25 Inspirational Guitar Quotes From Famous Guitarists

guitar quotes

Written by: Cody

Updated: Nov 17, 2022

A talented musician has the gift of being able to capture the hearts of many by enchanting them with their melodies. How many songs are engraved in your head, and how many memories come to your mind whenever a certain tune plays?

It is the magic of beautiful music that makes our hearts attached to a particular musician, and it is that lovely magic that is capable of invoking certain feelings within us.

However, some musicians were able to take things to another level; and didn’t just stop at making great songs for us to listen to.

Some were also able to capture a unique feeling or concept in just a few words.

Below is a list of 25 inspirational guitar quotes from famous guitarists that should help light a fire in you and make you want to become the best guitarist you can be.

What Are The Best Guitar Quotes Of All Time?

1. Jimi Hendrix 

jimi hendrix guitar quote

“Music doesn’t lie. If there is something that needs to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.”

2. Carlos Santana 

carlos santana guitar quote

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.”

3. Les Paul

les paul guitar quote

“I wanted to create music that was so different that my mother could tell from anyone else.”

4. Jeff Beck  

jeff beck guitar quote

“Finding ways to use the same guitar people have been using for 50 years to make sounds that no one has heard before is truly what gets me off.”

5. Keith Richards  

keith richards guitar quote

“Music is a necessity. After food, air, water and warmth, music is the next necessity of life.”

6. Eric Johnson  

eric johnson guitar quote

“I don’t even know if I can take the credit for writing ‘Cliffs of Dover’. It was just there for me one day, literally wrote in five minutes, kind of a gift from a higher place that all of us are eligible for. We just have to listen for it and be available to receive it.”

7. Slash 

slash guitar quote

“Notes and chords have become my second language and, more often than not, that vocabulary expresses what I feel when language fails me.”

8. Eddie Van Halen  

eddie van halen guitar quote

“If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you’ll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually, you’ll get to where you want to be.”

9. Doc Watson 

doc watson guitar quote

“I’d think learning to play the guitar would be very confusing for sighted people.”

10. Jon Bon Jovi  

jon bon jovi guitar quotes

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten times.”

11. Joe Satriani  

joe satriani guitar quote

“Just as blues player can play 20 blues songs in a row but find a way to make each one different. I always want to find different ways to do something”

12. Thom Yorke  

thom yorke guitar quotes

“Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it”

13. John Lennon  

john lennon guitar quotes

“Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war — for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I’d say we deserve ours more.”

14. Eric Clapton 

eric clapton guitar quotes

“When all the original blues guys are gone, you start to realize that someone has to tend to the tradition. I recognize that I have some responsibility to keep the music alive, and it’s a pretty honorable position to be in.”

15. Jimmy Page  

jimmy page guitar quotes

“I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.”

16. Dimebag Darrell 

dimebag darrell guitar quote

“Whenever I get down on my playing, I just bend a note, shake it and listen. What I hear sound so great it makes me realize that even a rut doesn’t suck.”

17. Brian May 

brian may guitar quote

“I’m pretty basic as far as technique is concerned. I don’t use many gadgets, and I like the sound my guitar makes, anyway.”

18. B.B. King 

bb king guitar quote

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”

19. Chet Atkins 

chet atkins guitar quote

“Everyone has their own sound, and if you’re heard enough, folks will come to recognize it. Style however, is a different thing. Try to express your own ideas. It’s much more difficult to do, but the rewards are there if you’re good enough to pull it off”

20. Frank Zappa 

frank zappa guitar quote

“If you really love guitar, you’re going to spend every waking hour stroking the thing.”

21. John Frusciante 

john frusciante guitar quote

“As long as you’re excited about what you’re playing, and as long as it comes from your heart, it’s going to be great.”

22. James Taylor  

james taylor guitar quote

“I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it and you need them to hear it.”

23. John Mayer  

john mayer guitar quote

“I came from the last couple of years in a generation where we didn’t have a computer around so we didn’t waste as much time on the internet as we do now so I had large chunks of time which to devote to doing something.”

24. Joan Jett 

joan jett guitar quotes

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

25. Jimi Hendrix 

jimi hendrix fire guitar quotes

“The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar”

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, the guitar quotes above have given you a boost of inspiration.

Every word was spoken right out of that guitarist’s heart. It’s amazing how an instrument can have such a profound effect on someone’s life and when played in a certain way, can have an impact on many other lives as well.

It simply shows that it takes a lot of time, dedication, and practice to be an outstanding musician.

About Cody
Cody is the founder of Musician Tuts, a free tutorial hub for musicians. He has over 15 years of experience playing a variety of instruments and dabbling in audio engineering. He spends his days blogging, listening to Spotify, and playing music.

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