Miles Davis

I don't like to be common.

I don't like to be regular.

I don't like to be standard.

I don't like to be conventional.

I don't like to be traditional.

I don't like to be old-fashioned.

I don't like to be out of date.

I don't like to be behind the times.

I don't like to be a follower.

I don't like to be a copycat.

Do not fear mistakes. There are none.

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.

I'll play it and tell you what it is later.

Don't play what's there; play what's not there.

Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.

You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.

If you understood everything I say, you'd be bored. You know, I can't stand to be bored.

The thing to do with a trumpet is to get it to sing.

I don't care if I never do anything again. I've done it all.

Change of any kind is hard, but it is necessary.