--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play…" description: "\"Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play music.\" — Artie Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/artie-shaw-18387_clarinet_benny-goodman-plays-the-clarinet-i-play_1749918.png" --- # Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play music. ![“Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play music.” quote by Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/artie-shaw-18387_clarinet_benny-goodman-plays-the-clarinet-i-play_1749918.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/artie-shaw-18387_clarinet_benny-goodman-plays-the-clarinet-i-play_1749918.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/artie-shaw-18387_clarinet_benny-goodman-plays-the-clarinet-i-play_1749918.png) > “Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play music.” [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A comparison between playing a clarinet and creating music underscores personal artistic expression versus performance. **In simple terms:** Playing music is personal expression. Key Takeaway Embrace your own style. Themes music art expression Mood reflective creative Type musical inspirational When to use this quote - performance - teaching - personal development Key Concepts artistic identity creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does your style differ from others? - What can you learn from other musicians? A Different Perspective Focusing on comparison may diminish collaborative art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benny Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benny-goodman-459168/) [Clarinet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarinet/) [Clarinet Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarinet-play-1596858/) [Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodman/) [Goodman Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodman-plays-1596859/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays Clarinet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays-clarinet-1596857/) ## Related quotes > [When I first met Benny Goodman he wouldn't talk about anything but clarinets, mouthpieces, reeds, etc. When I tried to change the subject, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/when-i-first-met-benny-goodman-he-wouldn-t-talk-about-anything-but/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ The distance between me and Benny \[Goodman\], was that I was trying to play a musical thing, and Benny was trying to swing. Benny… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/the-distance-between-me-and-benny-goodman-was-that-i-was-trying-to/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ Listening to Benny \[Goodman\] talk about the clarinet was like listening to a surgeon get hung up on a scalpel. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/listening-to-benny-goodman-talk-about-the-clarinet-was-like-listening/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ Benny \[Goodman\] used to practice 15 times more than the whole band combined. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-james/benny-goodman-used-to-practice-15-times-more-than-the-whole-band/) [Harry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-james/) > [ Above all else, \[Benny Goodman\] was a great player, one of the greatest American music has produced. He brought his absolute talent and his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/above-all-else-benny-goodman-was-a-great-player-one-of-the-greatest/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [Since the advent of Benny Goodman, there have been too few clarinetists to fill the void that Goodman left. Ken Peplowski is most certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-torme/since-the-advent-of-benny-goodman-there-have-been-too-few/) [Mel Torme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-torme/) > [The brilliant explosion known as Benny Goodman went off in 1935, and it hasn´t gone out yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/the-brilliant-explosion-known-as-benny-goodman-went-off-in-1935-and/) [Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/) > [I had never heard anyone play like Benny Goodman and had never seen anyone like him on the stage. I realize now that what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-seldes/i-had-never-heard-anyone-play-like-benny-goodman-and-had-never-seen/) [Marian Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-seldes/) > [I started off playing the clarinet, after I was inspired by listening to my dad's Benny Goodman records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lee/i-started-off-playing-the-clarinet-after-i-was-inspired-by-listening/) [Alvin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-lee/) > [Benny Goodman was one of the big influences as a clarinet player. That's why I wanted the clarinet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-konitz/benny-goodman-was-one-of-the-big-influences-as-a-clarinet-player-that/) [Lee Konitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-konitz/) > [I did all you can do with a clarinet. Any more would have been less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-did-all-you-can-do-with-a-clarinet-any-more-would-have-been-less/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [I'm not conditioned to be an entertainer. An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself. The problem with that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-m-not-conditioned-to-be-an-entertainer-an-entertainer-pleases/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [That's the clarinet I used to use... but it's just a piece of wood, you know, with holes in it and they put these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/that-s-the-clarinet-i-used-to-use-but-it-s-just-a-piece-of-wood-you/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [Everybody in Germany was for the -German cause. But then, after the war ended, when I heard the first Glenn Miller sound on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-colani/everybody-in-germany-was-for-the-german-cause-but-then-after-the-war/) [Luigi Colani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-colani/) > [My dad had these great Benny Goodman albums that I was obsessed with, and Louis Prima's another guy I loved, and Peter Niro the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/my-dad-had-these-great-benny-goodman-albums-that-i-was-obsessed-with/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) ## More by Artie Shaw > [I'm not comfortable with categories, and I distrust most definitions. The word 'definition' is based on the word 'finite,' which would seem to indicate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-m-not-comfortable-with-categories-and-i-distrust-most-definitions/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ It \["Begin the Beguine"\] became such a hit that it superseded anything that any band had ever had. It was the first time that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/it-begin-the-beguine-became-such-a-hit-that-it-superseded-anything/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [An audience is in many respects no more than a mob under loose control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/an-audience-is-in-many-respects-no-more-than-a-mob-under-loose-control/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [Dance music-as I keep saying, you can dance to a windshield wiper... a windshield wiper that's fairly steady gives you a beat and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/dance-music-as-i-keep-saying-you-can-dance-to-a-windshield-wiper-a/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [I'm not conditioned to be an entertainer. An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself. The problem with that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-m-not-conditioned-to-be-an-entertainer-an-entertainer-pleases/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [Shoot for the moon - if you miss you'll end up in the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/shoot-for-the-moon-if-you-miss-you-ll-end-up-in-the-stars/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [There's such a cynicism about the phrase 'I laughed all the way to the bank.' It's as though money is what you're doing, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/there-s-such-a-cynicism-about-the-phrase-i-laughed-all-the-way-to-the/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [“Presumption is the mother of all fuck-ups.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/presumption-is-the-mother-of-all-fuck-ups/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [People ask what those women saw in me. Let's face it, I wasn't a bad-looking stud. But that's not it. It's the music; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/people-ask-what-those-women-saw-in-me-let-s-face-it-i-wasn-t-a-bad/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [When I first met Benny Goodman he wouldn't talk about anything but clarinets, mouthpieces, reeds, etc. When I tried to change the subject, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/when-i-first-met-benny-goodman-he-wouldn-t-talk-about-anything-but/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [Any more would have been less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/any-more-would-have-been-less/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [If I could have done anything more, it would have been less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/if-i-could-have-done-anything-more-it-would-have-been-less/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [The bandleader is a musician trying to sell a mass commodity; and in order to do so successfully he must accommodate himself to mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/the-bandleader-is-a-musician-trying-to-sell-a-mass-commodity-and-in/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [You have no idea of the people I didn't marry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/you-have-no-idea-of-the-people-i-didn-t-marry/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ Listening to Benny \[Goodman\] talk about the clarinet was like listening to a surgeon get hung up on a scalpel. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/listening-to-benny-goodman-talk-about-the-clarinet-was-like-listening/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) [Explore all 35 Artie Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) ## More Clarinet quotes > [I started off playing the clarinet, after I was inspired by listening to my dad's Benny Goodman records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lee/i-started-off-playing-the-clarinet-after-i-was-inspired-by-listening/) [Alvin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-lee/) > [So the ideology was that: use sounds as instruments, as sounds on tape, without the causality. It was no longer a clarinet or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-ferrari/so-the-ideology-was-that-use-sounds-as-instruments-as-sounds-on-tape/) [Luc Ferrari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-ferrari/) > [Clarinets, like lawyers, have cases, mouthpieces, and they need a constant supply of hot air in order to function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/clarinets-like-lawyers-have-cases-mouthpieces-and-they-need-a/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [We decided to do some of Merle's things with modern instrumentation. We used a flute, a bass clarinet, a trumpet, a clarinet, drums, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-ernie-ford/we-decided-to-do-some-of-merle-s-things-with-modern-instrumentation/) [Tennessee Ernie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-ernie-ford/) > [The oboe sounds like a clarinet with a cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/the-oboe-sounds-like-a-clarinet-with-a-cold/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [My eyes are too big, my nose is too flat, my ears stick out, my mouth is too big and my face is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldie-hawn/my-eyes-are-too-big-my-nose-is-too-flat-my-ears-stick-out-my-mouth-is/) [Goldie Hawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldie-hawn/) > [“Heath holds the door to the band room open for me, and I get to my chair without falling, snapping together my clarinet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-mcginnis/heath-holds-the-door-to-the-band-room-open-for-me-and-i-get-to-my/) [Mindy McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-mcginnis/) > [Ted Lewis could make the clarinet talk. What it said was put me back in the case!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-condon/ted-lewis-could-make-the-clarinet-talk-what-it-said-was-put-me-back/) [Eddie Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-condon/) > [I began with dance, doing ballet at 3, then tap, jazz, modern. Then I sang in church choirs, learned how to play clarinet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-barks/i-began-with-dance-doing-ballet-at-3-then-tap-jazz-modern-then-i-sang/) [Samantha Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-barks/) > [Yeah, musically, from a production standpoint my favorite is probably 'Have a Little Talk with Jesus'. Just the way it turned out production wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-millard/yeah-musically-from-a-production-standpoint-my-favorite-is-probably/) [Bart Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-millard/) > [I've been writing music since I was 9. I took harmony and counterpoint classes when I was studying the clarinet. So, I've been writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-shore/i-ve-been-writing-music-since-i-was-9-i-took-harmony-and-counterpoint/) [Howard Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-shore/) > [I was improvising before I was reading music. I was just trying to play things on the clarinet by ear. I think my ear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-fountain/i-was-improvising-before-i-was-reading-music-i-was-just-trying-to/) [Pete Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-fountain/) > [I'm not conditioned to be an entertainer. An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself. The problem with that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-m-not-conditioned-to-be-an-entertainer-an-entertainer-pleases/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) > [ \[I wanted\] to play the clarinet well so I could be in Duke Ellington's band, but that's now impossible. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-wanted-to-play-the-clarinet-well-so-i-could-be-in-duke-ellington-s/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [ I had a great year with Bob Mintzer \[at Laguardia School of Arts\]. Bob is great. We could have just brought the clarinet or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/i-had-a-great-year-with-bob-mintzer-at-laguardia-school-of-arts-bob/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) [Browse all 77 Clarinet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clarinet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. 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