Musicians Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old musicians quotes, musicians sayings, and musicians proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

A lot of musicians aren't proud; they'll do other work, just to be able to play music. I guess that's the way it's always going to be - musicians will have to suffer to a certain degree in order to obtain their outlet. Chico Hamilton
We are in a position, as musicians, to touch the souls of those who listen. Spencer W. Kimball
Usually people think that it is the musicians who create the music, but in fact it is music who creates the musicians. Robert Fripp
Musicians from the beginning of time have been there to express the mood and the musical feelings in the air for whatever's going on in that particular culture. It's the greatest joy as a musician to be able to translate that, be part of something and watch the scenery around you. Trey Anastasio
Musicians exist independent of any of the marketing terms or the categorization. Dwight Yoakam
Musicians understand each other through means other that speaking. Ry Cooder
Musicians wake up and create a more loving community by creating heavier music. Cass McCombs
The best musicians answer something in you when you don't even know the question. Allison Pearson
Musicians like to converse. There's always interesting conversation with musicians - with classical musicians, with jazz musicians, musicians in general. Wynton Marsalis
That's the thing about musicians: The priority is to create something new that's never been before. And you put your life on the line every time that you play. Charlie Haden
Great musicians accept everything that they hear and find something good. They take what they like and they throw away what they don't like. John Zorn
Naturally, no one knows more about music than musicians. They talk about their own work all the time, but they rarely get to talk about other people's music. Michael Azerrad
All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians. Thelonious Monk
Musicians own music because music owns them. Virgil Thomson
Musicians are, by and large, not the most politically savvy crew. Ben Shapiro
Musicians are always gigging and never have a chance to stop for a minute. Keith Jarrett
Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them. Louis Armstrong
All musicians start out with ideals but hanging on to them in the face of media scrutiny takes real integrity. Tougher still is to live up to the ideals of your dedicated fans. Billy Bragg
The best musicians or sound-artists are people who never considered themselves to be artists or musicians. Aphex Twin
Musicians rarely have a sense of humour, at least, about themselves. Carolyn Wells
Musicians want to be the loud voice for so many quiet hearts. Billy Joel
Great musicians are great musicians, whether they're playing a trombone or an electric guitar or a xylophone. Chris Stapleton
Sometimes, musicians worry too much about how beautifully they are playing. Simon Rattle
Musicians keep playing when the lights go out, when people are suffering, confused, or angry. Stephen Hough
Musicians are the architects of heaven. Bobby McFerrin
The wise musicians are those who play what they can master. Duke Ellington
The great musicians are those who can reach people, who can make people feel something. Sam Rivers
Musicians always have music in their heads about their perceptions of the world. Pattie Boyd
Musicians should not play music. Music should play musicians. Henry Rollins