Top 32 Quotes by Roscoe Mitchell

I always try to think of a vocabulary to match different musical situations.

I noticed that when it came time to improvise, my students would often make mistakes.

I like to hear melodies that go from one extreme to the next- saxophone to a bell to a whistle, for instance.

Music has a way of getting under your skin.

I'm into something that definitely does require your attention, and with that, you're not going to run out of things to do. You're never going to be the master of music.

I don't like to box myself in when I'm composing.

When you can make a good, strong musical connection with people, that's always there. That's not often that that happens.

I'm approaching a period in my life though where I'd like to be totally absorbed into music, doing concerts, writing something. Basically, that IS what I am doing.

I just consider myself a student, trying to learn more about it.

I feel I'm most successful when I'm playing a concert, and it doesn't necessarily seem like I'm playing a saxophone but am coming off more like an orchestra or something like that.