Miles Davis Quotes

You either have the magic or you don't. There's no way you can work up to it.

The ability to make music is a gift that you're born with; it's not something you can learn.

Mainly, I don't like it when music is made solely to impress people or in order to please business people; it doesn't sound good to me. If you're making music in order to become famous or loved by the masses... that's not what I'm about. When somebody's making music for the wrong reasons, I hear it right away.

I feel I was born with the music coming to me, and that's not something to be wasted.

One is born to be a dancer. No teacher can work miracles, nor will years of training make a good dancer of an untalented pupil. One may be able to acquire a certain technical facility, but no one can ever 'acquire an exceptional talent.' I have never prided myself on having an unusually gifted pupil. A Pavlova is no one's pupil but God's.

You can't just try to be a performer. It's in your DNA. I really believe that it's either what you are or it's not at all.

Talent is the capacity of doing anything that depends on application and industry and it is a voluntary power, while genius is involuntary.

Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.

It's not like if I play in big places I won't be happy. But I don't want to start adapting to what's in style to make my music. I want to stay true to my roots, to keep making the music I love, that comes from my soul. And if there are people who want to listen to it, I'm happy.

Style is something that's extremely important, but it must grow naturally out of who and what you are and what the material calls for. It cannot be superimposed.

Rather than trying to create an audience, just try and create music that feels good to you.

Passion is just something that comes naturally to me.

Writing music is just something that I was born to do.

If you're making music for all the right reasons, people are going to be receptive to that and appreciate it the same way you did when your were writing it.

I think in the world of indie music there's this sort of false modesty.

If I can't be honest with music, forget it.

Before the money or anything, number one, it was just to put out real music, real stuff with a passion, real art.

People don't really need to question our sincerity when it comes to our songs.

You can't make a star - they just have it.

The more people do hear my music, they do realize that I'm being true to myself. So there is that conflict, but I think more and more, people are realizing I'm just being me.

I am not a trained singer, but I always sing from my heart.

Sheryl Crow. I loved her 'Tuesday Night Music Club.' She expressed her own point of view, and she wasn't trying to be like anyone else, and I loved that. That's been the thinking of all my favorite artists.

I always had this talent - it is something you get when you are born, so I have just worked, and it has gone well for me.

If you're born with a gift, to behave like it's an achievement is not right.

Actors are not made, they are born.