Jeff Ament Quotes

It's very demanding to make up your own music.

There's many, many ways to write a song. But generally, sitting down at a table and writing is not one of them.

I wrote my first song at 6. I spent every day with the guitar, and I just made up songs.

As a musician, I don't think I'm the greatest guitar player. I'm a bigger fan of the drums than I am the guitar; I just happen to play guitar. I play drums almost every day at my house. I wrote a lot of songs behind the drum kit, just having the music and vocals in my head and playing the rhythm.

If I try to write a song, I will completely fail to write a song. But if I'm just holding my guitar and I just start humming, then I'll have a song in an hour.

When I write, I write the drum beat. Though sometimes I write on piano or guitar.

To me and my band, guitar riffs are what it's all about. We know that every time we jam on a great riff, we've got a fighting chance of writing a great song!

I started playing guitar before I can really remember, and I started writing really early, too.

I started writing songs when I started learning guitar.

I'll sit around and play my guitar; that's how I write tunes.

I sit down and create atmospheres, start playing guitar or piano and just sing whatever comes out of my mouth.

When I graduated high school, I bought a guitar and, at first, didn't really think I'd get into the songwriting thing as much as I did. But after learning a few songs of other people's to play on the guitar, I got bored with that and just started writing songs on my own, and that's kinda how it came about.

I usually write my music on a piano, and I really enjoy performing that way, because that actually shows how the music was in my mind before it actually became an electronic song.

I pick up my guitar and play. Something might come, and then the pen comes out. Then an edit, until something comes out that you're actually satisfied with.

I get like a melody that comes up and I try to write it down or record it. Hum it into a tape recorder or write it down on some manuscript paper. It could happen at any time, on the road or off the road, but mostly, you know, at home.

One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen.

I think to be a good songwriter, you have to be able to play an instrument.

For me, songwriting is really where it's at. I turn to use the guitar just to help me write the songs. That's it. As a result, my guitar playing suffers pretty horribly.

I play guitar all the time, and I'm constantly thinking of songs... Every time I pick up a guitar, I come up with different riffs, all different bands I've been in. Sometimes there is a song or riff that could only belong with Slipknot, and I just can't use it for anything else, regardless of whatever happened.

I am so highly skilled that when I pick up a phrase and then pick up my guitar, a form comes out almost immediately - a song - and once I start, I have to finish it.

I used to just sit in the living room and make up songs on the keyboard.

When I was about 14, I got a tacky keyboard for 250 pounds and put on a drum machine and found I could write a song.

Lately, I love creating ideas on my acoustic guitar. I sit in my living room for hours trying different chords.

I compose melodies in my head and then interpret them musically with my guitar and keep them recorded. The guitar helps me to build unique chord structures on simple melodies.

I'm always writing music.