Aaron Copland

When I speak of the gifted listener, I am thinking of the nonmusician primarily, of the listener who intends to retain his amateur status. It is the thought of just such a listener that excites the composer in me.

Composers tend to assume that everyone loves music. Surprisingly enough, everyone doesn’t.

The greatest moments of the human spirit may be deduced from the greatest moments in music.

Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness – I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

The main thing is to be satisfied with your work yourself. It’s useless to have an audience happy if you are not happy.

If one were asked to name one musician who came closest to composing without human flaw, I suppose general consensus would choose Johann Sebastian Bach.

I’m meant to be an artist who can stand on my own. That’s my place; that’s what I’m supposed to do.

In Jazz, improvisation isn’t a matter of just making any ol’ thing up. Jazz, like any language, has its own grammer and vocabulary. There’s no right or wrong, just some choices that are better than others.

Jazz stands for freedom.

It’s very difficult for me to dislike an artist. No matter what he’s creating, the fact that he’s experiencing the joy of creation makes me feel like we’re in a brotherhood of some kind… we’re in it together.

When I start writing songs and it turns into an overly belabored intellectual process, I just throw it out.

You can’t seperate modern jazz from rock or from rhythm and blues – you can’t seperate it. Because that’s where it all started, and that’s where it all come from – that’s where I learned to keep rhythm – in church.

Not too slow, not too fast. Kind of half-fast.

Sounds of daily life are musical. I try to absorb the intricacies of sounds as if I were listening to music.

The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.

Don’t be a perfectionist… leave that to the classical musicians.

I used to play pianos in bars. You know in hotels, you’d see guys playing piano with a snifter? That was me, with a painted-on mustache. I was about 15.

I thank you in advance for the great round of applause I’m about to get.

I learn something new every day.

Some people try to get very philosophical and cerebral about what they’re trying to say with jazz. You don’t need any prologues, you just play. If you have something to say of any worth then people will listen to you.

Well if I could play like Wynton, I wouldn’t play like Wynton.