42 Quotes by John Philip Sousa

Jazz will endure as long as people hear it through their feet instead of their brains

I have always believed that 98% of a student's progress is due to his own efforts, and 2% to his teacher.

The average music-lover hears only the production under prevailing conditions.

I firmly believe that we have more latent musical talent in America than there is in any other country. But to dig it out there must be good music throughout the land, a lot of it. Everyone must hear it, and such a process takes time.

Jazz will endure just as long people hear it through their feet instead of their brains.

Is it not the business of the conductor to convey to the public in its dramatic form the central idea of a composition; and how can he convey that idea successfully if he does not enter heart and soul into the life of the music and the tale it unfolds?

My success is not due to any personal superiority over other people.

Remember always that the composer's pen is still mightier than the bow of the violinist; in you lie all the possibilities of the creation of beauty.

Composers are the only people who can hear good music above bad sounds.