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You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.

John Coltrane

My goal is to live the truly religious life, and express it in my music. If you live it, when you play there’s no problem because the music is part of the whole thing. To be a musician is really something. It goes very, very deep. My music is the spiritual expression of what I am – my faith, my knowledge, my being.
JOHN COLTRANE

Expression Goal Knowledge Life Live Music Myself Religious True
Invest yourself in everything you do. There’s fun in being serious.
JOHN COLTRANE

Fun Investment Serious
Sometimes I wish I could walk up to my music for the first time, as if I had never heard it before.
JOHN COLTRANE

Music Myself Time Walk
I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I’m doing, the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary that it be understood.
JOHN COLTRANE

Communication Emotional Feeling Necessary Reaction Thinking Understand
Starting in the middle of a musical sentence and moving in both directions at once.
JOHN COLTRANE

Direction Move Music Start
Any time you play your horn, it helps you. If you get down, you can help yourself even in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
JOHN COLTRANE

Help Horn Play Time Yourself
I believe that men are here to grow themselves into the best good that they can be – at least, this is what I want to do.
JOHN COLTRANE

Believe Goodness Growth Man Myself
There is never any end, There are always new sounds to imagine; new feelings to get at. And always, there is the need to keep purifying these feelings and sounds so that we can really see what we’ve discovered in its pure state.
JOHN COLTRANE

Discover End Feeling Imagination Purify Sound State
Whatever I’d say would be an understatement. I can only say my life was made much better by knowing him. He was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known, as a man, a friend, and a musician.
JOHN COLTRANE

Better Friendship Greatness Known Life Musician Myself
Sometimes I wish I could walk up to my music as if for the first time, as if I had never heard it before. Being so inescapably a part of it, I’ll never know what the listener gets, what the listener feels, and that’s too bad.
JOHN COLTRANE

Bad Escape Feeling Listening Music Myself Time Walk
I think I was first awakened to musical exploration by Dizzy Gillespie and Bird. It was through their work that I began to learn about musical structures and the more theoretical aspects of music.
JOHN COLTRANE

Aspect Awake Learning Music Myself Thinking
All a musician can do is to get closer to the sources of nature, and so feel that he is in communion with the natural laws.
JOHN COLTRANE

Law Music Nature Source
The real risk is not changing. I have to feel that I’m after something. If I make money, fine. But I’d rather be striving. It’s the striving, man, it’s that I want.
JOHN COLTRANE

Change Man Real Risk Strive
Sometimes I think I was making music through the wrong end of a magnifying glass.
JOHN COLTRANE

End Music Myself Thinking Time Wrong
Damn the rules, it’s the feeling that counts.
JOHN COLTRANE

Count Feeling Inspirational Rule
I’d like to point out to people the divine in a musical language that transcends words. I want to speak to their souls.
JOHN COLTRANE

Divine Language Musical Myself People Point Soul Talk

You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.

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You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.

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