Tarja Turunen Quotes

I definitely see myself as an international musician. When I play, I respect the source of the music, whether it's Cuban, Brazilian or Israeli. I try to bring that to all of the music I play. Music has no borders and no flags.

Music is music; you don't have to put a label on it.

I've been informed by both sides, jazz, western music, Asian music, African music, all sides, because I've been interested in the sound of the universe, and that sound is without limit.

For me, genres are a way for people to easily categorize music. But it doesn't have to define you. It doesn't have to limit you.

Music has no borders, which is most important.

Who's to say a blues man can't play rock and roll?

You have got to stress the freedom of music to really branch out and be universal.

I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a genre. It feels very limiting.

I always felt music to be universal and undifferentiated - Western classical, folk, Carnatic or Hindustani and so on.

I don't want to limit myself musically. It would be really limiting if we'd neglect something we really want to do, like explore other styles of music.

I never excluded any genre on my first record.

Being an American musician means being adventurous.

Maybe one day music will just be music, and there won't be these categories; it'll just be different shades of music.

Sling your guitar to wherever you're going, and you'll be amazed by the connective power of music: It knows no boundaries, cultures or class.

One of the mistakes I made was believing that the rock n' roll genre as a genre was much more free than the whole pop or R&B scene.

People are always defining and re-defining music. My style of playing has been characterized as smooth jazz and acid jazz. I listen as I play; I'm not caught up in defining the type of music I play.

Me personally, I think all the barriers that are put up between genres are so easily broken. People just love music that moves them.

I think the people who are saying jazz has to sound a particular way, or, 'What you're doing isn't jazz,' are just scared because they can't do it. A lot of them just aren't talented enough to do anything new, honestly.

If we do a record, and there's a reggae song, it's not shocking to us. If we do an all hip-hop song, it's not shocking to us. We all listen to that sort of music. It's not about what's in at the time; it's what feels right to us and what we're comfortable in doing.

Most of my colleagues have been insulated in Indian music alone - they did not think of the world beyond what they knew - but I always did and still do.

I think the music defends myself. I don't think anyone should put a race on any genre. It's just a way of expressing yourself through instruments and sounds, right? People can just listen to the music.

I believe Babymetal's music can transcend everything from national boundaries, genders and ages.

In music, there is no country; there is no time.

Music goes beyond nationalities - it's a language which you can understand in any country.

We've really learned that music is something that people share all over the world.