Quotations

Brad's Original Quotes

Sometimes you can play every note and it means nothing, but if you play just one note it can mean everything.

When playing music sometimes I get tired of finding the key. I just want to break in.

Every guitar player secretly thinks they are the best. Those fools thinking they are so great. Little do they know it is I who am truly the greatest.

When playing music don't feel the music, let the emotion run through you like a stream. The audience will feel it more because you are not holding the emotions for yourself.

Today turns into a memory, a memory turns into a fable, a fable turns into a fantasy, a fantasy turns into a dream, a dream turns into tomorrow, and tomorrow turns into today.

I'm tired of playing a piece of music. I want to play the whole thing.

If you want to be an author, you have to know how to read, write, spell, and use correct grammar.  Yet, why is it that so many musicians don't know how to read, spell out chords, or know music theory?

The hardest thing about playing music is to fully realize that there is nothing hard about playing music. It is the simplest most natural basic human need, yet so many people over complicate it. They make it into an uphill battle, a struggle difficult and time consuming.

If you follow any kind of mode, form, theory, structure, plan, map, or even if you have a clue what you are doing, you are not really being creative. You are just realizing possibilities you already knew existed.

Here is a typical lesson with me. I say “ok play this chord 2 times.” The student plays the chord 3 times. Then I say “no you were only suppose to play the chord 2 times.” The student plays the chord 2 more times. I say “no, now you played the chord 5 times. You were only suppose to play it twice.”

I never try to put myself or my expression into music. I'd much rather have a deep connection with music, and have it become a part of me. Then all I have to do is be myself. I am really good at that, I have been me my whole life.

The secret of performing is you don't have to know what you are doing, you merely have to make it look like you know what you are doing.

When you can snatch the pick from my hand then you will be. . . wait hold on, I wasn't ready.

Often time when a musician tries to play a piece of music expressively what they are really doing is interfering with the already expressive nature contained in the music itself. I say let the piece express itself, and don't get in the way.

Dude, I am totally the most egoless person in the world. There is no way your ego is less then mine so HA!!

It's not so much I am Brad Rau, more that I am a human being in the key of Brad Rau.

A guitar is a bunch of little pieces of pianos stacked on top of each other.

Never do anything if it is hard. Take time to figure out how to make it easy, and then do it.

There are two ways to play music. “Is this right?” or “This is right!” Doubt not.

Determination and effort are opposite each other. With determination the work is easy, with effort the work is difficult.

Music tells a thousand pictures.

I wonder if I could play Bach better with a powdered wig.

People who assume something is impossible pretty much have no chance or being able to do it. I would say to such a person, yes it is impossible. . . for you.

Playing guitar is walking a fine line between Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. That is between connecting to a universal mystical and force, and simple tricks and nonsense.

Teaching is the highest level one can reach in any field. Once you have taken and taken you realize it is time to give back. It is also the best way to improve your abilities because by passing along knowledge, you allow more knowledge to come in. Now, instead of a source of knowledge, you become a channel in which knowledge flows freely in and out. You are connected to a river of knowledge instead of having only a certain amount of knowledge you hold onto for dear life.

Lots of guitarist are so concerned with being better the other guitarist. I don't concern myself with such petty things, thus making me far superior.