--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A way to make new music is to imagine…" description: "\"A way to make new music is to imagine looking back at the past from a future and imagine music that could have existed but didn't. Like East African fr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brian-eno-776_african_a-way-to-make-new-music-is-to-imagine-lo_972503.jpg" --- # A way to make new music is to imagine looking back at the… ![“A way to make new music is to imagine looking back at the past from a future and imagine music that could have existed but didn't. Like East African free jazz, which as far as I know does not exist.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brian-eno-776_african_a-way-to-make-new-music-is-to-imagine-lo_972503.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brian-eno-776_african_a-way-to-make-new-music-is-to-imagine-lo_972503.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/brian-eno-776_african_a-way-to-make-new-music-is-to-imagine-lo_972503.jpg) > “A way to make new music is to imagine looking back at the past from a future and imagine music that could have existed but didn't. Like East African free jazz, which as far as I know does not exist.” [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining music from a future perspective can inspire new creations, even if they never existed. **In simple terms:** Imagine future music to create new sounds. Key Takeaway Use speculative imagination in artistic work. Themes creativity imagination future Mood creative inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - composition - film scoring - experimental art Key Concepts music theory innovation Questions to Reflect On - How can imagined futures shape present art? - What limits exist for speculative creation? A Different Perspective It may lead to impractical or overly abstract ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-jazz/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-back/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I'm surrounded by music; I always was when I was growing up and continue to be. And I love music. 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In his tragically short life, he breathed new life, fire and meaning into every form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hazlewood/all-roads-for-me-lead-back-to-mozart-in-his-tragically-short-life-he/) [Charles Hazlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hazlewood/) > [“As his hands fell upon the keyboard, it was still possible to believe a beautiful harmony had been formed at random, in spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-makine/as-his-hands-fell-upon-the-keyboard-it-was-still-possible-to-believe/) [Andreï Makine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-makine/) ## More by Brian Eno > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The lyrics are constructed as empirically as the music. I don't set out to say anything very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-lyrics-are-constructed-as-empirically-as-the-music-i-don-t-set/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/admirers-can-be-a-tremendous-force-for-conservatism/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [You can't really imagine music without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/you-can-t-really-imagine-music-without-technology/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Robert Fripp and I will be recording another LP very soon. 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They're moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-watch-any-good-player-they-re-using-different-parts-of-their/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Songs that don't depend on composition depend instead on performance - so the fire has to be there in the playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/songs-that-don-t-depend-on-composition-depend-instead-on-performance/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I can see the use and value of religion, just as I can see the use of mud wrestling, yoga, astronomy and sadomasochism. but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-can-see-the-use-and-value-of-religion-just-as-i-can-see-the-use-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I wanted to get rid of the element that had been considered essential in pop music: the voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-wanted-to-get-rid-of-the-element-that-had-been-considered-essential/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-of-the-great/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I had an interesting day. 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