Carlene Carter Quotes

Before you worry about what genre it is, about whether it's a loop or a drum, it's about what suits the song. It's using what's within your reach, but also reaching for everything you can. I don't know if I always get it right, because I don't know every sound yet.

All of the musicians when I was young used to always say you had to tell a story when you're a musician.

What I have to do as a musician is do everything that is not on the music.

I didn't really know what I was doing when I started. I just started writing songs. After two songs I just continued to explore it.

The wonderful thing about Jazz is its willingness to take chances.

I know melody. I know rhythm; I know bass guitar; I know the piano. I know everything about music that helps build the music that go along with creating the whole art form, you know what I'm saying?

Music is about textures as well as melody.

I like writing different types of music. I don't like being stuck into one thing.

See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.

I really believe in melody.

Music is organized sound.

Nothing pleases me more than to go into a room and come out with a piece of music.

There is no such thing as a wrong note.

It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.

It's really only all about music. It's not like a big rocket scientist kind of philosophy or anything.

Make your own music. It can be done.

I've always done very 'composed' music and worked-out solos. But sometimes it's fun not knowing where you're going.

I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.

I'm definitely a risk-taker with my music.

My drumming is always an experiment.

Usually one or two things happen: Either you have an idea straightaway - the sort of sound that you want or the instrumentation or one particular sound that you want to feature - or you don't.

We have always wanted to write songs and be experimental in that way.

Every day I look forward to getting with my instruments, trying new things.

I've been really trying to hone the art of songwriting in a way that doesn't follow any sort of guideline.

We have no general conceptual thrust for the band, other than trying to make music that keeps our interest. When things are novel, they are probably things we have discovered by accident or investigation rather than by design.