Top 40 Inspirational Tweets

Tweettng has become one of our favorite pass times. Celebrities use Twitter to carry out social media beefs. Musicians tweet to let fans and friends know where they're playing.  I started using Twitter to share some of my inspirational thoughts.

The challenge of Twitter is staying within the confines of the 140 word character limit. It has certainly taught me how to get the point.

Below is a compilation of tweets that I wrote thus far in 2015. I hope you find them inspirational, too!

1. Learning which imperfections to correct and which ones to embrace is what will ultimately separate the artist from the artisan. (August 27)
2. For every sideman gig I do, that's creative wealth taking out of my own artistic capital. But I'm not complaining. (August 23) 
3. Non-linear thinkers are grown ups trapped inside of a child's mind.(August 1)
4. Non-linear connections is the path to innovation. The hardest part is not letting the loneliness scare you. (July 22)
5. Artists can't be defined by one or two projects. We can only truly be defined by our body of work. Personally, I'm just getting started. (July 22)
6. It's OK if you can't play what others can play. Just make sure others can't play what you can either. No one can be you better than you. (June 15)
7. The race card was a powerful tool. It was like kryptonite to the consciousness of the white liberal. (May 17)
8. Quantity of information certainly has its place in the lexicon of jazz improv. But an inspirational message has to fit in somewhere, too. (March 30) 
9. Highly skilled musicians often intimate us; whereas, great music inspire us. One says "No, you can't." The other says, "Yes, you can." (March 26) 
10. Sometimes we allow great music to humble us too much. Being ignorantly confident gives us the confidence to dream beyond our means. (March 26) 
11. Try practicing in a space that's isolated where no one can hear you. It's the only way you'll go to that ugly place called the unfamiliar. (March 25)
12. If I were religious, I would pray everyday for the courage to be me. (March 23)
13. Information without inspiration leaves the listener full of fuel and a desire to go nowhere. (March 20)
14. Sometimes it's hard finding the courage to explore original ideas. Tried and tested vocabularies feel much more comforting. (March 19) 
15. There's a lot of freedom that comes with not being in the spotlight. I'm free to go anywhere musically without fearing the repercussions. (March 18)
16. We've been conditioned as artists to despise greed. The morality of greed is irrelevant. Greed incentivizes people to get the job done. (March 18)
17. The jazz icons we worship aren't immortal gods. They're hardworking and talented artists who delved deeply into their music. (March 16)
18. We should look for new audiences on the fringes. They're the ones looking for fresh ideas. People in the middle are already oversaturated. (March 15)
19. When musicians say that there are only 12 notes in a scale, it's like they're saying that there are only 12 distinct sounds. Don't buy it. (March 15)
20. If you're serious when you're practicing, but you have fun when you play, you're probably going to be OK. (March 15)
21. Playing solo has given me the courage to face my musical demons head on. The truth is hard to confront, but it's the  best path to freedom. (March 11)
22. I find it difficult to challenge conventional thoughts about music without challenging conventional thoughts about  life. (March 10)
23. Some musicians release CDs for fun, others release them as a sense of duty. (March 10)
24. To make great art we need two kinds of courage: The courage to dream the impossible, and the courage to bring that dream to fruition. (March 10)
25. Space is music's foul shot. It's the easiest part of the performance to execute, yet we rarely use it to its full advantage. (March 8)
26. The fact that so many older musicians feel that younger musicians are on the wrong track, probably means that they're on the right track. (March 7)
27. Never hire a soprano specialist if you have a soprano part that you need played. We usually don't do normal very well. (March 4)
28. In the studio I've noticed three types of leaders: one-take guy, multi-take guy, and we'll-fix-it-in-the-mix guy. (March 4)
29. Are most of jazz's innovators black because jazz is black music, or did black musicians just work harder? (March 3)
30. I know that I'm on the track artistically when I feel really lonely. (March 2) 
31. There's no one braver than the black conservative. It takes real courage to go against the popular thought of 93% of your race. (March 2) 
32. Longevity isn't the same as merit. Whether you've "been out here" for 5 years or 50 years, only great work entitles you to your due. (March 2) 
33. Most of what I do is centered around the soprano. Yet it has almost nothing to do with the soprano. (February 28)
34. Non-linear fingerings are the surest way to achieving non-linear outcomes. We have to get pass the Rubank Method book. (February 17)
35. We've carved out this public narrative that greed is a four-letter word. When in fact it's the agent of motivation making us all try harder. (February 5)
36. If you haven't heard of the painter Charles Pollack, you're not alone. Now his brother Jackson…(January 15)
37. The soprano saxophone is like the ugly duckling. A beautiful swan misunderstood by preconceived notions. (January 14)
38. The difficulty in carving out a new path is trying to maintain the old one. Letting go is difficult but necessary. (January 13)
39. If you want to produce original work, it must be baked in an oven of original thought. (January12 )
40. New Year's Resolution #1: Stop being lazy and walk up one flight of stairs to the 3rd floor gym. #2: Do an actual workout once I'm there. (January 5)

And before I forget, please go the Amazon to check out my new book Life Lessons from the Horn: Essays on Jazz, Originality and Being a Working Musician. The release date for the paperback is September 24, 2015. However, you can purchase  the e-book right now.  

Thanks again for visiting my blog!

- Sam Newsome