--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History, like a badly constructed concert…" description: "\"History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has occasional dead spots where the music can't be heard.\" — Archibald MacLeish" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png" --- # History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has… ![“History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has occasional dead spots where the music can't be heard.” quote by Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png) > “History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has occasional dead spots where the music can't be heard.” [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History can have gaps where important narratives are lost, like dead spots in a hall. **In simple terms:** History has blind spots. Key Takeaway Seek out missing stories. Themes history memory silence Mood thoughtful somber Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - research - museum curation Key Concepts cultural studies archaeology Questions to Reflect On - What stories are we missing? - How can we fill historical voids? A Different Perspective Not all gaps are recoverable; some are permanent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concert hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concert-hall/) [Concerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerts/) [Constructed Concert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructed-concert-576686/) [Dead Spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-spots-576687/) [Halls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halls/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Occasional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasional/) [Occasional Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasional-dead-576688/) [Spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spots/) [Spots Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spots-music-502785/) ## Related quotes > [Toronto is one of the biggest spots for music; Caribana and OVO Fest and all that stuff, it's a lot of fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-murray/toronto-is-one-of-the-biggest-spots-for-music-caribana-and-ovo-fest/) [Jamal Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-murray/) > [It's funny, but to me, when you go to a concert hall and hear electronic pieces from the '60s, I think they sound really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-greenwood/it-s-funny-but-to-me-when-you-go-to-a-concert-hall-and-hear/) [Jonny Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-greenwood/) > [Hamburg will have a new and important attraction with which it can distinguish itself from other cities. But the important thing is that activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-landry/hamburg-will-have-a-new-and-important-attraction-with-which-it-can/) [Charles Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-landry/) > [On the corner of 57th and 7th Avenue sits the most famous concert hall in the world. No less a figure than when Tchaikovsky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-slatkin/on-the-corner-of-57th-and-7th-avenue-sits-the-most-famous-concert/) [Leonard Slatkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-slatkin/) > [What's happened - in our country, anyhow - is that the young people have shied away from the formality of the concert hall, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-mangione/what-s-happened-in-our-country-anyhow-is-that-the-young-people-have/) [Chuck Mangione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-mangione/) > [I'm not going to play lead guitar in a concert hall full of people, because I'm going to mess up a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-m-not-going-to-play-lead-guitar-in-a-concert-hall-full-of-people/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [As an architect, you have to provide a shelter to enjoy art. And you have to love art. 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It went with me to every city and concert hall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryn-terfel/for-three-years-the-meistersinger-score-was-a-ball-and-chain-to-me-it/) [Bryn Terfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryn-terfel/) > [I can't believe that people really prefer to go to the concert hall under intellectually trying, socially trying, physically trying conditions, unable to repeat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/i-can-t-believe-that-people-really-prefer-to-go-to-the-concert-hall/) [Milton Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-babbitt/) > [Kids now are so used to surround sound and the power in theater speakers, that the concert hall is a disappointment to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogden-stiers/kids-now-are-so-used-to-surround-sound-and-the-power-in-theater/) [David Ogden Stiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogden-stiers/) > [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/) [Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/) > [And as far as the Disney Concert hall is concerned, it is a wonderful modern structure and I am extremely honored that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobuo-uematsu/and-as-far-as-the-disney-concert-hall-is-concerned-it-is-a-wonderful/) [Nobuo Uematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobuo-uematsu/) ## More by Archibald MacLeish > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Around, around the sun we go: The moon goes round the earth. We do not die of death: We die of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/around-around-the-sun-we-go-the-moon-goes-round-the-earth-we-do-not/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What you really have to know is one: yourself. 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They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/races-didn-t-bother-the-americans-they-were-something-a-lot-better/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Young poets are advised by their elders to avoid the practice of journalism as they would wet socks and gin before breakfast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/young-poets-are-advised-by-their-elders-to-avoid-the-practice-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [There are those, I know, who will reply that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/there-are-those-i-know-who-will-reply-that-the-liberation-of-humanity/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-is-freedom-freedom-is-the-right-to-choose-the-right-to-create/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [A poem should not mean but be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/a-poem-should-not-mean-but-be/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What once was cuddled must learn to kiss The cold wonn's mouth. That's all the mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-once-was-cuddled-must-learn-to-kiss-the-cold-wonn-s-mouth-that-s/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) [Explore all 88 Archibald MacLeish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## More Concert hall quotes > [It's funny, but to me, when you go to a concert hall and hear electronic pieces from the '60s, I think they sound really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-greenwood/it-s-funny-but-to-me-when-you-go-to-a-concert-hall-and-hear/) [Jonny Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-greenwood/) > [There was a strange happening during a performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures' at a concert hall in Bermuda tonight, when the man playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-barker/there-was-a-strange-happening-during-a-performance-of-elgar-s-sea/) [Ronnie Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-barker/) > [Kids now are so used to surround sound and the power in theater speakers, that the concert hall is a disappointment to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogden-stiers/kids-now-are-so-used-to-surround-sound-and-the-power-in-theater/) [David Ogden Stiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogden-stiers/) > [I can't believe that people really prefer to go to the concert hall under intellectually trying, socially trying, physically trying conditions, unable to repeat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-babbitt/i-can-t-believe-that-people-really-prefer-to-go-to-the-concert-hall/) [Milton Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-babbitt/) > [For three years, the 'Meistersinger' score was a ball and chain to me. It went with me to every city and concert hall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryn-terfel/for-three-years-the-meistersinger-score-was-a-ball-and-chain-to-me-it/) [Bryn Terfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryn-terfel/) > [I can't stand being in Chicago anymore and hearing the Brahms Violin Concerto in the elevator. Because that shows me that when they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/i-can-t-stand-being-in-chicago-anymore-and-hearing-the-brahms-violin/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [“In a word, a concert hall is a place where middle-class white people can feel safe together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-small/in-a-word-a-concert-hall-is-a-place-where-middle-class-white-people/) [Christopher Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-small/) > [The private sector is growing so incredibly in India, in every city you have industries for whom building a concert hall would be nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/the-private-sector-is-growing-so-incredibly-in-india-in-every-city/) [Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/) > [As an architect, you have to provide a shelter to enjoy art. And you have to love art. It's like when you make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/as-an-architect-you-have-to-provide-a-shelter-to-enjoy-art-and-you/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [I'm not going to play lead guitar in a concert hall full of people, because I'm going to mess up a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-m-not-going-to-play-lead-guitar-in-a-concert-hall-full-of-people/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [What's happened - in our country, anyhow - is that the young people have shied away from the formality of the concert hall, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-mangione/what-s-happened-in-our-country-anyhow-is-that-the-young-people-have/) [Chuck Mangione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-mangione/) > [On the corner of 57th and 7th Avenue sits the most famous concert hall in the world. No less a figure than when Tchaikovsky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-slatkin/on-the-corner-of-57th-and-7th-avenue-sits-the-most-famous-concert/) [Leonard Slatkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-slatkin/) > [Hamburg will have a new and important attraction with which it can distinguish itself from other cities. But the important thing is that activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-landry/hamburg-will-have-a-new-and-important-attraction-with-which-it-can/) [Charles Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-landry/) > [And as far as the Disney Concert hall is concerned, it is a wonderful modern structure and I am extremely honored that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobuo-uematsu/and-as-far-as-the-disney-concert-hall-is-concerned-it-is-a-wonderful/) [Nobuo Uematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobuo-uematsu/) > [Every day we make more progress toward understanding the concert hall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/every-day-we-make-more-progress-toward-understanding-the-concert-hall/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) [Browse all 26 Concert hall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concert-hall/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has occasional dead spots where the music can't be heard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Archibald MacLeish" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert-hall-has-occasional-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concert hall" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert-hall-has-occasional-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f44/archibald-macleish-7676_concert-hall_history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert_833094.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History, like a badly constructed concert hall, has occasional dead spots where the music can't be heard.” — Archibald MacLeish", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Archibald MacLeish", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History, like a badly constructed concert...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert-hall-has-occasional-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/history-like-a-badly-constructed-concert-hall-has-occasional-dead/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```