Mike O'Cull

I have learned over the course of my years playing and creating music that it is at least as much about the approach we take as it is about the technique we have. How we feel about what we play, why we play it, and how we think about the purpose of music in our lives and the lives of those who listen to us all contribute in one way or another to our overall sound, feel, style, and artistic development. Rather than bore you with my own thoughts on the subject, I thought I would share with you some quotes from notable musicians that will get you thinking about what this thing of ours means and what it does. I like quotes because they are like little arrows of wisdom that can penetrate our consciousness instantly, especially in moments when a longer thought would only confuse us. Please leave a comment if any of these resonate with you and share any other favorite quotes you may have. Enjoy!

 

 

'Remember the first time you went to a show and saw your favorite band. You wore their shirt, and sang every word. You didn't know anything about scene politics, haircuts, or what was cool. All you knew was that this music made you feel different from anyone you shared a locker with. Someone finally understood you. This is what music is about.' 

Gerard Way

 

'It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature and everlasting beauty of monotony.' 

Benjamin Britten

 

'Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of the music should resound in your heart.' 

Andres Segovia

 

'Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.'
 

Herbie Hancock

 

 

'It was my 16th birthday - my mom and dad gave me my Goya classical guitar that day. I sat down, wrote this song, and I just knew that that was the only thing I could ever really do - write songs and sing them to people.'

 

Stevie Nicks

 

 

'I dabbled in things like Howlin' Wolf, Cream and Led Zeppelin, but when I heard Son House and Robert Johnson, it blew my mind. It was something I'd been missing my whole life. That music made me discard everything else and just get down to the soul and honesty of the blues.'

 

Jack White

 

 

'Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.'

 

Charlie Parker

 

 

'Heartbreak was the impetus to me writing poems and music in the first place. Over the years, I had my heart broken so badly that if I didn't find a way to get all the pain out, I was going to lose my mind. I was crazy! Like, wanting to slash tires and smash car windows. Crazy! I was so hurt that I had to write.'

 

Jill Scott

 

 

'Music was the one thing I could control. It was the one world that offered me freedom. When I played music, my nightmares ended. My family problems disappeared. I didn't have to search for answers. The answers lay no further than the bell of my trumpet and my scrawled, pencilled scores. Music made me full, strong, popular, self-reliant.'

 

Quincy Jones

 

 

'Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.'

 

Tom Petty