100+ Timeless Guitar Quotes From Famous Guitarists (2023)

Inspirational guitar quotes
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There’s no denying that the guitar is one of the most versatile instruments you can play. There’s just something about it that adapts to your every mood – whether you’re in love, melancholic, or on cloud nine. And that quality makes it a well-loved musical instrument around the world.

With that said, it’s easy to see why many people are drawn to learning how to play it. Not only will it help you express yourself creatively, but it’s also a great way to relax after a tiring day.

But, there will be days when you’ll feel like you’ve reached a dead-end in your guitar-learning journey. When this happens, it helps to look up guitar quotes to help you through tough times.

And that’s why we have compiled the following guitar quotes to help you stay on track.

Guitar Sayings And Inspirational Quotes From Musicians

We can all agree that guitar playing is so much easier when we feel inspired. But, there will always be days when we feel like playing this instrument isn’t for us.

In these situations, motivational guitar quotes from successful musicians will help us stay on track and we’ll surely be recharged to start playing again.

  1. “Sometimes you’ll want to give up the guitar. You’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.” – Jimi Hendrix
  2. “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.” – Jimi Hendrix
  3. “Since I can’t read music and everything, I find out that I do the best when I just listen to where I’m trying to go with it, and where it can go, and not try to rush it.” – Stevie Ray Vaughan
  4. “Give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string; I wouldn’t get bored anywhere.” – Keith Richards
  5. “I think a guitar solo is how my emotion is most freely released, because verbal articulation isn’t my strongest communication strength. My wife thinks that I should do interviews by listening to the questions and playing the answer on guitar.” – David Gilmore
  6. “I recognize that I have some responsibility to keep the music alive, and it’s pretty honorable position to be in.” – Eric Clapton
  7. “The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” – B. B. King
  8. “Don’t use your brain to play it, let your feelings guide your fingers.” – Jimi Hendrix
  9. “I wanted to create music that was so different from what my mother could tell from anyone else.” – Les Paul
  10. “When I first started playing guitar, everyone was playing Chuck Berry and B.B. King licks. I decided I was going to find other avenues of expression.” – Robby Krieger
  11. “Every time you pick up your guitar to play, play as if it’s the last time.” – Eric Clapton
  12. “In pop music, you say, you can do what you want to me.’ Rock ‘n’ roll says, ‘I’m gonna do what I want to you.” – Joan Jett
  13. “Who I am as a guitarist is defined by my failure to become Jimi Hendrix.” – John Mayer
  14. “Rock stars come and go. Musicians play until they die.” – Eddie Van Halen
  15. “Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” – Jon Bon Jovi
guitarist quotes

Quotes About Guitars

This may come as a surprise, but we can learn a lot about an instrument through the quotes written about them. Remember that these quotes were made by experts and professionals in the field, so they know what they’re talking about.

  1. “My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am.” – Joan Jett
  2. “Besides being a guitar player, I’m a big fan of the guitar. I love that damn instrument.” – Steve Vai
  3. “To me a guitar is kind of like a woman. You don’t know why you like ’em but you do.” – Waylon Jennings
  4. “That’s the cool thing about the guitar- there’s always more to learn.” – Jim Heath
  5. “Guitar is the best form of self-expression I know. Everything else, and I’m just sort of tripping around, trying to figure my way through life.” – Slash
  6. “The guitar is a wonderful instrument which is understood by few.” – Franz Schubert
  7. “The guitar is a much more efficient machine than a computer. More responsive.” – Colin Greenwood
  8. “The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind.” – Brian May
  9. “A guitar is more than just a sound box… it is part of your soul.” – Manuel Velazquez
  10. “A guitar is a very personal extension of the person playing it. You have to be emotionally and spiritually connected to your instrument. I’m very brutal on my instruments, but not all the time.” – Eddie Van Halen

Famous Guitarists Quotes

The best source of inspiration when it comes to playing the guitar is to read guitar quotes from your favorite artists. After all, these famous guitarists are who we aspire to be.

That’s why reading famous quotes from musicians will always be a great read. On days when you feel down and hopeless, these guitar quotes from famous guitarists will surely help you get your spirits up.

  1. “One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen.” – Paul McCartney
  2. “You couldn’t not like someone who liked the guitar.” – Stephen King
  3. “I don’t understand why some people will only accept a guitar if it has an instantly recognizable guitar sound. 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.” – Jeff Beck
  4. “I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it.” – Jimmy Page
  5. “The guitar has a kind of grit and excitement possessed by nothing else.” – Brian May
  6. “When I was growing up, there were two things that were unpopular in my house. One was me, and the other was my guitar.” – Bruce Springsteen
  7. “I’m just a guitarist in a kick-ass rock and roll band. What more could I ask for?” –Eddie Van Halen
  8. “Mimi Fox is one of the most exciting contemporary jazz guitarists I’ve heard.” – Paul Gilbert
  9. “If you don’t know the blues…there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.” – Keith Richards
  10. “When all the original blues guys are gone, you start to realize that someone has to tend to the tradition.” – Eric Clapton
  11. “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.” – Chet Atkins
  12. “I call myself a blues singer, but you ain’t never heard me call myself a blues guitar man.” – B.B. King
  13. “I’m only myself when I have a guitar in my hands.” – George Harrison
  14. “When I was a kid, I was interested in folk music. But rock represented power, and I became the best rock guitarist in my school.” – Billy Squier
  15. “The music of Hendrix wakes people up to their possibilities. It’s more than just dreaming about being a guitar hero.” – Carlos Santana
  16. “It’s so satisfying as a guitar player to play stuff that’s related to the blues.” – Paul Gilbert

Quotes About Playing Guitar

Let’s face it – we did not become good guitar players overnight. And sometimes, the journey can also be frustrating. There will even be days when you simply want to quit everything.

During these tough times, reading quotes about playing guitar will help us realize that these tough times can be part of the process. These guitar quotes will surely keep you back on track.

  1. “Guitar playing is just something that came to me and is really second nature now.” – Dave Navarro
  2. “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.” – John Frusciante
  3. “Guitar playing isn’t really for everybody.” – Brad Paisley
  4. “I started out playing guitar because Jimi Hendrix was my hero, so my roots were really based on Jimi Hendrix and his style of playing.” – Joe Satriani
  5. “If you’re playing, that’s the most important thing.” – James Hetfield
  6. “I play guitar because it lets me dream out loud.” – Michael Hedges
  7. “I look for feeling in a solo. I don’t care if it’s melodic or spontaneous. If it’s melodic and has no feeling, it’s screwed.” – Eddie Van Halen
  8. “I like to be quiet and play guitar and just chill.” – Post Malone
  9. “I love playing guitar. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really been great at.” – Johnny Winter
  10. “Rock guitarists usually do not wish to think trains of thought about anything but their own guitar playing during a long solo…” – John Frusciante
  11. “I never wanted to sing. I just wanted to play rhythm guitar – hide in the back and just play.” – Kurt Cobain
  12. “I can turn on some jazz guitarist, and he won’t do a thing for me, if he’s not playing electrically. But Jeff Beck’s great to listen to.” – Ritchie Blackmore
  13. “I sit down and create atmospheres, start playing guitar or piano and just sing whatever comes out of my mouth.” – Martin Gore
  14. “I don’t want you to play me a riff that’s going to impress Joe Satriani; give me a riff that makes a kid want to go out and buy a guitar and learn to play.” – Ozzy Osbourne
  15. “I wanted to connect my guitar to human emotions.” – B. B King.
  16. “Let me explain something about guitar playing. Everyone’s got their own character, and that’s the thing that’s amazed me about guitar playing since the day I first picked it up. Everyone’s approach to what can come out of six strings is different from another person, but it’s all valid.” – Jimmy Page
meaningful guitar quotes about life

Guitar Funny Quotes

Music is a great way to help us unleash our emotions. Whether we’re writing our own songs or playing one that reflects how we feel, there’s no denying that beautiful music helps us cope with our emotions.

On days when you feel the need for a pick-me-up, reading funny guitar quotes is the way to go.

  1. “The guitar is your first wings. It’s assigned and designed to unfold your vision and imagination.” – Carlos Santana
  2. “Shut up and play your guitar.” – Frank Zappa
  3. “It takes a big man to play a little guitar, and an even bigger one to listen to him.” – from The Journey 2: The Mysterious Island movie
  4. Guitar picks can physically run away. That’s a fact.
  5. “Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just looking at it.” – Thom Yorke
  6. “Guitar is easy, all it takes is 5 fingers, 6 strings, and 1 a**hole.” – Keith Richards
  7. “Unless the guitar works as a color, then I don’t use it, so I haven’t been playing guitar too much lately.” – Trevor Rabin
  8. “I’ve always wanted to smash a guitar over someone’s head. You just can’t do that with a piano.” – Elton John
  9. “I was the drunk rhythm guitarist who wrote all these weird songs.” – Robert Smith
  10. “I smash guitars because I like them.” – Pete Townshend
  11. “The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.” – Duke Ellington

Guitar Quotes About Love

With all the love songs you can play with a guitar, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most popular instruments for when you want to confess your feelings.

If you’re looking for a confidence boost before your big performance, reading through these romantic guitar quotes will help you get in the mood.

  1. “For me, I think the only danger is being too much in love with guitar playing. The music is the most important thing and the guitar is only the instrument.” – Jerry Garcia
  2. “If you really love guitar, you’re going to spend every waking hour stroking the thing.” – Frank Zappa
  3. “The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar.” – Jimi Hendrix
  4. “My first love was the sound of guitar.” – Boz Scaggs
  5. “Besides being a guitar player, I’m a big fan of the guitar. I love that damn instrument.” – Steve Vai
  6. Not every person who holds a guitar is a guitarist, similarly not every person who holds your heart is your lover.
  7. “The guitar is a meditative tool to touch God and find love within yourself.” – Pepe Romero

Guitar Quotes About Life

For a lot of influential guitarists, playing this instrument has become part of their lives. Some of them would even liken playing the guitar to how we live our lives.

Fortunately, there are numerous guitar quotes about life that will help you appreciate the beauty of life and playing guitar.

  1. “A guitar is a lot like life, it can be strummed gently or you can play it furiously, either way, all the resonance is temporary.” – Jason Edward Shiffman
  2. “If you play acoustic guitar you’re the depressed, sensitive guy.” – Elliott Smith
  3. “Except for a few guitar chords, everything I’ve learned in my life that is of any value I’ve learned from women.” – Glenn Frey
  4. Life is better when you’re playing guitar.
  5. “Guitars have been the obsession of my life. I first picked one up at the age of four and I’ve been a guitar junkie ever since.” – Johnny Marr
  6. “When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.” – Pete Seeger
  7. “Music is a necessity. After food, air, water, and warmth, music is the next necessity of life.” – Keith Richards
  8. “All I have is this guitar, these chords and the truth.” – Jon Bon Jovi

Guitar Caption for Instagram

These days, it seems like every aspect of our lives is shared on social media. Particularly, Instagram is home to millions of photos where people share a fraction of their lives with others.

Here are some Instagram captions that you might want to try for your next post. Your followers will surely find you funny and charming with these captions.

  1. “The guitar is a miniature orchestra in itself.” – Ludwig van Beethoven
  2. “The guitar is the easiest instrument to play and the hardest to play well.” – Andres Segovia
  3. “Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Andersen
  4. “I’m not trying to play the guitar. I’m trying to play music.” – Michael Hedges
  5. “Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.” – Jimi Hendrix
  6. “I was put on this earth to play guitar and write songs.” – Noel Gallagher
  7. One does not simply own enough guitars.
  8. Guitars don’t get headaches.
  9. Go where the guitar takes you.
  10. Anyone can play guitar; however, the trick is playing it well.

Quotes on Guitar Strings

The strings on a guitar are one of its most essential elements. Without it, it’s impossible to create a complete melody with your guitar. Even when the strings simply need tuning, you’ll immediately realize how off it sounds. That’s how important the strings are to a guitar.

Because of how crucial strings are to this instrument, witty guitarists came up with quotes on guitar strings and relate them to day-to-day situations.

  1. “I write to the beat and let life play the guitar strings.” – Macklemore
  2. “When I got my first guitar my fingers wouldn’t go to the sixth string so I took off the big E and played with just five strings. I was only 6 or 7.” – Les Paul
  3. “The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice.” – Andres Segovia
  4. “Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string.” – Pele
  5. “My only expenses are probably guitar strings and records.” – Chris Isaak
  6. Life without happiness is like a guitar without strings.
famous practice quotes

Guitar Practice Quotes

There’s an age-old adage that goes, practice makes perfect. The same is true in everything in life – even when you’re learning to play the guitar.

Like all activities that require practicing, you also need a lot of patience and motivation to see it through until the end. Unfortunately, not every guitar player will feel motivated through it all, and that tempts them to drop everything in an instant.

  1. “There’s a weird period of learning how to play guitar where your fingers are constantly messed up a handful. – Jason Reeves
  2. “A good player can make any guitar sound good.” – Michael Bloomfield
  3. “I have to practice to be good at guitar. I have to write 100 songs before you write the first good one.” – Taylor Swift
  4. Nobody was born able to play a jaw-dropping solo. Even the guitar playing legends found learning hard you know. All it takes is persistence, practice, and passion. There’s no voodoo.
  5. “If I don’t practice for a day, I know it. If I don’t practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don’t practice for three days, the public knows it.” – Louis Armstrong
  6. “You’re not born with certain skills, you have to acquire them.” – Ry Cooder
  7. “If you’re any good at all, you know you can be better.” – Lindsay Buckingham
  8. “I’m a self-taught guitarist, but I have a classical music background.” – Adam Jones
  9. “Relax. Be yourself. Play a lot.” – Joe Satriani
  10. “I’ve always wanted to be the best guitarist in the world, ever since I was eight years old.” – Peter Frampton

Conclusion

Reading amazing guitar quotes from time to time is a great way to rekindle your interest whenever you feel stuck. No matter how simple they are, these messages will always bring a smile to your face – and get you excited about learning again.

Thus, whenever you feel down and lost because you can’t seem to play the guitar right, don’t hesitate to look back on these motivational guitar quotes for much-needed motivation.

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