The average music-lover hears only the production under prevailing conditions. John Philip Sousa More Quotes by John Philip Sousa More Quotes From John Philip Sousa Composers are the only people who can hear good music above bad sounds. John Philip Sousa composersoundpeople Grand opera is the most powerful of stage appeals and that almost entirely through the beauty of music. John Philip Sousa operapowerfulbeauty You can't drive a Spike with a Tack Hammer John Philip Sousa hammers My success is not due to any personal superiority over other people. John Philip Sousa congratulationssuccesspeople To the average mind popular music would mean compositions vulgarly conceived and commonplace in their treatment. That is absolutely false. John Philip Sousa mindaveragemean My religion lies in my composition. John Philip Sousa compositionlyingreligion Sincere composers believe in God. John Philip Sousa believe-in-godsincerebelieve I had found English audiences highly satisfactory. They are the best listeners in the world. Perhaps the music-lovers of some of our larger cities equal the English, but I do not believe they can be surpassed in that respect. John Philip Sousa respectcitiesbelieve Governmental aid is a drawback rather than an assistance, as, although it may facilitate in the routine of artistic production, it is an impediment to the development of true artistic genius. John Philip Sousa routinegeniusdevelopment No nation as young as America can be expected to become immediately a power in the arts. John Philip Sousa youngamericaart American teachers have one indisputable advantage over foreign ones; they understand the American temperament and can judge its unevenness, its lights and its shadows. John Philip Sousa lightjudgingteacher I think that the quality of all bands is steadily improving and it is a pleasant thought to me that perhaps the efforts of Sousa's Band have quickened that interest and improved that quality. John Philip Sousa effortqualitythinking The movements which I make I cannot possibly repress because, at the time, I am actually the idea I am interpreting, and naturally I picture my players and auditors as in accord with me. I know, of course, that my mannerisms have been widely discussed. John Philip Sousa picturei-ammetime
