I need to hear what I am doing in order to create the next note. If I don’t hear it then I can’t feed myself.

Meaning of the quote

This quote means that the musician Michael Schenker needs to be able to hear the music he is playing in order to know what to play next. If he can't hear the music, he won't be able to continue creating new notes, and that would make it impossible for him to keep playing and performing.

About Michael Schenker

Michael Schenker is a legendary German guitarist known for his work with the rock band UFO and the Michael Schenker Group (MSG). He was an early member of the Scorpions and has rejoined UFO multiple times, producing an album each time. Schenker continues to perform and record, cementing his status as a metal guitar icon.

More about the author

More quotes from Michael Schenker

I have made stage adjustments which allow me to hear myself better onstage so that has made playing live much more enjoyable.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

Depression is something that makes you lose your sight.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I love to be creative.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

If everyone would look for that uniqueness then we would have a very colorful world.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I prefer playing in the studio because you have much more control over things.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

The other thing that has made playing live for me more enjoyable is the audience. I never knew I had such heartfelt, loving fans.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

If you are a musician and you don’t show any interest on the business level then you are actually vulnerable and people will rip you off. They will sweet talk you into anything.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

Even when I was very depressed, I could hold on to something. It seems that I have always had that streak of gold that I could hold on to.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

If you copy then it is not self-expression.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I need to hear what I am doing in order to create the next note. If I don’t hear it then I can’t feed myself.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

When you are live you never know what is going to happen.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

Phil has always been a fighter. He was getting in fights all the time. I told him that if he ever hit me then I would leave the band. He wanted to find out if I was telling him the truth. He hit me so I left and that is how UFO split up.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I have always known that it comes from deep within myself. I always knew what sound I wanted, and how I wanted to play. I knew everything, it just had to be developed.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

In the past, I have not been able to hear myself. I play with feeling so I need to hear what is coming out of the amplifier to inspire me; I don’t just play mechanically.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I view life as a learning experience. It is not so much all about music; it is about what happens when you are doing the music.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

If you are in a band like my brother, Rudolf, who is in the Scorpions, then you have a kind of umbrella and you cover each other. You have five people to discuss things with and you are all in the same boat, and therefore make much wiser choices.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I play with feeling so I need to hear what is coming out of the amplifier to inspire me; I don’t just play mechanically. I need to hear what I am doing in order to create the next note. If I don’t hear it then I can’t feed myself.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I practiced for at least two hours every day for twenty years, before then I practiced maybe four to five hours a day, and before then 14 hours a day. It was all I had ever done.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

It would be a dream come true if I could just go from studio to studio and play solos.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

The music is a personal expression, like art. It is something that you like doing that comes from within, and is an expression that comes from God. That is why artists are beautiful and why people who copy are not really artistic.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

If you don’t get on the field and play then you will be missing out.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

I believe that every person has uniqueness – something that nobody else has.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist

In order to get somewhere in life, you need to have a vision. The vision brings you to the table. Without a vision, you just do what everybody else does and you are just there.

Michael Schenker

German guitarist