Gary Lucas Quotes

The right notes mean more than 1,000 mph arpeggios.

My thinking musically has always been more advanced - it is difficult to get it down onto paper sometimes, even now.

The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.

I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with all of their equipment and the incredible amount of technique they have. But there's very little that I think satisfies you intellectually or emotionally.

I play a musical instrument a little, but only for my own amazement.

A good interpreter can take a piece of bad music and make it sound pretty decent, while a bad interpreter can take good music and make it sound cheap. I can tell that some people have a bad taste, and unlike on the piano, they smear around a lot, that is bad taste.

My music is simple stuff. Anybody can sit down, look at a set of symbols and produce sounds the music represents.

You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.

I'm a natural piano player. So all the practicing I do at this point is in my head. If I don't play for a year, my chops aren't going to get any worse. I've spent my time playing scales, and I don't necessarily want to play any faster than I play. So everything I do at this point is more philosophical.

What drew me to the violin was mastering the instrument technically, which I'm continuing to do.

I do love using keyboards and I love writing keyboard parts, but I am not a player in the true sense of the word.

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.

Trying to describe something musical is like dancing to architecture, it's really difficult.

I think when you're learning an instrument, you are restricted because much of it is the noise of individual theory and your ability to play the instrument.

I've never understood people who play up the artifice of music.

I don't think I think when I play. I have a photographic memory for chords, and when I'm playing, the right chords appear in my mind like photographs long before I get to them.

I was always pretty decent at fast stick work or doing stuff that seems impressive that's not really; I was pretty tasteful and had good ideas musically. But I had a terrible sense of tempo, which is like being a blind painter. The conductor would just rip into me, and it lasted for years.

I've been playing since I was about 7. I never really used a pick very much. I mean, once in a while, if you're in a festive mood, you might draw a little blood, but nothing significant... But my hands aren't abused, really.

It is very unnatural to dance while playing the violin. I had to practice so hard to learn how to do it, but now it is part of my expression, and it comes naturally. I have to know a song perfectly before I can even begin to move.

The thing with music education is that it is good at teaching technique, but not texture. You only learn about that from listening to music and experimenting on your own.

Fundamentally, if there is any secret, it is about the need to find that peace and calm in our personal space with music, as most of 'learning music' is about listening to music and practicing over and over again.

If you watch me for a long time, you'll really understand and appreciate the way I play.

I don't think you can have a calculated approach towards learning music.

I can't play an instrument to save my life. But when I'm creating, and when I'm making music, I feel like I'm the head of the orchestra, and I'm just waving my wand, and something is created.

I play in tune like a cello player and use legitimate vibrato. There are no tricks; it's just all in the hands!