T Bone Burnett Quotes

Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it. And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.

You decide to be a musician, you have to put in the time.

I came to L.A. in 1970, and my desire and my training was to be a studio musician, which I had read about in my senior year in high school.

I am a muso, and I love doing it. I assumed that would be my career for a long time. I always wanted to be a writer, but I didn't think that anyone could actually be that full-time, so I always go back to conducting and arranging and playing. If you scratch me, I'm a musician.

I've always had a passion for music, but I never saw me as a musician for a living. I never thought that I could make a living. It never dawned on me.

I played guitar when I was young and never really considered it as a way to make a living.

I'm desperate to start a career in music.

I moved to Nashville at 17 to make music, and since then I've put everything I have into doing it right.

I love music so much I love what I do. I work very hard at being the best musician I can be because I love it.

Bands today have to learn their craft by putting the hard work in that we did when we were young performers.

I have to work really hard to get the record deal - I have to spend years at it to get good. I have to practice to be good at guitar.

I was working so hard at music and trying to do this whole 'industry' thing and realised that it wasn't for me.

In my opinion, you just have to make the music. Make the music and work as hard as you can to get it out there.

Nobody is going to hand you a music career.

Any young, aspiring musicians out there, if music is what you want to do, if music is what you love and your passion. It doesn't take a fragrance, it's not about the tabloids, it's about you putting in the work, practicing every day, practicing your vocals, practicing your instrument, practicing songwriting. Hopefully one day you write the song the whole world wants to get down to. I promise you, if you go out there and sing and you put your heart and soul into it and you follow your dream, one day you're going to be sitting next to Ellen DeGeneres talking about how you broke records and rocked the Super Bowl.

I've never gone to the bedroom when I was starting out and practiced away.

I think people don't realize how many hours of practice goes into becoming a musician and getting better.

People always told me that my natural ability and good eyesight were the reasons for my success as a hitter. They never talk about the practice, practice, practice.

I am right at the bottom compared to everybody else with press kits and demos and trying to get meetings. That's what I love about music and hate about it. That's why I respect people that are successful in the music business because you really have to build it from the ground up.

But just because you love something, I added to myself, doesn't mean you'll ever be great. Not if you don't work. Most people stink at the things they love.

Of course performing talent, that's clear. Maybe this is not so well-known among young people who are interested in music, who are talented in music, but they're trying to figure out how to go about it.

I could care less about sitting around and practicing the guitar for hours a day and trying to be the best guitar player on the planet.

I can't stress the importance of working hard enough, work on all aspects of your game. If you does that and you have the ability, you'll come through.

I promise you, if you look at YouTube and see some of my first covers, you will hear that I don't sound good. But I was so obsessed with it and wanted so much to be good at it that I forced myself to figure out what sounds right and what sounds wrong.

I wanted to play in a band, and I wanted to do music for a living, and that's what I dedicated my life to.