As far as I'm concerned, it's no good being able to wail out smokin' leads if your rhythm chops hugg!
People think that singing and playing is easy. It's not. It's easy to strum along, but if you actually want to really play, where it's important, that's a hard thing and not too many people are good at it.
When I was younger, I was always a musician that could play by ear better than I could analytically.
If you can't play the blues... you might as well hang it up.
Those with prodigious skill in music are better suited for all things.
I'm not a very technical musician at all.
I'm not a trained musician.
I was a virtuoso of all the folk-blues guitar styles by the time I reached 17.
Yeah, I can read music and I know the names of chords.
I don't like reading music. It's like learning a language. You can't read music proficiently overnight. It takes time, it's boring work.
I think I've become a much better singer and a much better player. Years and years of playing a couple of hours every day will do that.
You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.
I wanted to be a multi-instrumentalist.
I don't read music. I don't write or read music.
I am classically trained in piano, flute, and voice.
I can't sight-read classical etudes - I would have to see it and learn it. But yeah, I can read. It is a wonderful tool. It's like speaking another language. Anyone that says reading music can hurt your playing is either stupid, lazy, or ignorant.
As a piano player, if 10 is concert level, I'd put myself at a 5 or a 6, but in a completely different genre than classical or opera. In terms of classical and opera, playing accompaniment, I'd say I was a 3.
The more you play music, the better you'll get.
It takes a lifetime and a half to master the classical guitar.
I feel that I speak the musical language.
I practice every day and that kind of stuff to maintain my musicianship.
You can go on YouTube now and see young kids with massive technique. There's literally eight and nine year olds who can play amazingly. There's no limit to where you can take it.
