"I write on all instruments"
About this Quote
“I write on all instruments” lands with the casual flex of a working musician who’s spent too many hours in studios to romanticize the process. Billy Sherwood isn’t reaching for the myth of the lone genius at the piano; he’s pointing to a modern, pragmatic kind of authorship where composition is inseparable from arrangement, texture, and production. The line collapses the distance between “songwriting” and “building a track.” Melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, groove, and even the negative space in a mix become part of the writing surface.
The intent reads as both capability and philosophy. Capability: Sherwood has the chops to think like a bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer, which matters in prog-adjacent worlds (and especially in the Yes orbit) where parts are conversation, not decoration. Philosophy: he’s rejecting the hierarchy that treats lyrics and chords as the “real” writing and the rest as mere performance. In his framing, the bassline isn’t support; it’s narrative. A drum pattern isn’t accompaniment; it’s argument.
Subtextually, it’s also a defense of multi-hyphenate labor. In an era where credit can be political and gatekept, “I write on all instruments” claims authorship across the whole sonic architecture. It’s a statement about control, yes, but also about empathy: to write on an instrument is to inhabit its limitations and strengths, to respect the physics of hands and breath.
Context matters: Sherwood’s career has lived in collaboration, substitution, and stewardship. Writing “on all instruments” is how you keep a complicated musical machine running - and how you leave fingerprints on it without shouting.
The intent reads as both capability and philosophy. Capability: Sherwood has the chops to think like a bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer, which matters in prog-adjacent worlds (and especially in the Yes orbit) where parts are conversation, not decoration. Philosophy: he’s rejecting the hierarchy that treats lyrics and chords as the “real” writing and the rest as mere performance. In his framing, the bassline isn’t support; it’s narrative. A drum pattern isn’t accompaniment; it’s argument.
Subtextually, it’s also a defense of multi-hyphenate labor. In an era where credit can be political and gatekept, “I write on all instruments” claims authorship across the whole sonic architecture. It’s a statement about control, yes, but also about empathy: to write on an instrument is to inhabit its limitations and strengths, to respect the physics of hands and breath.
Context matters: Sherwood’s career has lived in collaboration, substitution, and stewardship. Writing “on all instruments” is how you keep a complicated musical machine running - and how you leave fingerprints on it without shouting.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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