---
title: "1 Thinking Music Quotes By Vijay Iyer"
description: "1 Thinking Music quotes by Vijay Iyer. Plus more from Vijay Iyer and more Thinking Music sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_beyond-that-it-gets-down-to-the-nuts-and_611967.jpg"
---

> [Beyond that, it gets down to the nuts and bolts of discipline - not a tradition or genre, I don't care about that, actually - but discipline in the sense of just working on music and working on thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/beyond-that-it-gets-down-to-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-discipline-not-a/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_beyond-that-it-gets-down-to-the-nuts-and_611967.jpg)

## More by Vijay Iyer

> [What I find the challenge is with working with, say, digital machines - performing electronic music - is that when we play instruments there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/what-i-find-the-challenge-is-with-working-with-say-digital-machines/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I use are provisional terms, and they usually put any proper nouns in critical distance. I'm in a tradition of people who resist naming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-use-are-provisional-terms-and-they-usually-put-any-proper-nouns-in/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [It is one thing to be a virtuoso, but a different thing to play with compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/it-is-one-thing-to-be-a-virtuoso-but-a-different-thing-to-play-with/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [This is the last sentence of my dissertation: "What is soul in music if not powerfully embodied human presence?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/this-is-the-last-sentence-of-my-dissertation-what-is-soul-in-music-if/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I find myself skeptical of music that forces you to have a certain experience, emotional reaction, or specific constructive arc of experience. But performers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-find-myself-skeptical-of-music-that-forces-you-to-have-a-certain/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [In the 1990s I got to play in a group that played in prisons in California. We would play in maximum security wards. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/in-the-1990s-i-got-to-play-in-a-group-that-played-in-prisons-in/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I want to make sure that I represent a variety of backgrounds and that represents the reality out here in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-want-to-make-sure-that-i-represent-a-variety-of-backgrounds-and/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I've realized that a lot of people come to me because of what's called identity. In the sense of "he's like me" - more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-ve-realized-that-a-lot-of-people-come-to-me-because-of-what-s/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [Beyond that, it gets down to the nuts and bolts of discipline - not a tradition or genre, I don't care about that, actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/beyond-that-it-gets-down-to-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-discipline-not-a/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [Music is made of what we do when we move, and we can only move in certain ways, in certain ranges of tempo because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/music-is-made-of-what-we-do-when-we-move-and-we-can-only-move-in/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [The sense of having to be the best at everything gets in the way of anybody doing anything. I put all that aside; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/the-sense-of-having-to-be-the-best-at-everything-gets-in-the-way-of/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I like the idea of the objecthood of music being destabilized by process and things like improvisation. That's what empowers us; that's how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-like-the-idea-of-the-objecthood-of-music-being-destabilized-by/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [A successful relationship is not about two people staring into each other's eyes, it's about two people looking ahead together. I think in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/a-successful-relationship-is-not-about-two-people-staring-into-each/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

> [Resonance is a physical process through which similarities are highlighted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/resonance-is-a-physical-process-through-which-similarities-are/)

[Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/)

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