Keith Jarrett Quotes

You know how they say, "Find your voice"? That's your voice, in your pajamas. And it doesn't mean that you're going to publish it or print it or people are going to see you in your pajamas. It just means you are going to construct the foundation in your pajamas, in that voice.

We are living in a world where the individual must learn to command the raw materials of expression. He must not be dependent all the time on the ready-made, the finished product. It's the transferring, the changing of the raw into what is the expression of your own self – the whole joy and satisfaction and frustration of life is built into this.

I don't think it is possible to give tips for finding one's voice; it's one of those things for which there aren't really any tricks or shortcuts, or even any advice that necessarily translates from writer to writer. All I can tell you is to write as much as possible.

Music is like a mirror in front of you. You're exposing everything, but surely that's better than suppressing. You have to dig deep and that can be hard for anybody, no matter what profession. I feel that I need to actually push myself to the limit to feel happy with the end result.

Everybody talks about finding your voice. Do your homework and your voice will find you.

...Listen to your own thoughts and feelings very carefully, be aware of your observations, and learn to value them. When you're a teenager—and even when you're older—lots of people will try to tell you what to think and feel. Try to stand still inside all of that and hear your own voice. It's yours and only yours, it's unique and worth of your attention, and if you cultivate it properly, it might just make you a writer.

You must write for yourself, above all. That is your only hope of creating something beautiful.

With every project you do, you bring out a part of yourself, and it seems to be quite a good way of expanding a person.

My interest lies in my self-expression - what's inside of me - not what I'm in.

People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.

I'll never be August Wilson - but what I can be is more of myself.

How I set myself apart is by creating the sort of real and honest music, which is who I'm also trying to be.

I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.

I knew that I had to find my own voice, both figuratively and literally.

My motto is never to try to imitate anybody: I have always looked inward and followed the inward voice.

You've got one life: find your voice within it.

I don't want to be anyone but me, but as a versatile as possible.

The creative process has been a little bit of an experience, really - to try and make that work for me. The only way I know how to do that is just to remain genuine, humble, and true to everything I know already in my life.

Especially as an artist, the creative freedom we have makes us who we are. We're human beings-we're gonna mess up sometimes. I definitely feel like people should continue being who they are. As long as you're staying true to who you are, that's super important.

The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations.

No one will ever be as good at being you as you. So start there. Perfect is boring.

Now, as I move through my fifties, I can be professional and domestic, creative and intellectual, patient and urgent. I have learned that we should never settle for someone else's definition of who we can be. Growing to this age, I realize, is kind of like feeling your voice deepen. It's still your voice, but it has more substance, and it sounds like it knows its own origins.

You and you alone are the only person that can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell. And the world needs your story because the world needs your voice.

In the process of simplifying oneself, one often discovers the thing called voice.

I think if you're lucky enough to find a voice in whatever you do, that voice will come sneaking out no matter what.