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Creativity Quote by Buddy Rich

"So, practice, particularly after you've attained a job, any kind of job, like playing with a four piece band, that's... an opportunity to develop"

About this Quote

Rich is sneaking a work ethic sermon into the casual language of the bandstand. The quote starts with that throwaway “So,” like he’s just continuing a conversation, not delivering doctrine. Then he doubles down on “practice” and immediately pivots: not the romantic, pre-career woodshed fantasy, but the unglamorous reality “after you’ve attained a job.” That’s the key move. For Rich, employment isn’t the finish line; it’s the new rehearsal room, with higher stakes and fewer excuses.

The phrasing “any kind of job” is deceptively democratic. It levels prestige. A small club date, a four-piece band, a modest gig you might dismiss as paying bills becomes, in his framing, a laboratory. The subtext is almost combative: if you’re waiting for ideal conditions, you’re already losing. Rich’s own legend as a ferocious technician and notoriously demanding bandleader sits behind every word. He’s not praising patience; he’s calling out complacency.

That mid-sentence stumble - “like playing with a four piece band, that’s...” - reads like a musician thinking in real time, reaching for a concrete example instead of platitudes. It’s also a glimpse of the jazz economy Rich came up in: constant gigs, constant adaptation, constant scrutiny. “Opportunity to develop” lands softly, but it’s a hard message: your job is not to prove you’re good enough to be hired; it’s to keep getting better while the world is listening.

Quote Details

TopicWork Ethic
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Rich, Buddy. (2026, January 17). So, practice, particularly after you've attained a job, any kind of job, like playing with a four piece band, that's... an opportunity to develop. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-practice-particularly-after-youve-attained-a-64281/

Chicago Style
Rich, Buddy. "So, practice, particularly after you've attained a job, any kind of job, like playing with a four piece band, that's... an opportunity to develop." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-practice-particularly-after-youve-attained-a-64281/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"So, practice, particularly after you've attained a job, any kind of job, like playing with a four piece band, that's... an opportunity to develop." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/so-practice-particularly-after-youve-attained-a-64281/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Buddy Rich (September 30, 1917 - April 2, 1987) was a Musician from USA.

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