“Be a famous musician. Be a famous act or. Be a famous write r. Be a famous basketball player. Be famous.” WritingPlayerBasketballMusicianBasketball PlayerFamous BasketballFamous Musician Author:Dallas Clayton
“It is just that heavy metal musicians write in minor keys, and when you do that, you frighten people.” PeopleWritingKeysMusicianHeavyMetalsMinorsHeavy Metal Author:Ronnie James Dio
“I learn so much from writing with other musicians, asking questions about their playing style and gear, and hanging out, too.” WritingStyleMusicianAskingHanging OutGearsAsking Questions Author:Lisa Loeb
“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
“There was a time when hip-hop was its own musical principle, aside from sampling. Like the entire Wild Style break is instrumental. Kurtis Blow's earliest stuff was studio musicians playing. Whodini had a real clear sound, things like "five minutes of funk," stuff that you could write really beautiful, lush string and horn arrangements around, stuff that was just music.” WritingRealBeautifulStuffSoundPrinciplesBreakClearFiveMinutesStyleMusicianMusicalBlowHip HopStudiosHipsHopsStringsArrangementsFive MinutesHornsReally BeautifulFunkLushSampling Author:Mos Def
“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
“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
“It's was all the internet. I started writing songs in high school, right about the time of the onset of Napster. I went to college in Dallas, and when I'd get back from class I'd have fans emailing me from different areas of the country asking when the album was going to be out and when I was going on tour. It was crazy, because I didn't even consider myself a professional musician.” WritingDifferentCountrySchoolSongCrazyCollegeInternetMusicianHigh School Author:Graham Colton
“To me, music and songwriting is... part of the intriguing thing is the creative process; you know, the creative thought process. Relying on that... there is some sort of inspiration there and you can't always put your finger on where it comes from. So, it's always been important for me to have my own thing and, even though I'm inspired by and influenced by many different musicians and styles of music, I was very determined early on to have my own thing. So when I sit down to write I don't necessarily have a particular narrative or message in mind. I'm interested in language and in words.” KnowsWritingMindImportantDifferentInspirationLanguageProcessMy OwnCreativeStyleParticularMessagesMusicianFingersInspiredDeterminedNarrativeSongwritingCreative ProcessIntriguingThought ProcessCreative Thought Author:Page Hamilton
“I am not an evangelist. I am not a preacher. I am a musician. That is what I know how to do. I know how to write songs. I know how to write things that relate to my heart. I feel that I talk about God in every song, in everything I do - all of it! I really do not know how to respond. I do not relate to that.” KnowsFeelsWritingHeartSongKnow HowMy HeartMusicianRelatePreacherEvangelists Author:Mat Kearney
“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
“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
“Any musician with a slight level of self-awareness can be taught to write a 'good' song. A great song is completely original. It feels as if the performer is the only person who could bring it to life.” IfsFeelsWritingPersonsSelfSongLevelsAwarenessTaughtMusicianOriginalsSelf AwarenessPerformers Author:Greta Salpeter
“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 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
“I did a lot of writing when I was in college, and that's what I thought I wanted to do; saying that I wanted to be a writer seemed more reasonable than saying I wanted to be a musician.” WritingWantedCollegeMusicianReasonable Author:Jack Tatum
“I don't really have any "must work withs," but I would never refuse if a celebrity or fellow musician came along who is willing to write or sing or play on a Lita song.” IfsWritingPlaySongWillingMusicianFellowsRefuse Author:Lita Ford
“Most musicians don't write about being a musician cause most musicians aren't writers.” WritingCausesMusician Author:Dan Bejar
“It's this funny thing now: You sign up to be a musician because you want to write music, but you don't spend your time writing music. Instead, you go around the world selling the music you've already made.” WorldWantWritingMadeMusicianSellingAround The WorldFunny ThingsWriting Music Author:Zachary Cole Smith
“My brother is the lifelong musician, he made the choice to do that when we were very, very young kids. I remember him playing in bands and listening to the music he was writing in the house - he's nine years older than me.” WritingYearsMadeKidsRememberYoungChoicesHouseBrotherListeningBandMusicianNineMy BrotherLifelongNine Years Author:Kevin Bacon
“I once had a young musician come to me and say that he wanted to be a professional musician. I asked him to write his list. When he came back to me, the three things in his life he most wanted were: to be paid for his music; to travel around the world; to meet new people. We came to the decision, after thinking really creatively, that if he got a job on a cruise ship, he would fulfill those goals.” PeopleIfsThinkingWorldWritingWantedJobsYoungThreeGoalDecisionMusicianPaidListsShipsAround The WorldThree ThingsCruiseMeeting New PeopleCruise ShipsMost Wanted Author:Phil Keoghan
“My father was a musician, and I've always loved writing. I grew up in New York City during a time when hip hop music was surrounding you with the hip hop culture, and it felt natural. I was a really huge fan of the music.” WritingCultureFatherFeltNaturalCitiesFansNew YorkHugeGrewGrew UpMusicianHip HopHipsHopsNew York CityHip Hop Music Author:El-P
“It's weird. People want you to know that they write. They want you to know they're a musician, rather than making music or making stories. It's the strangest thing.” PeopleKnowsWantWritingStoriesMusicianWeird People Author:Scott McClanahan
“Because I'm a musician aspiring to write good stuff and put on good shows, I'm hyperaware of what they're doing and what they're putting out. But listening now in a less critical way, I'm appreciating and admiring it even more.” WayWritingShowsStuffListeningMusicianAppreciateCriticalAdmiring Author:Sarah Harmer
“When you write a song you're more or less saying, "This is everyone. I think this is everyone." It doesn't necessarily have to be this thing where I go out and I'm like candy-striping, or becoming a therapist or something. I think that maybe, maybe I'm supposed to [be a musician], because of that fact.” ThinkingWritingFactsSongBecomingMusicianSupposed To BeCandyTherapists Author:Anthony Green
“I've always thought about myself as somewhat of a folk musician. I just write words.” WritingMusicianFolksFolk Music Author:Cass McCombs
“Writing is an art like other arts. Dancers don't dance every once in a while. Musicians don't stop practicing. They are dedicated to what they do.” WritingArtMusicianDancerDedicated Author:Theodora Goss
“I often call Daptone the Motown and Stax of today. But in some ways it's different. At Motown, a lot of the musicians didn't get recognized, music got stolen, and people didn't get paid. Or the label would just throw them a pinch of money for their songs. That is one thing we're not doing. Anything anyone writes here, we get a percentage.” PeopleWayWritingDifferentTodaySongOne ThingMusicianPaidLabelsStolenPercentagesMotown Author:Sharon Jones
“Miranda [Hentoff] is a complete musician. She's a composer, a singer. She writes scripts along - with her projects. And she's a superb teacher. Her teaching pupils have ranged from Itzhak Perlman to Sting.” WritingTeacherTeachingProjectsMusicianScriptsSingersComposerPupilsSuperbMiranda Author:Nat Hentoff
“My boyfriend's a musician, and I think when he's on stage is the only time he's not worrying. And so that's the reason he keeps doing it is because it gives him that sort of experience of weightlessness that I only get out of being sort of, deep into writing something or really lost in a moment on set, like it's available to me in these select moments through my work.” ThinkingGivingWritingReasonMomentsLostWorryStageMusicianAvailableOnly TimeSelectMy BoyfriendNot WorryingWeightlessness Author:Lena Dunham
“I don't think my skill level is up there as a musician. I think I'm best at writing in general. The musicians that I know are really good, and I feel like I have a lot to do until I become a musician.” ThinkingKnowsFeelsWritingLevelsSkillsMusician Author:Ian Simpson
“I think a lot about writing and I try to read a lot. Being a musician, I don't take the words lightly; they are very, very important to me. At the same time, the words have to be musical and have to fit.” ThinkingWritingTryingImportantFitMusicianMusical Author:Steve Gunn
“I came to writing kind of late. I was an engineer, and the one thing I've learned is that you have to steer a project in the direction of the maximum fun for you. You could say lively energy, or you have to try to be intrigued. Basically, if you were a musician and you were playing joylessly, nobody would want to hear you.” WritingTryingKindEnergyFunMusicianLivelyIntrigued Author:George Saunders
“The Western music tradition is mostly addressed to a public that has a critical mind, and judges the quality of the writing, of the interpretation. And I think it is a great tradition! It pushes the musicians to always go further, and to never stop pushing the limits and explore what can be done with sounds. And great pieces of art were born from that tradition.” ThinkingWritingMindArtDoneQualityJudgingMusicianTraditionWestern Author:Gaspar Claus
“I think that female musicians are constantly fighting an uphill battle in general. Even when I'm not writing heartbreak songs... the fact that songwriting is so difficult and music criticism has become so content driven means that sometimes critics can go for the easy descriptors rather than an in-depth analysis.” ThinkingWritingMeanSometimesSongFightingEasyDifficultBattleMusicianFemaleCriticismCriticsDrivenSongwriting Author:Marissa Nadler
“Email is a mind-killer. Like, I really think getting a smartphone is the worst move I ever did in being a musician because while we've just been talking my phone's vibrated like 15 times and I only get push notifications for like two apps, so either like a bunch of houses are going up for sale right now or someone's like, "Why aren't you emailing me back?" It's just hard to stay in the moment. I can understand why people go to retreats to write and stuff like that but I don't have the time.” PeopleThinkingWritingMomentsMovingHouseWorstMusician Author:Dan Deacon
“I don't consider myself very principled. As a travelling musician, you have to adapt and adjust to different contexts every day. It is always difficult to connect preach and practice. For instance, I fly more in a year than I had hoped to do in my whole life. I eat what people serve me, not what I think is right. I tried writing songs that were principled, but always ended up contradicting myself when trying to convert the principles into practice. In fact, these days I try not to be too principled, but rather be pragmatic.” PeopleThinkingWritingTryingDifferentSongDifficultMusicianWhole LifePragmaticContradicting Author:Moddi
“I started doing community theater when I was seven and I think the intent was just expression. When you're a musician, you can make music in your room, and when you're a writer, you can write. Acting is one of the tricky art forms where you need a certain amount of permission to be able to do it. You can talk to yourself in the mirror, but it's different than actually acting or doing a scene. You need an audience and you need someone else to do it with.” ThinkingWritingArtDifferentCommunityActingAudienceSceneMusicianSevenTricky Author:Ari Graynor
“The exciting part about sitting down and writing songs, playing shows, or being a musician in general is that you never know where those songs and that music is going to take you. There's such a cool feeling about that the phone could ring tomorrow and someone could say "he guess what? your song..." That really is cool.” WritingFeelingsSongTomorrowMusicianMusic IsExcitingRings Author:Graham Colton
“I want to be just a musician and songwriter, and hopefully known as a very good one. I love a lot of music that's considered folk music, but I also love a lot of music that's considered punk or considered rap. I don't mind being called a folk singer. But it seems a bit limiting. I want to be able to write whatever kind of song I want.” WritingMindKindSongMusicianVery GoodRapHopefullyPunkFolk Music Author:Langhorne Slim
“If you think of the way a composer or say a pop arranger works - he has an idea and he writes it down, so there's one transmission loss. Then he gives the score to a group of musicians who interpret that, so there's another transmission loss. So he's involved with three information losses. Whereas what I nearly always do is work directly to the sound if it doesn't sound right. So there's a continuous loop going on.” ThinkingGivingWritingLossMusicianComposerTransmission Author:Brian Eno
“I'm especially interested in what I call practitioner criticism, which is when people who practice an art form start writing about it on blogs. I think that's an immensely important development. I want to see much, much more of that. People who make music who are verbally articulate. And not all musicians are verbally articulate. But those who are should be encouraged to write about what they do and their perception of what other people do. It makes the discourse smarter.” PeopleThinkingWritingArtImportantPerceptionMusicianCriticismBe Encouraged Author:Terry Teachout
“I didn't really think I would be a musician. I always thought I'd be a writer. I wanted to be a writer in college, but I thought I could be a better musician. I loved the process of writing music and lyrics more than I loved the process of sitting at my computer and writing. Because of that, I thought I would be a better musician than a writer.” ThinkingWritingCollegeComputerMusician Author:Leah Siegel
“I've got Ph.D. just because I enjoyed reading and writing and didn't know what else to do. It was something fun to do. Like it seems self-evident that I'm a musician now, but it's a really hard path. It's almost impossible.” WritingReadingFunPathImpossibleMusicianReading And Writing Author:Tim Hecker
“When I start to write and record a track, I always think about where it is supposed to take place, what kind of room that is, and what kind of atmosphere it should have. Also how it should be performed, and by what kind of musicians or vocalists. I work in a very theatrically minded sort of way.” ThinkingWritingKindMusicianTrackAtmosphere Author:Karin Dreijer Andersson
“There are people who are really great musicians. I've met a lot of them. And I'm not a great musician. I'm adequate enough to be able to throw some chords together and write songs, but I can only feel that because I'm expressing something honestly, or in a heartfelt way, or in some way that's not bullshit, that in some way the songs have merit.” PeopleWritingEnoughTogetherSongMusicianHonestlyBullshitReally GreatHeartfeltGreat Music Author:David Duchovny
“There's a part of me, and I'm sure every single musician that writes for themselves has this: there's a layer of precious that you have to shed. I'm constantly trying to let go of, "Well, what about this, this would be cool." Some of that is needed, but a lot of it is total BS.” WritingTryingLetting GoMusicianShedBeing Cool Author:Sarah Jaffe
“Everybody struggles with get tiring as a musician having to play the same songs over and over again on one level or another. That is why you're cast to write the best songs you can. It keeps it going for you. My old man used to tell me be careful what you write you might have to play it for the rest of your life. That is always a challenge and the best way to remedy it is to write.” MenWritingSongChallengesStruggleMusicianCarefulOld ManBe CarefulTire Author:Crosby Loggins
“I only performed a song so I could not write an essay. I just enjoyed being around bands, and around musicians, and, I didn't want to be the girl who followed the band around. I love singing, I love performing, but it's never been this goal.” WritingSongGirlGoalMusicianSingingPerformingEssays Author:Caitlin Rose
“Everybody has their own approach to songwriting. When you're an electronic musician, the whole writing process just depends. Some people have a very live way of writing electronic music, very improvisational. They set up a lot of gear and do live takes. I'm concerned with having a specific kind of sound. There's not one second that I haven't put thought into. I put almost as much time into my live shows as I do into writing music, but they're two completely different processes. Some people think the way I perform live is how I write songs, which isn't true at all.” PeopleThinkingWritingKindDifferentSongMusicianConcernedSongwritingWriting ProcessElectronic Music Author:Travis Stewart