The essential elements of singing are voice, musicianship, and story. It is the rare artist that has all three in abundance.
Linda RonstadtRead
I don't record (any type of genre of music) that I didn't hear in my family's living room by the time I was 10. It just is my rule that I don't break because ... I can't do it authentically ... I really think that you're just hard-wiring (synapses) in your brain up until the age of maybe 12 or 10, and there are certain things you can't learn in an authentic way after that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art and music are deeply influenced by our early experiences and environments, which shape our authenticity.
In this quote, Linda Ronstadt emphasizes the importance of early musical exposure in shaping an artist's authenticity and creativity. She believes that the impressions we gather from our surroundings, particularly in formative years, become the foundation of our artistic expression, and trying to create outside of these early influences lacks genuineness.
Themes
MusicAuthenticityFamilyInfluenceCreativityArtUpbringing
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about musical influences at a panel.
More from Linda Ronstadt
All quotes →I miss singing every day. I can't sing anymore. My voice doesn't work. I have Parkinson's disease, and it sometimes takes my words away from me.
Linda RonstadtRead
I first knew Laurie Lewis by her considerable reputation as a fiddle player and a writer of songs. When an opportunity came along to sing with her I seized it. Getting to know her as a singer and a person has been pure pleasure. Her voice is a rare combination of grit and grace, strength and delicacy. Her stories are always true.
Linda RonstadtRead
Songwriting wasn't my gift. I think you have to cultivate a gift; you have to practice and develop craft around your gift so that you can execute it in more convenient, efficient ways.
Linda RonstadtRead
Ninety-nine percent of singing is listening and hearing, and so then 1 percent of it is singing.
Linda RonstadtRead
Ninety-eight percent of the singing I did was private singing - it was in the shower, at the dishwasher, driving my car, singing with the radio, whatever. I can't do any of that now. I wish I could. I don't miss performing, particularly, but I miss singing.
Linda RonstadtRead
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