Top 20 Quotes About Guitar

Below are 20 quotes about guitar from some of the most influential guitarists in guitar history.

Most play guitar because it’s something we love to do. It brings personal enjoyment and enriches the lives of others. Most of us study the habits and methods of great guitar players of past and present, hoping to understand how to achieve what brought other guitarists such winning success.

One of the things that can be learned is practice, hard work, and pouring heart and soul into music. Even soulful guitarists need inspiration that help learn new realizations about our craft. Learning from others can be inspiring. The following guitar quotes will help you learn, reach deeper, and energize you to keep going.

#1: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix is considered by many one of the best guitar players who ever lived and remains unmatched.

I’ve been imitated so well I’ve heard people copy my mistakes.

#2: George Thorogood

George Thorogood created a high energy sound that energized his audience as his lyrics spoke to them about life.

You can’t rely on luck. I’ve sometimes in my career when I said we were going to wing it, and we’ve always ended up in trouble.

#3: Keith Richards

Keith Richards, guitarist of the long running British band Rolling Stone is considered a legend among guitarists.

Give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string; I wouldn’t get bored anywhere.

#4: Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton, a rock and roll, and guitar legend, established a distinctive style from early in his career.

When I look for what I’m going to listen to I go backwards. I’m always going the other way you see. Most people are trying to figure out “how do I get in the fast lane going that way?”. I’m going in the other direction. I wanna find the oldest thing to do.

#5 Joe Pass

Joe Pass was a jazz guitarist and is considered one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century.

You have a whole collection of musical ideas and thoughts that you’ve accumulated through your musical history plus all the musical history of the whole world and it’s all in your subconscious and you draw upon it when you play.

#6: John Petrucci

John Patrucci, guitarist for Dream Theater, known for his high-speed alternative picking.

I try to practice like a well-rounded regiment of things where I can kind of do whatever I wanna do and I also have to practice the actual songs to keep that under my fingers as well.

#7: B.B. King

B.B. King is considered one of the most influential guitar players of all time, spanning the longest career in rhythm and blues.

People all over the world have problems, and as they do the blues can never die.

#8: Paul Gilbert

Paul Gilbert is a heavy metal guitarist.

I had struggled with alternate picking for a very long time. I never thought I could do it.

#9: Al Di Meola

Al Di Meola is a jazz fusion and world music guitarist.

Forget about every other lesson in the book. You have to be able to tap your foot or else none of what you doing you are not gonna have any control of your symptom.

#10: Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny is a contemporary jazz guitarist, incorporating a progressive, Latin, and jazz fusion style.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

#11: Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry is a pioneer of rock and roll. He was a rhythm and blues player, and developed rhythm and blues into a distinctive style.

I grew up thinking art was in pictures until I got into music and found I was an artist and didn’t paint.

#12: Pete Townsend

Pete Tounsend is the guitarist for the band, the Who. He was instrumental in developing feedback in rock guitar, and for first using a synthesizer as an instrument.

Everything that I had done creatively related to two or three incidents that happened to me as a child that I had forgotten. Everything, absolutely everything.

#13: Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page is best known as a guitartist of Led Zeplin and solo artist.

I always believed in the music we did and that’s why it was uncompromising.

#14: John Mayer

John Meyer is a solo guitarist and singer.

Who I am as a guitarist is defined by my failure to become Jimi Hendrix.

#15: John Jett

John Jett is a rock and roll guitarist, best known for Joan Jett and the Black Hearts.

My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am.

#16: Nuno Bettencourt

Nuno Bettencourt is known for his guitar playing, singing and producing. He is lead guitarist of Extreme.

If you play music for no other reason than actually just because you love it, the skills just kinda creep up on you.

#17: Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton is a solo guitarist, and previously a member of The Crusaders and Fourplay.

I want to figure out how I can make the most important statement with the least amount of information, so I don’t run out of ideas by the time I get to my second or third chorus.

#18: Slash

Slash is best known as the lead guitarist of Guns And Roses.

I had no aspirations to be a musician, but I picked up a guitar for two seconds and haven’t put it down since.

#19: Paco De Lucia

Paco De Lucia is a flamingo guitarist.

Every July, August and part of September I escape of the guitar, I escape of Paco de Lucia and I go to Mexico to the Carrabian. I have a little house there where I spend two months listening to music.

# 20: Scott Henderson

Scott Henderson is a jazz and blues guitarist and worked with Tribal Tech.

For me, the ultimate form of expression is blues, where jazz appeals to me on an intellectual level.

Honorable Mentions

We must not forget those quotes that paved the way for those above:

1. “The blues was bleeding the same blood as me.”- B.B. King
2. Technically, I’m not a guitar player, all I play is truth and emotion,” & “The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar” – Jimi Hendrix.
3. “I didn’t follow any rules at all. I made my own.” – Tony Iommi
4. “Everything an artist does is scary, but we do it anyway. If someone tries to steer you off-course, push them outta the way and get back on course. Never giving up -that’s what I truly believe all the greatest bands have done.” – Zacky Vengeance
5. “Music is like a psychiatrist. You can tell your guitar things that you can’t tell people. And it will answer you with things people can’t tell you.” – Paul McCartney
6. “If you don’t know the blues…there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any form of popular music.” – Keith Richards
7. “You’d always see a lady or a little girl sitting at a piano. I decided I wanted to play something more unexpected, so that’s when I got interested in learning to play the guitar.” – Barbara Lynn
8. “Traditionally, the role of the bass player was just to keep things simple and solid, so it’s really a special thing when you can get a player that can actually bring in a lot of presence and also a visual presence, too.” – Robert Trujillo
9. “I wasn’t originally a bass player. I just found out I was needed, because everyone wants to play guitar.” – Tina Weymouth
10. “If you really love guitar, you’re going to spend every waking hour stroking the thing.”– Frank Zappa
11. “Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it.” – Thom Yorke.
12. “I’ve always wanted to smash a guitar over someone’s head. You just can’t do that with a piano.” – Elton John
13. “The guitar is a small orchestra…Every string is a different color, a different voice.”- Andres Segovia
14. “When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house. One was me, and the other was my guitar.” – Bruce Springsteen
15. “You don’t just go to the studio and say, ‘I’m going to write a hit.’ It becomes a hit when people like your compositions.”– Chuck Berry

that’s 20 quotes about guitar that I found. What’s your favorite guitarist quote?

Would love to hear some more, just leave a comment in the comments section below.

FAQs Top 20 Quotes about Guitar

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