Musician Development Quotes

I think it's important for a young musician to stick with a band for a while and really work with a band and stay focused.

These people shred. That's what I was saying about Nashville-you can go to an open mic night at the Holiday Inn and probably see more talented musicians than the ones touring. When we first came down here I was like, "Wow I'm glad we didn't cut our teeth down here, there's so much competition." You're being challenged constantly because you're surrounded by these amazing musicians.

My intention now, more than anything, is to promote kids and deserving musicians. Because the time I've seen, I want them to see a better one.

As a developing musician, skiffle became a platform for me to start playing music.

The whole process of this record was an education for me as a musician.

When I was younger, I was always a musician that could play by ear better than I could analytically.

I started going on YouTube and studying everybody who was super popular, from Taylor Swift to Beyonce to Michael Jackson to Chris Brown, just everybody... That's what helped me find my voice and helped me find how I write songs, just doing covers.

If a musician wants to become a finer artist, he must first become a finer person.

My playing started to develop through the Miles Davis stuff I was listening to.

I think people don't realize how many hours of practice goes into becoming a musician and getting better.

I started learning everybody's riffs, from Donny Hathaway to Jeffrey Osborne to James Ingram. That helped me create my own style of singing.

When I started music, I started out in Puerto Rico with classical music. But what really made me want to be a musician was jazz, and because I didn't grow up with jazz, I had to learn it from a very basic level. I had to go into the history and learn everything about the development of the music, all the players and all that stuff.

You know what you can gain when you sit down with the Moroccans. As a person and as a musician. That's how you grow.

I always call myself a "student" of the guitar.

I went to public school, and it shaped me as a musician.

You need to be growing and getting better, and in L.A., it's so hard to get bookings. You literally have to pay clubs to book you. It's pay to play, and then you only get 30 minutes. That's no way to get good.

I'm always writing and learning. It's about growth. So I'm growing as a musician, as a guitarist.

The important thing for any young singer or musician is to keep focused on becoming a better musician as opposed to becoming a bigger celebrity.