Rock and roll ain't nothing but jazz with a hard backbeat.
Keith RichardsRead
There's just certain styles of playing that you do play in your own way. Maybe it's in the way your fingers bend, for all I know. And so whenever you pick up the guitar it's not so much the sound of the instrument itself, it's like the ting that you add onto it-the attitude.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Individual expression is key in artistry, as it's the unique perspective and attitude that truly shapes the outcome.
This quote emphasizes the idea that creativity and personal style are what set an artist apart. While the tools and instruments may be the same, it is the unique interpretation and attitude of the individual that transforms the art, making it uniquely theirs. In music, as in many arts, the essence of the creation stems from the artist's personal touch and emotional input.
Themes
ExpressionArtistryGuitarAttitudeStyle
In practice
Example use cases
To inspire musicians at a workshop about improvisation.
More from Keith Richards
All quotes →Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.
Keith RichardsRead
If you've gotta think about being cool, you ain't cool.
Keith RichardsRead
If you don't know the blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.
Keith RichardsRead
There's something beautifully friendly and elevating about a bunch of guys playing music together. This wonderful little world that is unassailable. It's really teamwork, one guy supporting the others, and it's all for one purpose, and there's no flies in the ointment, for a while. And nobody conducting, it's all up to you. It's really jazz__that's the big secret. Rock and roll ain't nothing but jazz with a hard backbeat.
Keith RichardsRead
When you're supported by millions all over the world, you can either go nuts, or try to feed off the goodwill.
Keith RichardsRead
Similar quotes
When I’m photographing I see life.
Garry WinograndRead
The great thing about a record is it frees your imagination; it gives your eyes a rest and lets your mind wander. There's the special thing that each record can mean a different thing to every person listening to it.
Henry ManciniRead
But it's writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. If you can take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else. Wash the car, maybe.
Stephen KingRead
She fell asleep, and it was a sleep as thin as the night clouds, dotted with dreams that came and went like the stars.
Lois LowryRead
Good art theory must smell of the studio, although its language should differ from the household talk of painters and sculptors.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
The strange dilemma of the 'ethnic-fiction' writer is that you are supposed to carry a banner for your homeland, be a voice for it, and educate the rest of the world about it, but I think that's far too onerous a burden for any writer to bear.
Khaled HosseiniRead