I play an instrument that has four strings, and I'm still trying to get it right. What I've tried to do in the process of playing these four strings is to try and understand the people I meet, the stories… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
It took me way beyond what I knew, into places of which I was totally scared, but as I became less frightened, I welcomed… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
One is that you have to take time, lots of time, to let an idea grow from within. The second is that when you… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
You go through phases. You have to reinvent reasons for playing, and one year's answer might not do for another. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
Practicing is not only playing your instrument, either by yourself or rehearsing with others - it also includes imagining yourself practicing. Your brain forms… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share
