Yngwie Malmsteen Quotes

I think there are always people who, when they get the bug to play an instrument, they want to get as good as they can with it rather than just be simply adequate at it. You run into them every once in a while - some kid who wants to be the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, for whatever reason, and plays exactly like him.

I could care less about sitting around and practicing the guitar for hours a day and trying to be the best guitar player on the planet.

I think that, initially, I was most passionate about music and particularly about playing the piano. I started playing when I was nine, and I was obsessed with it, really. I wouldn't even go spend the night at a friend's unless they had a piano. But I didn't have the chops, the extraordinary talent to be able to play the piano professionally.

I consider myself a part-time worker when it comes to the piano, but you need to play regularly to stay sharp.

I thought it was too 'glam rock' to practice. The problem is that now I'm a pretty bad guitar player.

You're a constant student, as a musician.

I wish I was a shredder that could play everything, but I don't have the patience.

I have to work at tunes to get them to come out. Sometimes I'll sit there for four or five hours and get absolutely nothing.

When I was younger, studying classical music, I really had to put in the time. Three hours a day is not even nice - you have to put in six.

Classical music is always a really great way for me to get my chops to where I want them to be.

I practice on the acoustic guitar a little bit, but I think I have reached the peak of my talent.

When I have a chunk of time that I can really dedicate to music, I really want to get into it. I want to do some really hard stuff and push myself.

It's very important to go through periods where you sound just rotten and you know it, and you have to persevere or give up.

I had studied piano since I was 13, but I was surrounded by students who'd been playing since they were 5. I realized I was never going to be anything but mediocre.

Music is my sport, and I'm the number-one athlete.

I am a deeply competitive person when it comes to music.

It's all a progression towards hopefully one day making a record that can be the definitive you can offer. Some bands come in with that at first, and the great bands never really stray from that. I want to earn my stripes.

Before you start a practicing regimen, you have to be aware that the study of music is a lifelong process-it's a discipline. And the key to mastering any discipline is consistency.

When we started, it was so intense: it was like a religion. And when you played with Duane Allman, you either gave it your all or you got out.

I made music a priority every single day.

We're very much perfectionists, so when we're putting on a huge show and want to play to the best of ability, we rehearse intensely. And I have a guitar pretty much in my hand for at least five hours before doing a show. I'm just noodling and mucking around and working on some of the songs here and there.

Becoming a musician is a strange thing. It's not all cupcakes and ice cream. You're trying to master an instrument, and you sometimes can't tell if you're getting better. You love it, but you also hate it.

Everybody in Georgia is musical, but I was slightly obsessed.

The way I make music, I know what I'm doing, because I been doing this for so long. This is the only thing I'm good at.

I started playing drums at three, then piano at five, then clarinet. But it wasn't till I picked up a saxophone aged 13 that I really got serious about music.