Miles Davis Quotes

Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing.

Music is the art of the relationship between the space between sounds.

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

When you play music, you discover a part of yourself that you never knew existed.

If you want to change the world, pick up your instrument and play.

To me, music is about communication and expression. It’s a way of connecting with people.

I don’t like to sound like anyone else, and I don’t like anyone to sound like me.

Jazz is freedom. It’s about breaking the rules and pushing the boundaries.

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.

Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night, but differently each time.

It’s not the notes you play, it’s the ones you don’t.

The most important thing I look for in a musician is their ability to listen.

I always listen to what I can leave out.

Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life.

When you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that you play that determines if it’s good or bad.

The hardest thing in music is simplicity.

Jazz is an attitude, not a style.

If music be the food of love, play on.

I don’t look at music as a career. It’s my life.

Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is.

Don’t worry about playing the right notes. Just play the right feelings.

I don’t practice. I play.

It’s not the sound that defines the music, it’s the feeling.

You have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

Music is the greatest form of communication.

I don’t know where jazz is going. Maybe it’s going to hell. You can’t make anything go anywhere. It just happens.

If you don’t know what to play, play nothing. Silence is very important in music.

The most interesting thing in music is silence.

Play what you hear and hear what you play.

The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides!

In jazz, you can play something ten different ways, and they can all be right.

It’s not the instrument that makes the music, it’s the musician.

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later.

Jazz is about being in the moment.

I don’t like labels. I like music.

You have to play with a passion for people to feel it.

Music is all about freedom, and jazz is the ultimate form of that.

Every note counts, so make every note count.

Don’t play what you know, play what you feel.

I don’t play music. I live it.

The music is inside of you. You just have to let it out.

To me, jazz is like the ocean. It’s always changing, always flowing.

I’m always looking for new ways to express myself through music.

Music is the universal language. It brings people together in a way nothing else can.