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You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four.

Miles Davis

It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.
MILES DAVIS

Instrument Music Play Right Wrong Yourself
Food makes my mind sluggish.
MILES DAVIS

Food Mindset Myself
White folks always think that you have to have a label on everything – you know what I mean?
MILES DAVIS

Known Label Thinking Yourself
I think every Negro over fifty should get a medal for putting up with all that crap.
MILES DAVIS

Thinking Tolerance
We don’t play to be seen. I’m addicted to music, not audiences.
MILES DAVIS

Addiction Audience Music Myself Play Seen
Drummers – sometimes they play and they listen. And that little listen takes a speck away from the right tempo.
MILES DAVIS

Away Listening Music Time
Always look ahead, but never look back.
MILES DAVIS

Forward Future Past See
I don’t pay no attention to what critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got is myself…and I’m too vain to play anything I think is bad.
MILES DAVIS

Attention Bad Criticism Myself Pay Play Thinking
Bebop didn’t have the humanity of Duke Ellington. It didn’t even have that recognizable thing. Bird and Diz were great, fantastic, challenging – but they weren’t sweet.
MILES DAVIS

Challenge Greatness Humanity Recognition Sweet
What’s swinging in words? If a guy makes you pat your foot and if you feel it down your back, you don’t have to ask anybody if that’s good music or not. You can always feel it.
MILES DAVIS

Down Feeling Foot Goodness Music Word Yourself
You can’t play anything on a horn that Louis Armstrong hasn’t played.
MILES DAVIS

Horn Instrument Play Yourself
If you have to ask, you’ll never know.
MILES DAVIS

Unknown Yourself
I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
MILES DAVIS

Art Greatness Music Play
If you’re going to drop behind, you have to keep it there.
MILES DAVIS

Behind Yourself
When kids don’t learn about their own heritage in school, they just don’t care about school… But you won’t see it in the history books unless we get the power to write our own history and tell our story ourselves.
MILES DAVIS

Children Heritage History Learning Ourselves Story
It takes you years to learn how to play like yourself.
MILES DAVIS

Learning Play Yourself

You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four.

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You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four.

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More Miles Davis Quotes