Itzhak Perlman Quotes

I never really trained to be a musician, but I've been playing guitar since I was around, like, 13 years old. For me, the guitar has always been the instrument that I've played. I play a little piano. I taught myself everything by ear. I don't read music at all, which has not really been a hindrance.

I actually write more on guitar than I do on piano.

To be honest, I'm one of the least-technical guitar players around. I just want a guitar to feel good and sound good. That's it, period.

Guitar playing isn't really for everybody.

You can muck around with different guitars for certain bits, but you have to have your own sound. That's your benchmark, that's your sound. I also play a Black Beauty. It sounds amazing.

I used to play violin, but I wasn't very good!

I don't think I could have ever had a career as a pianist because I never ever wanted to play the notes the way they were written, I was too sloppy to learn them quite right.

It's easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.

Playing a Fender is an art itself. They're always going out of tune.

All you have to do is play one note. But it needs to be the right note.

I taught myself to play the piano, because I wanted to play it.

If you can't play the blues... you might as well hang it up.

Pianos tend to get better as they age, the more you play them. They grow into their sound.

You need better technique than I have to play jazz, but what you have to do is the same thing, isn't it?

I play guitar, and it's not a prop.

I was always good at music.

I have one custom guitar which I play almost exclusively. I have others - sometimes you want a little texture, kind of a different sound or something.

The piano is the instrument I can play the most.

At the end of the day, I think having some life experience is helpful to play any kind of music.

Piano is one of those instruments you don't have to be good at to sound good - you just have to know where to put three little fingers, which is really pretty easy to figure out.

Dime knew the importance of every aspect of playing the guitar.

I realised, however, that you can't sing when you're playing the violin - or at least I can't - and as that aspect of performing is important to me I shifted to the piano.

I played cello on my early recordings, but that doesn't mean I'm a cellist, you know?

I know what my taste is, and I do like my touch on the piano.

Every guitarist has a special quality of sound. The best ones will use a good ear, much sensitivity and a thorough knowledge of music to prepare the nuances and colors of sound.