Quotes By Evelyn Glennie

I want to be able to say on my deathbed that I reached a few people. That would be very nice, just to be able to say that.

When I was 12, I happened to see a schoolmate playing percussion, and it looked interesting. I asked for lessons, and it felt right.

Before my teen years, I was losing my hearing pretty quickly, and I was getting very, very angry. I was beginning to become an angry person because of that.

Marimba is much more of a wood-type experience and there is no real possibility of getting a dry sound, and getting that contrast in the same way that you can in a vibraphone.

My favorite instrument is the snare drum. In Scotland, the snare drum is very prominent in Highland bands. The Scottish style of playing is in my blood. It's a very powerful instrument, but it can also be soothing, like velvet. It's a real challenge for composers.

If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.

It's the things that you notice when you're not actually with your instrument that, in fact, become so interesting, and that you - you want to explore, through this tiny tiny surface of a drum.

Music is about communication... it isn't just something that maybe physically sounds good or orally sounds interesting; it's something far, far deeper than that.

What I have to do as a musician is do everything that is not on the music.

My role on the planet is to bring the power of sound.

Percussion is physical, as most instruments are. The body must function well in order to play the instruments well. Last year I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet, sometimes as big as King Kong and so on. And so there can be a real riot out there, or it can be so refined.

Anything you strike, anything you shake or rattle, or just anything that can be picked up, and you can create a sound.

The audience plays a huge part in how a piece will actually form. They really allow the performers to walk a tightrope in a way that never seems to happen in the privacy of your own four walls. I'm listening to the audience, and they're listening to me.

The body's like a huge ear. It's as simple as that.

As we live longer and healthier for longer, we need to keep ourselves busy... the diary is pretty full.

I associate going to an airport with work because I travel so much with my job. So when I have a few days free from work, I tend to stay at home.

Once you're in a particular country, and you're surrounded by musicians who are so adept at traditional music, you suddenly realize how much there is to explore and digest and learn and experience.

Your mallet or your stick goes through the instrument, the sound goes out and then wherever the sound goes nobody knows, you know.

Hearing is a form of touch. I could hear less through the ears but more through the body.

I like the sparkle of the vibraphone.

A lot of things which come with a high profile will always be criticised one way or another.

I'm not a deaf musician. I'm a musician who happens to be deaf.

The human body and mind are tremendous forces that are continually amazing scientists and society. Therefore, we have no choice but to keep an open mind as to what the human being can achieve.

Hearing is a form of touch. You feel it through your body, and sometimes it almost hits your face.

I hope the seeds I have sown will be taken up by those who will follow me because the journey I have begun cannot be undertaken in isolation.

I suppose I don't hear things, but I listen, if you know what I mean. And there is a big difference between hearing and listening. So it's like a conversation, you know. When you speak to someone, it's one on one, and that's exactly how I play.

Holidays are about experiences and people, and tuning into what you feel like doing at that moment. Enjoy not having to look at a watch.

I've kept a diary since I was 11.

Percussion is the most adaptable family of instruments. The biggest challenge is to project percussion in a lyrical way.