---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think you have to keep a childlike…"
description: "\"I think you have to keep a childlike quality to play music or make a record.\" — Beck"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/beck-3337_childlike_i-think-you-have-to-keep-a-childlike-qua_510012.png"
---

#  I think you have to keep a childlike quality to play music…

![“I think you have to keep a childlike quality to play music or make a record.” quote by Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/beck-3337_childlike_i-think-you-have-to-keep-a-childlike-qua_510012.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/beck-3337_childlike_i-think-you-have-to-keep-a-childlike-qua_510012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/beck-3337_childlike_i-think-you-have-to-keep-a-childlike-qua_510012.png)

> “I think you have to keep a childlike quality to play music or make a record.”

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Maintaining childlike wonder fuels creativity in music.

**In simple terms:** Stay childlike to create music.

Key Takeaway

Nurture curiosity for artistic growth.

Themes

creativity playfulness authenticity

Mood

joyful inspired

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- songwriting
- improvisation
- teaching music

Key Concepts

artistic expression innocence

Questions to Reflect On

- When did you last feel childlike?
- How can play improve your art?

A Different Perspective

Adult pressures can stifle playfulness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Childlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [If you think childlike, you'll stay young. If you keep your energy going, and do everything with a little flair, you're gunna stay young.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lewis/if-you-think-childlike-you-ll-stay-young-if-you-keep-your-energy/)

[Jerry Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lewis/)

> [ I don't like the idea of \[having\] a thick skin. I think we \[should\] be more childlike. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-having-a-thick-skin-i-think-we-should-be/)

[Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/)

> [The best actors, I think, have a childlike quality. They have a sort of an ability to lose themselves. There's still some silliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/the-best-actors-i-think-have-a-childlike-quality-they-have-a-sort-of/)

[Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/)

> ['Painting like a child' isn't a negative for me... it's something only great artists can really achieve. The childlike quality of some of Picasso's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/painting-like-a-child-isn-t-a-negative-for-me-it-s-something-only/)

[Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/)

> [ It's like a kind of Barbie American dream. I have that childlike quality so a lot of little girls especially \[like me\]. I've always… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/it-s-like-a-kind-of-barbie-american-dream-i-have-that-childlike/)

[Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/)

> [There's a childlike quality to Tarzan that's quite beautiful and wonderful, but there's also an intelligence and fierceness that's quite powerful as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nutter/there-s-a-childlike-quality-to-tarzan-that-s-quite-beautiful-and/)

[David Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nutter/)

> [I am so blessed that all I've done in my professional life, since I was 17-18, is play music and somehow make a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mclagan/i-am-so-blessed-that-all-i-ve-done-in-my-professional-life-since-i/)

[Ian McLagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mclagan/)

> [There are certain records that you love because the songs are great, but you don't go to them as an example of great production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/there-are-certain-records-that-you-love-because-the-songs-are-great/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [I'm a big music fan outside of the music I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/i-m-a-big-music-fan-outside-of-the-music-i-make/)

[Ryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-adams/)

> [What I like about music is that you make a song, you've got your ideas in it, and people make that song part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/what-i-like-about-music-is-that-you-make-a-song-you-ve-got-your-ideas/)

[Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/)

> [At a young age, I really wanted to make music and make my own sort of thing. I'm sure if it wasn't music, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/at-a-young-age-i-really-wanted-to-make-music-and-make-my-own-sort-of/)

[El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/)

> [I don't really believe in the type of pressure that people are wanting to put on the type of music that I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-don-t-really-believe-in-the-type-of-pressure-that-people-are/)

[Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/)

> [What's funny for me is that I made a lot of the music I make with intentions of it being a song you listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/what-s-funny-for-me-is-that-i-made-a-lot-of-the-music-i-make-with/)

[Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/)

> [All I can do is make good music and make it for the fans, not for anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taio-cruz/all-i-can-do-is-make-good-music-and-make-it-for-the-fans-not-for/)

[Taio Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taio-cruz/)

> [I want to make music that will make the blood surge in your veins, music that will get people up and dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kapranos/i-want-to-make-music-that-will-make-the-blood-surge-in-your-veins/)

[Alex Kapranos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kapranos/)

## More by Beck

> [There are certain records that you love because the songs are great, but you don't go to them as an example of great production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/there-are-certain-records-that-you-love-because-the-songs-are-great/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [ \[Early on,\] the attitude was that what I was doing wasn't music. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/early-on-the-attitude-was-that-what-i-was-doing-wasn-t-music/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [It gets a little bit troublesome when you have something that's overcompressed that shouldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/it-gets-a-little-bit-troublesome-when-you-have-something-that-s/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [Let the desert wind cool your aching head. Let the weight of the world - drift away instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/let-the-desert-wind-cool-your-aching-head-let-the-weight-of-the-world/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [I'm always looking for older equipment and ways of recording, but you can't escape the fact that it's all going to be digitized and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/i-m-always-looking-for-older-equipment-and-ways-of-recording-but-you/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [I did that Grammys thing - I did a little freeform poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/i-did-that-grammys-thing-i-did-a-little-freeform-poem/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [There's a perception that if an artist produces another artist, they're going to imprint on them. But I'm the opposite. I want to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/there-s-a-perception-that-if-an-artist-produces-another-artist-they/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [Tonight the city is full of morgues, and all the toilets are overflowing. There's shopping malls coming out of the walls, as we walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/tonight-the-city-is-full-of-morgues-and-all-the-toilets-are/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [I think it's interesting being American, the expectations for an American guy, and the image that has to be projected. 'Oh, I can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/i-think-it-s-interesting-being-american-the-expectations-for-an/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [Technology was something I avoided when I started out - I didn't even have electric guitars. Only played acoustic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/technology-was-something-i-avoided-when-i-started-out-i-didn-t-even/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [I'm the artist formally known as Beck. I have a genius wig. When I put that wig on, then the true genius emerges. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/i-m-the-artist-formally-known-as-beck-i-have-a-genius-wig-when-i-put/)

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> [Originally, the lyrics to "Girl" were really upbeat, and then it didn't work for me somehow. You need the dichotomy. If you're doing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/originally-the-lyrics-to-girl-were-really-upbeat-and-then-it-didn-t/)

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> [As society changes, as politics change, as people change, certain songs still seem to resonate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/as-society-changes-as-politics-change-as-people-change-certain-songs/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

> [With modern recording techniques, and living in the Pro Tools era, the process gets really drawn-out, and it can become painstaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/with-modern-recording-techniques-and-living-in-the-pro-tools-era-the/)

[Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

[Explore all 133 Beck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/)

## More Childlike quotes

> [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/)

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> [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 'You’re going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You’re going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-m-cold-snowden-said-softly-i-m-cold-you-re-going-to-be-all-right/)

[Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/)

> [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/)

[Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/)

> [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/)

[Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/)

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[Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/)

> [A simple, childlike faith in a Divine Friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-simple-childlike-faith-in-a-divine-friend-solves-all-the-problems/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/)

[Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/)

> [I like crazy, childlike, candy bar-filled cakes with gooey caramel, chocolate-covered nuts, marshmallows, and the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/i-like-crazy-childlike-candy-bar-filled-cakes-with-gooey-caramel/)

[Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/)

> [“God sense little children to speak and act for him. In their simplicity and naivety they say and do things that we adults never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-steer/god-sense-little-children-to-speak-and-act-for-him-in-their/)

Phil Steer

> [It's fun playing two roles. The roles provide a wonderful range of emotions. Stuart is childlike and sensitive. Adam is ruthless, outrageous. He's flamboyant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-canary/it-s-fun-playing-two-roles-the-roles-provide-a-wonderful-range-of/)

[David Canary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-canary/)

> [I think it is important to learn to distinguish between being childlike and being childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-important-to-learn-to-distinguish-between-being/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The storm lashes us, out of the confusion of grey and yellow the hail of splinters whips forth the childlike cries of the wounded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-storm-lashes-us-out-of-the-confusion-of-grey-and-yellow-the-hail/)

[Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/)

> [Things involved with a computer fill me with a childlike terror. Now, if it were a nice ogre or some such I'd be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-giles/things-involved-with-a-computer-fill-me-with-a-childlike-terror-now/)

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