Best 1187 quotes in «musician quotes» category

I never became primarily a musician! I've always been a wanderer and I'm always bored.

I never dreamt of being a musician for my livelihood. I certainly never would have wanted to be in the business that I'm in, meaning the fame and the glory, the glitter, the rock star, the famous part.

I never have been a musician; I'm not actually capable. Because I can't even pretend to acquire the gift, all of my first feelings about art are still attached to music. I look at it yearningly, I look at it wonderingly. I behold it from afar, as something unattainable, something outside of myself, from which I can take nourishment, but I can't domesticate and master.

I never learned to verbalize an abstract musical concept. No thank you. The whole point of being a serious musician is to avoid verbalization whenever you can.

I never looked at being a musician any different than waking up one day and wanting to be an accountant or a lawyer.

I never use someone just because they are great musicians. I work with people who have the same kind of feeling towards the music that I do, and the subject that I'm speaking of at that time.

I never wanted to be a performer, that was not one of my goals. I wanted to be a musician and that was that.

I never wanted to get a job of musician. That was kind of my thing. I came from somewhat of a musical family. I had an uncle on Broadway. My dad kind of knows how to play instruments. Although, I always find it annoying when he does play an instrument.

In fact, many musicians are the happiest when the artist and audience re-interpret or re-imagine the content of the songs.

Initially, when I was first starting as a musician, I was a very nationalistic figure and I used to believe in doing a lot of national songs. I would always have a national song in the albums I did.

In L.A. everyone is an actor. In Texas, everyone's a musician.

In my imaginary utopian world there would be a greater allegiance between music writers and musicians.

In order to function and pay our bills and our taxes and feed our families and stuff, musicians have to make a living. It's not about being a millionaire. It's about being able to survive. When there are people constantly stealing from you, it's quite frustrating. It's a matter of changing the public's option about doing it.

I once painted a concert singer and on the chestnut frame I carved the opening bars of Mendelssohn's Rest in the Lord. It was ornamental unobtrusive and to musicians I think it emphasized the expression of the face and pose of the figure.

In the hierarchy of instruments, if you're a harpist, you're considered someone with a brain much more than if you're a singer. Even though singers, particularly singers who can play piano... If you go to the office of career development, you can get a gig much easier. Still, musicians tend to look down on you. I think they've got some nerve, because if they could sing, they would do it, but most of them can't.

I prefer live musicians whenever possible. And I tailor the ensemble to what is appropriate for the film and the score I'm writing.

In other words, musicians know that going back to the Spoonful, what we were doing was not copying.

Interplay and interaction are the integral parts of music - they're as important as the notes.

In theory, I'd like to work in a group. But the group I'd like to work in, all the musicians in them are long since dead.

I only choose musicians who I think will emerge, can emerge, with their own character, while still going along with the tune in question.

I play classical music almost exclusively. I never mastered jazz or gospel in the way that my mother did. She was a fine improvisational musician. I pretty much have to stick to what's written on the page.

I read an interview with a Japanese freestyle jazz musician once, and he said something like, "Everything I'm going to tell you is not going to be true." He's not saying, "I'm trying to lie to you." But he's kind of saying that you can never say what something really is.

I realized pretty soon that I have to do more than just play bass in the background way. So, I developed a kind of playing which only a handful of musicians accepted.

I put my name on that Occupy Musicians list because someone wrote to me and said, "Would you do this?" I said, "Yeah sure, I support this." What artist wouldn't support that? What's the big deal? But then people wrote to me, "Wow! You're on that list!" And I'm like, "Who isn't on that list?" That would be more shocking.

I read to learn, tech myself stuff and teach myself math and do complex formulas, and it's very, very tough, but I enjoy doing that and keeping my mind active. It definitely comes in handy, I feel I have a pretty good grasp, at more than a lot of musicians, of the business and finance world.

I really didn't intend to be a musician when I left Japan.

I really like Katy Perry and the music she does. She's an amazing musician and it's an honour to be opening for her in London.

I regard myself as a true American musician, and I play every style that is my heritage.

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.

I resent the implication that I'm less of a musician and a worse person for not appreciating certain works.

I said to myself a long time ago that I didn't want to be that hanging-on-for-too-long, aging-rock-musician guy, and that's why I sort of got away from music.

I started to listen to Japanese jazz musicians when I went to high school. Some people I listened to were Yosuke Yamashita, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe.

I speak my mind and come from a place of conscience, as well as have fun as a musician.

I started getting into Internet technologies and computers. I wasn't especially interested in being a musician, but I wound up finding my way back to being interested in music through computers.

I talk to people who are musicians, and they go, Oh this is hell. And I go, Are you kidding me? You never put tar paper on a roof, did ya?

I still don't understand the music industry that much. Everything I learned was from hanging out with rock musicians in studios. I certainly have respect for those who make music their livelihood.

I still have a fantasy of being a musician when I grow up.

I suppose I would still be a communicator, maybe a musician.

It can be difficult to mediate a compromise between what I have in my head and what the musician has in mind, which is often 180° different when it comes to the finished product, so it requires that element of trust from somewhere. The point I make to them is "You've seen what I do, so just trust me and we will come up with something exciting.

I think filmmakers all secretly wanna be musicians and all musicians secretly wanna be filmmakers.

I think all musicians should understand that you have chosen not to be a soldier but a musician.

I think a lot of actors, especially actors with a theater background, have a musical ear. A lot of actors just want to be musicians anyway, and a lot of musicians want to be actors.

I think for a classical musician the goal is the same as an electronic musician. A very good professional classical musician must not think about technique.

I think Bach is equally a romantic composer because he laid the seeds harmonically for people like Chopin and the great Romantics, Brahms, so its difficult to you know all this like labelling and putting - I think Bach is attractive to musicians because he supersedes the labels.

I think every touring musician sacrifices aspects of their life to do it.

I think it was that we were really seasoned musicians. We had serious roots that spanned different cultures, obviously the blues.

I think it's a shame when you come across young actors and musicians who haven't had the time to learn their craft. It doesn't matter if it's acting or music, you really have to learn how to do it from the bottom up because unless you have a great work ethic... fame is a terrible thing to have.

I think I've always felt as a band and as a musician and a music business person, I've always felt like an outsider, period.

I think people don't realize how many hours of practice goes into becoming a musician and getting better.

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.