if you don't give them a chance to overthink.” PeopleIfsThinkingGivingMindPlaySongChanceSecretMagicGeniusInvolvedEasierMusicianAccessSpotsLogicalSmarterSubconsciousSubconscious Mind Author:Larkin Grimm
“Most of the musicians that I'm playing with now have jazz backgrounds, so they're comfortable with improvisation. And they all know to make eye contact with me, and I'll give them some kind of sign when I think that the song's ending. Or maybe I don't even have to, because they all sort of feel it at the same time.” ThinkingKnowsGivingFeelsKindEyeSongComfortableMusicianJazzBackgroundsContactImprovisationEye Contact Author:Larkin Grimm
“So Nemerov showed us this picture, which is of Apollo flaying Marcius. You don't think of Apollo as being the sort of person who would skin someone alive. But the story behind it was that there was this guy who was a really great musician, and all the women loved him, and people started saying he was the best musician in the world, so Apollo got jealous and he challenged this guy to a musical dual. They would each play a song and the muses would judge who was the better musician.” PeopleThinkingWorldPersonsPlayStoriesGuySongBehindsAliveJudgingMusicianSkinsMusicalJealousMuseReally GreatThis GuyApolloGreat MusicGreat Musician Author:Larkin Grimm
“I think every touring musician sacrifices aspects of their life to do it.” ThinkingSacrificeMusicianAspectTouring Author:Joshua James Alphonse Franceschi
“We'd be recording and I'd go down to Greenpoint where Rostam was living and track stuff... It was a busy time. I felt like in general, I was just super psyched with the prospect of getting to be a musician, that it became a thing that I would think about more than I would think about my studies and stuff like that. I still did fine, but it was an interesting time in my life.” ThinkingStillsFeltStuffInterestingStudyFineMusicianBusyTrackInteresting Times Author:Chris Baio
“A lot of my friends are musicians or artists, and their talent always pushes me to think creatively.” ThinkingArtistTalentMusicianMy Friends Author:Erin Willett
“It's very interesting for me to listen to music with my wife. She's not a musician but she very often makes comments about pieces in ways that are similar to what I'm thinking.” ThinkingWayInterestingPiecesWifeMusicianMy WifeCommentVery InterestingListening To Music Author:Paul Lansky
“I used to love jungle. I still think it's the ultimate genre, really, because the people making it weren't musicians.” PeopleThinkingStillsUsedMusicianUltimateGenreJungleUsed To Love Author:Aphex Twin
“I know some people really try to avoid music when they're writing and recording, but I am very inspired by so many different musicians, and I need to learn. I sit around and try to play along to certain songs that I really love. It helps you explore new territory. I don't think I listen to enough.” PeopleThinkingKnowsNeedsWritingTryingDifferentEnoughPlayHelpingCertainSongMusicianInspiredTerritoryNew TerritoryVery Inspired Author:Devendra Banhart
“I met my manager when I was 17, when I didn't have enough money to buy a set of guitar strings. There are not very many people who are looking out for you and being in business with you when you're at that stage. And it's not in my nature to think that success as a musician makes you any different from anybody else.” PeopleThinkingDifferentEnoughStageMetsMusicianGuitarManagersStringsGuitar Strings Author:Johnny Marr
“If there is any selfish angle, then it would probably be me just knocking myself in the head, thinking "Is there anybody here? Am I still able to communicate with other musicians?"” IfsThinkingStillsAbleMusicianCommunicateSelfishAngleKnocking Author:Daniel Lopatin
“I think certain people would be moved to be nostalgic about America's glory days, when the music set the tone for the cultural conversation and popular musicians had this absurd level of authority.” PeopleThinkingWould BeAmericaCertainLevelsConversationAuthorityMusicianGloryMovedAbsurdToneNostalgicPopular MusicGlory Days Author:David Longstreth
“I don't think in time signatures, and when I do, what I write is generally 3/4 or 4/4, the most basic, straightforward stuff. I think that comes from just not being a super-schooled musician.” ThinkingWritingStuffMusicianStraightforwardSignaturesSchooled Author:Blake Judd
“As convenient as that would be to make it easier to communicate with more prolific musicians, I don't want to think of music like a math equation.” ThinkingWantWould BeEasierMusicianCommunicateMathEquationsConvenient Author:Blake Judd
“Sometimes, I think the way the music business has been destructive and the way the fans are been put through it and try to navigate through it, so much is so foreign to what musicians would actually want to do or what would be natural to them.” ThinkingWayWantTryingHas BeensSometimesWould BeNaturalFansMusicianDestructiveMusic BusinessNavigate Author:Beck
“I worry about that terribly because the public eye can bring all sorts of unwanted intrusions and problems. But he's treading his own path. I think the modeling is something that Rafferty Law sees as a pastime and something to maybe give him a bit of pocket money. He's a musician mostly. He's in college studying music, which he takes very seriously and I think that is something that he will concentrate on in the future.” ThinkingGivingProblemEyeLawBitsWorryStudyPathCollegeMusicianPocketsModelingUnwantedPastimePublic EyeIntrusionTreadingStudying Music Author:Jude Law
“That's for non-musicians to say: "I only listen to this or that type of music." I think musicians love all music, or at least that's my case.” ThinkingCasesTypeMusicianMusician Love Author:Paul Banks
“Really good musicians don't think of "self-reflection."” ThinkingSelfMusicianReflectionSelf Reflection Author:Dan Bejar
“I think that there's a lot of good will that exists between musicians and the people that support them and listen to them.” PeopleThinkingSupportMusicianGood Will Author:Jeff Tweedy