Evelyn Glennie Quotes

Marimba is much more of a wood-type experience and there is no real possibility of getting a dry sound, and getting that contrast in the same way that you can in a vibraphone.

If I just simply let go, and allow my hand, my arm, to be more of a support system, suddenly - I have more dynamic with less effort. Much more, and I just feel, at last, one with the stick, and one with the drum.

What I have to do as a musician is do everything that is not on the music.

Music is about communication ... it isn't just something that maybe physically sounds good or orally sounds interesting; it's something far, far deeper than that.

It's the things that you notice when you're not actually with your instrument that, in fact, become so interesting, and that you - you want to explore, through this tiny tiny surface of a drum.

Anything you strike, anything you shake or rattle, or just anything that can be picked up, and you can create a sound.

I've kept a diary since I was 11.

I associate going to an airport with work because I travel so much with my job. So when I have a few days free from work, I tend to stay at home.

Apart from Scottish traditional music, I wasn't really influenced by any kind of music. I just basically followed my own instincts.

I often play on the cello-bass side of the orchestra, because I prefer the deep sounds. I can't hear the violins well.

I like the sparkle of the vibraphone.

Hearing is a form of touch. You feel it through your body, and sometimes it almost hits your face.

The body's like a huge ear. It's as simple as that.

If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.

I want to be able to say on my deathbed that I reached a few people. That would be very nice, just to be able to say that.

I just assumed the world was full of solo percussionists. I couldn't find sticks or music or anything where I was, but that was expected because there was nothing there anyway. And I think that was possibly the greatest asset for me, just not knowing.

Percussion is physical, as most instruments are. The body must function well in order to play the instruments well. Last year I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Hearing is a form of touch. I hear it through the body, by opening myself up. Sometimes it almost hits you in the face.

Music really is our daily medicine.

I hope the seeds I have sown will be taken up by those who will follow me because the journey I have begun cannot be undertaken in isolation.

The audience plays a huge part in how a piece will actually form. They really allow the performers to walk a tightrope in a way that never seems to happen in the privacy of your own four walls. I'm listening to the audience, and they're listening to me.

Holidays are about experiences and people, and tuning into what you feel like doing at that moment. Enjoy not having to look at a watch.

My role on the planet is to bring the power of sound.

Before my teen years, I was losing my hearing pretty quickly, and I was getting very, very angry. I was beginning to become an angry person because of that.

I walk into a kids' store, and it's amazing, the types of instruments - little squeaky things, rattling things, spinning tops.

The human body and mind are tremendous forces that are continually amazing scientists and society. Therefore, we have no choice but to keep an open mind as to what the human being can achieve.

As we live longer and healthier for longer, we need to keep ourselves busy ... the diary is pretty full.

I didn't decide to become a musician until the age of 15, which is quite late.

The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.

And as I grew older, I then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London, and they said, well, no, we won't accept you, because we haven't a clue - you know - of the future of a so-called 'deaf' musician. And I just couldn't quite accept that.

Percussion is the most adaptable family of instruments. The biggest challenge is to project percussion in a lyrical way.

Once you're in a particular country, and you're surrounded by musicians who are so adept at traditional music, you suddenly realize how much there is to explore and digest and learn and experience.

When I was 12, I happened to see a schoolmate playing percussion, and it looked interesting. I asked for lessons, and it felt right.

Hearing is a form of touch. I could hear less through the ears but more through the body.

I'm not a deaf musician. I'm a musician who happens to be deaf.

My first real foreign holiday was my honeymoon 20 years ago, and we went to Bali. It was particularly special for that reason, I enjoyed it very much - I had packed music scores and a practice drum pad, suspecting that I would be completely bored, but actually they remained in my case.

My favorite instrument is the snare drum. In Scotland, the snare drum is very prominent in Highland bands. The Scottish style of playing is in my blood. It's a very powerful instrument, but it can also be soothing, like velvet. It's a real challenge for composers.

Concerts have to be seen as a real event for which the aim is to try and feed everybody.

Society cannot continue to disable themselves through their need to categorize people or make assumptions as to another individual's abilities.