David Russell

“My advice for a young guitarist is to play what you love and what you feel.”

“Technique is just a tool to express the music; it should never be the goal itself.”

“When you play a piece of music, you are telling a story. You have to believe in that story yourself for the audience to believe it.”

“The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice.”

“Practice is not just about the fingers, it is about training your mind to listen.”

“For me, the connection with the audience is everything. It's a shared experience of the music.”

“I try to find the soul of the music, the emotion that the composer wanted to convey.”

“You have to be very honest with yourself in the practice room. Don't cheat.”

“Listening to other great musicians, not just guitarists, is essential for growth.”

“The beauty of Bach is that his music is so perfectly constructed, yet so full of emotion.”