Chris Thile Quotes

My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am.

My work is literally my voice.

In other words, an instrument should be an extension of you; it's supposed to sound like you - the way you walk, the way you dress, you know.

My music is the most 'me' thing about me. Everything is in my music.

Music is just kind of an expression of who I am. It's what I do.

Because we always have to wear a uniform to compete, my teammates and I look the exact same. My belt is the only accessory that I get to choose. I usually wear a yellow cloth belt with cherries or a leather belt with a beautiful tree buckle that I got at a thrift store.

My sunglasses are like my guitar.

The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it.

God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?

Whether it be in acting, music, or even in dancing, I only want to do things that I truly connect to, and with my music, it's everything that I am.

The people in my songs are all me.

I choose to express myself.

Today there are millions of people making stuff and putting it into the world: that's become part of our identity and it shouldn't be limited to people who fancy themselves writers, or who are particularly witty or talented.

Singing was my first passion. Whenever I sing, I'm always so happy.

A musician should only sound like what they do, and no two musicians sound the same. It's an individual-feel thing, you know?

I was really drawn to spoken-word style poetry. I loved the rhythms, and for some reason, I was just drawn to this poetry as a way of expressing my feelings, because I didn't have any other outlet.

With my music, I can express myself so much. A lot of the fans can sense that I'm relating to them something that's quite personal.

We all need ways to express ourselves, and poetry is one of mine.

When I hear someone, instantaneously, I'm like, 'Who's singing?' You're giving people so much of yourself, and my voice is the most natural, distinctive tool I have. It's up to me to express myself on a wider scale than just writing vocal melodies and lyrics.

When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice - my voice.

For me, singing is the most natural thing in the world. I've grown up with it and I know I've got that gift.

The most important thing for me as an artist is having an identity.

I never tried to sing like anybody else, fortunately I didn't sound like anybody else. It just happened.

I know my voice has a limited range of motion; I don't write dramatic monologues and pretend to be other people. But so far, my voice is broad enough to accommodate most of what I want to put into my poetry. I like my persona; I often wish I were him and not me.

That's what I was trying to say when we were talking about sound. I think that every person, whether they play music or don't play music, has a sound - their own sound, that thing that you're talking about.