You've got to learn your instrument. Charlie Parker More Quotes by Charlie Parker More Quotes From Charlie Parker Some guys said 'Here's bop!' Wham! They said, 'Here's something we can make money on!' Wham! 'Here's a comedian!' Wham! Here's a guy who talks funny talk!' Charlie Parker bops comedian guy I kept thinking there's bound to be something else? I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn't play it. Charlie Parker music play thinking I look at melody as rhythm. Charlie Parker rhythm look-at-me looks Every time I hear a recording I've made, I hear all kinds of things I could improve or things I should have done. There's always so much more to be done in music. It's so vast. Charlie Parker always music done time Definitely, study is absolutely necessary in all forms - it's just like any talent that's born within somebody. It's just like a good pair of shoes when you put a shine on it, you know? Like, schooling brings out the polish of any talent. It happens anywhere in the world. Charlie Parker good you shoes talent Music is basically melody, harmony, and rhythm. But people can do much more with music than that. It can be very descriptive in all kinds of ways, all walks of life. Charlie Parker harmony music life people If you come on a band tense, you're going to play tense. If you come a little bit foolish, act just a little bit foolish, and let yourself go, better ideas will come. Charlie Parker yourself better you ideas Ever since I've ever heard music, I thought it should be very clean, very precise - as clean as possible, anyway, and more or less tuned to people. Something they could understand, something that was beautiful, you know? Charlie Parker you music beautiful people I put quite a bit of study into the horn, that's true. In fact, the neighbors threatened to ask my mother to move once, you know. Charlie Parker true know you mother I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn't play it. I'd been getting bored with the stereotyped changes that were being used. I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with related changes, I could play the thing I'd been hearing. Charlie Parker changes bored play sometimes I became bitter, hard, cold. I was always on a panic - couldn't buy clothes or a good place to live. Charlie Parker live place good clothes One time, when I was in my teens, jamming in a Kansas City club, I was doing all right until I tried doing double tempo on 'Body and Soul.' Everybody fell out laughing. I went home and cried and didn't want to play again for three months. Charlie Parker city soul home time