Bobby McFerrin Quotes

The true musician is to bring light into people's hearts.

In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don't worry. Be happy.

Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy.

Sometimes mistakes are the best thing that can happen, because they might lift you...out of your complacency, and open your mind up to a whole other area that you wouldn't have gone to intentionally.

To me, it's our job as artists. You must bring joy.

Improvisation is the courage to move from one note to the next.

When you worry your face will frown, that will bring everybody down, so don't worry BE HAPPY!:)

Music is so powerful, it needs to be used for some kind of redeeming work. To lift peoples spirits, to lift their souls.

Music is still part of my spiritual life. Sometimes I sing my prayers. When I get audiences singing, I hope I'm helping them feel connected to something beyond themselves.

Part of our responsibility as parents, as adults, is to set examples for children. But we have to like children in order to be really happy fulfilled adults

The audience is like my instrument. It's not just me up there, it's collaborative.

If I can bring joy into the world, then I'll be successful.

To be a musician, you have to be honest... to be honest... to be honest.

Musicians are the architects of heaven.

Whenever I'm onstage, I try my best not to think that I'm performing. It's simply another part of my day.

I don't want anything to get in the way of me and my singing. I want my mind as clear as possible.

I use the audience as my color palette, my instrument.

Seriously though, my father was the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera so I grew up with classical music and jazz in the home all the time.

When we're doing our lessons, the teacher doesn't say, 'Ready, set, work,' They say, 'Ready, set, play,' and I always took that word seriously.

My father was a very disciplined singer who worked hard at his craft, and I was around that growing up.

Miles Davis turned his back to the audience when he came out on stage, and he offended people. But, he wasn't there to entertain; he was all about the music. I kind of do that.

I do a lot of performing, but don't get a chance to go to the studio and write good music.

I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories.

I prepared five songs, I sang them, and he hired me. I started working about a month later at the piano bar.

My biggest musical influences are probably my parents.

I have a lot of albums yet to do.

I grew up in a time when being a musician and learning to be a musician was actually very wonderful.

But, if there's any aspect of my career that needs attention, it's writing.

I couldn't do anything without faith. I couldn't open up my eyes, I couldn't walk, I couldn't speak, I couldn't sing.

Inviting audiences to open up and hear things differently is an important part of what I do. But I still love to sing songs with words, too.

I played piano as a kid; I still play a little bit.

It's not that I don't love the song. My songs are like my children: some you want around and some you want to send off to college as soon as possible.