If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical, it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Specializing in pleasing sounds limits your exposure to the wider world of auditory experience.
- In plain terms
- Being too picky about music can shut you out from many other sounds.
- What can you take from it?
- Keep your senses open to all sounds, not just the pleasant ones.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What sounds do you ignore?
- Is filtering input always bad?
Another view
Some selectivity is necessary for meaningful focus.
More from John Cage
I have nothing to say/ and I am saying it/ and that is poetry/ as I need it.
Permalink to quote #10 Value judgments are destructive to our proper business, which is curiosity and awareness.
Permalink to quote #12 We need not destroy the past. It is gone.
Permalink to quote #9
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