Charlie Parker

"Don't think. Feel. That's the secret of good playing."

"Music should be happy. Make people feel good."

"I just had to play. That's all there was to it."

"You never really know what's going to happen until you try."

"I'm learning something new every day."

"The music speaks for itself if you let it."

"I play what I feel. That's the only way I know how."

"Time doesn't mean anything to a musician."

"You've got to pay your dues and believe in yourself."

"Everything you do affects everything else."

"I want to be remembered as someone who did something special."

"The best music comes from the soul, not the head."

"I never wanted to be a businessman. I just wanted to play."

"Music is eternal. It never dies."

"Learn the old songs first. Then you can break the rules."

"There's always something new to discover in music."

"I believe in playing from the heart, not the book."

"Music is a language that everybody understands."

"The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes – that is where the art resides."

"You can't tell anybody how to play. They've got to find it in themselves."

"I play for the love of it. Always have, always will."

"The hardest thing is to know what you want to say."

"I'm trying to play the truth of what I am."

"Music is the only thing that makes sense to me."

"If it sounds good, it is good. That's all that matters."

"I want to be a musician, period. Not a star, not a celebrity – just a musician."

"Every solo tells a story. You just have to listen."

"I've never made a wrong note. I just played them differently than intended."

"The best time to learn is now."

"Music is what moves people. That's the purpose of it."