Famous Quotes & Sayings

Art Tatum

You have to practice improvisation, let no one kid you about it!

Art Tatum

There is no such thing as a wrong note.

Art Linkletter

Troubadours travelled from town to town. They didn't really sing too good, which is the main reason they kept going.

Jonathan Cain

We're a staple in the American music culture. Like us or not, we're here to stay.

Sydney Smith

If I were to begin life again, I would devote it to music. It is the only cheap and unpunished rapture upon earth.

Michael Sheen

When I'm in America, I like to be near the sea, listen to music, watch films, read and write.

Thomas Bangalter

Music was a vector that we wanted to build a universe around.

Aristotle

With the truth, all given facts harmonize; but with what is false, the truth soon hits a wrong note.

Aristotle

Music directly imitates the passions or states of the soul...when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued withthe same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form.

Ben Jonson

Tis the common disease of all your musicians that they know no mean, to be entreated, either to begin or end.

Eddie Van Halen

I wanted a Gibson type sound, but with a Strat vibrato ... I bought a body from Charvel for $50.00 and a neck for $80.00 - I slapped it together, put an old Gibson PAF in it and painted it up with the stripes

Eddie Van Halen

I took classical piano lessons from the age of five.

Eddie Van Halen

I was just a punk kid, trying to get a sound out of a guitar that I couldn't get off the rack, so I built one myself ... I wanted a Gibson type of sound but with a Strat vibrato .. I went to town painting it and I put three pickups back in, but they don't work - only the rear one works

Eddie Van Halen

Eventually you'll take the phrases and rhythm patterns you've copped and begin to put your own mark on them

Eddie Van Halen

If your going to learn to play lead guitar, get an electric guitar .. it doesn't have to be an expensive one .. acoustic guitars aren't good for learning lead, because you can't play up very high on the neck and they take heavier-gauge strings which makes it hard to bend notes

Eddie Van Halen

Rock & Roll is feeling, and after you know most of the basics ... chords, rhythm, scales and bends ... getting that feeling is just about the most important aspect of playing guitar

Eddie Van Halen

Most beginners want to learn lead because they think it's cool .. consequently, they never really develop good rhythm skills .. since most of a rock guitarists time is spent playing rhythm, it's important to learn to do it well .. learning lead should come after you can play solid backup and have the sound of the chords in your head

Eddie Van Halen

... I played 'Eruption' two times for the record, and we kept the one that seemed to flow ... there's a mistake at the top end of it whenever I hear it, I always think, Man I could've played it better ... but I like the way it sounds. I'd never heard a guitar sound like that before...

Eddie Van Halen

To hell with the rules. If it sounds right, then it is.

Eddie Vedder

I believe in the power of music. To me, it isn't just a fad. This is a positive thing.

Eddie Vedder

Worship the music, not the musicians.

Dizzy Gillespie

Miles got a mystique about him-plus he's at the top of his profession. And he's got way, way, way more money.

Dizzy Gillespie

Kenny Burrell is the grand master of jazz guitar.

Dizzy Gillespie

They're not particular whether you're playing a flat 5th or a ruptured 129th as long as they can dance.

Dizzy Gillespie

One of the reasons we're here is to be a part of this process of exchange.

Dizzy Gillespie

It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.

Dizzy Gillespie

Men have died for this music. You can't get more serious than that.

Dizzy Gillespie

I don't care much about music. What I like is sounds.

David Bowie

Sometimes you stumble across a few chords that put you in a reflective place.

David Bowie

When the musical keyboard was created in the 1970's, you had electronic geeks that had no background in music created these devises and gave them to musicians that had no background in electronics. The result was some of the wierd sounds that came out in the '70s.

David Bowie

I'm an instant star. Just add water and stir.

David Bowie

When you think about it, Adolf Hitler was the first pop star.

Dave Navarro

I never have a realistic sense of self. I either think everything I do is terrible and I'm the worst guy on the planet, or from time to time I'll think I'm the greatest gift to music and the coolest guy who ever lived, but that happens maybe an hour out of the week. Some days I'm more concerned with how my hair looks than what my guitar sounds like.