--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: and half of learning to play is learning…" description: "\"and half of learning to play is learning what not to play and she's learning the spaces she leaves have their own things to say and she's trying to sin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/ani-difranco-813_air_and-half-of-learning-to-play-is-learning_3129572.jpg" --- # and half of learning to play is learning what not to play… ![“and half of learning to play is learning what not to play and she's learning the spaces she leaves have their own things to say and she's trying to sing just enough so that the air around her moves and make music like mercy that gives what it is and has nothing to prove she crawls out on a limb…” quote by Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/ani-difranco-813_air_and-half-of-learning-to-play-is-learning_3129572.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/ani-difranco-813_air_and-half-of-learning-to-play-is-learning_3129572.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/ani-difranco-813_air_and-half-of-learning-to-play-is-learning_3129572.jpg) > “and half of learning to play is learning what not to play and she's learning the spaces she leaves have their own things to say and she's trying to sing just enough so that the air around her moves and make music like mercy that gives what it is and has nothing to prove she crawls out on a limb and begins to build her home and it's enough just to look around and to know that she's not alone up up up up up up up points the spire of the steeple but god's work isn't done by god it's done by people” [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning involves recognizing what to avoid, embracing silence, and letting subtle expressions shape art. **In simple terms:** Know when not to act and let empty spaces speak. Key Takeaway Value restraint and let the environment guide you. Themes creativity mindfulness self-awareness Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts negative space musicality authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to fill a silence? - What does the 'air around her' represent? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on restraint can stifle bold expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Not alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-alone/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [Up up up up up up points the spire of the steeple but god's work isn't done by god it's done by people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/up-up-up-up-up-up-points-the-spire-of-the-steeple-but-god-s-work-isn/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I wonder why it is the man who pleads for mercy never gives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/i-wonder-why-it-is-the-man-who-pleads-for-mercy-never-gives-it/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [An instinctive taste teaches men to build their churches with spire steeples which point as with a silent finger to the sky and stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/an-instinctive-taste-teaches-men-to-build-their-churches-with-spire/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Westminster Abbey, the Tower, a steeple, one church, and then another, presented themselves to our view; and we could now plainly distinguish the high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/westminster-abbey-the-tower-a-steeple-one-church-and-then-another/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [“I don't ever want to live in a world where something like mercy...or maybe it's compassion...is the wrong choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-maberry/i-don-t-ever-want-to-live-in-a-world-where-something-like-mercy-or/) [Jonathan Maberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-maberry/) > [Never miss a joy in this world of trouble-that's my theory!… Happiness, like mercy,is twice blest: it blesses those most intimately associated with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-douglas-wiggin/never-miss-a-joy-in-this-world-of-trouble-that-s-my-theory-happiness/) [Kate Douglas Wiggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-douglas-wiggin/) > [Like mercy from heaven's gate, there's a freedom in your arms that carries me through. I need you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/like-mercy-from-heaven-s-gate-there-s-a-freedom-in-your-arms-that/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [Nothing humbles and breaks the heart of a sinner like mercy and love. Souls that converse much with sin and wrath, may be much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/nothing-humbles-and-breaks-the-heart-of-a-sinner-like-mercy-and-love/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Kindness is like mercy: it blesses him that gives and him that takes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-layard-baron-layard/kindness-is-like-mercy-it-blesses-him-that-gives-and-him-that-takes/) [Richard Layard, Baron Layard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-layard-baron-layard/) > [Asking good questions is half of learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-muhammad/asking-good-questions-is-half-of-learning/) [Elijah Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-muhammad/) > [Half of learning a new element is just getting over the fear of doing it. Once you mentally prepare yourself enough to do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-chen/half-of-learning-a-new-element-is-just-getting-over-the-fear-of-doing/) [Nathan Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-chen/) > [Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/half-of-learning-is-learning-the-other-half-of-learning-is-unlearning/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [The first half of life is learning to be an adult-the second half is learning to be a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-first-half-of-life-is-learning-to-be-an-adult-the-second-half-is/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I spent the first half of my career learning what to put into my work, and the second half learning what to leave out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-toth/i-spent-the-first-half-of-my-career-learning-what-to-put-into-my-work/) [Alex Toth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-toth/) > [Life seemed to be an educator's practical joke in which you spent the first half learning and the second half learning that everything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/life-seemed-to-be-an-educator-s-practical-joke-in-which-you-spent-the/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) ## More by Ani DiFranco > [I am getting nowhere with you and I can't let you go and I cant get through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-am-getting-nowhere-with-you-and-i-can-t-let-you-go-and-i-cant-get/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'll walk the plank and I'll jump with a smile, cause if I'm gonna go down I'm gonna do it with style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-ll-walk-the-plank-and-i-ll-jump-with-a-smile-cause-if-i-m-gonna-go/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Having more exposure is kind of a bittersweet thing for me, honestly, because it's nice to have a little more job security in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/having-more-exposure-is-kind-of-a-bittersweet-thing-for-me-honestly/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I can jump ship and swim-- that the ocean will hold me, that there's got to be more than this boat I'm in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-can-jump-ship-and-swim-that-the-ocean-will-hold-me-that-there-s-got/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [God help you if you are an ugly girl, 'course too pretty is also your doom, 'cause everyone harbors a secret hatred for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/god-help-you-if-you-are-an-ugly-girl-course-too-pretty-is-also-your/) [Ani Difranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I cannot name this, I cannot explain this, and I really don't want to so just call me shameless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-cannot-name-this-i-cannot-explain-this-and-i-really-don-t-want-to/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Somedays the line I walk turns out to be straight - Other days the line tends to deviate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/somedays-the-line-i-walk-turns-out-to-be-straight-other-days-the-line/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Taking me seriously is a big mistake. I certainly wouldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/taking-me-seriously-is-a-big-mistake-i-certainly-wouldn-t/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I am a work in progress Dressed in the fabric of a world unfolding Offering me intricate patterns of questions Rhythms that never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-am-a-work-in-progress-dressed-in-the-fabric-of-a-world-unfolding/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [We have a complete void of progressive politics in this country right now. The will of the people goes ignored and unrealized. I'm searching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/we-have-a-complete-void-of-progressive-politics-in-this-country-right/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I'm home in New Orleans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-m-home-in-new-orleans/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [I don't take good pictures 'cause I have the kind of beauty that moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-don-t-take-good-pictures-cause-i-have-the-kind-of-beauty-that-moves/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [The scary truth is, you have to scratch some veneer off to gauge where the moral fiber really is in certain pockets of society.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/the-scary-truth-is-you-have-to-scratch-some-veneer-off-to-gauge-where/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [Both hands... Now use both hands. Oh no, don't close your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/both-hands-now-use-both-hands-oh-no-don-t-close-your-eyes/) [Ani Difranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) [Explore all 363 Ani DiFranco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. 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