--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I got interested in the idea of music…" description: "\"I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I first heard composers like Terry Riley, and w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg" --- # I got interested in the idea of music that could make… ![“I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I first heard composers like Terry Riley, and when I first started playing with tape recorders.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg) > “I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I first heard composers like Terry Riley, and when I first started playing with tape recorders.” [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. Eno describes his early fascination with self-generating music, inspired by experimental composers and tape techniques of the 1960s. **In simple terms:** He became interested in music that creates itself, influenced by 1960s experimental composers and tape. Key Takeaway Explore self‑generating music concepts. Themes creativity innovation music technology Mood curious inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studio composition - live performance - sound installation Key Concepts Experimental music generative systems audio engineering Questions to Reflect On - How can artists balance randomness with intention? - What tools enable music to evolve autonomously? A Different Perspective Self‑generating music can be unpredictable and hard to control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1960s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) [1960S Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1960s-really-932254/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composers Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composers-like-714120/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Idea Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-music-535812/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Mid 1960S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mid-1960s-1973750/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Recorders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recorders/) [Tape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tape/) [Tape Recorders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tape-recorders-1502748/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe I'll start from the initial idea, what motivated me to do that. In 1953, I had access to a tape recorder. Tape recorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/maybe-i-ll-start-from-the-initial-idea-what-motivated-me-to-do-that/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [You were playing your instruments? Or do you have tape recorders under your seats?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/you-were-playing-your-instruments-or-do-you-have-tape-recorders-under/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [Computers have virtually replaced tape recorders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-visconti/computers-have-virtually-replaced-tape-recorders/) [Tony Visconti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-visconti/) > [It's a huge change from when I started in the 1960s, but what is really impressive is that the number of ladies on set,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitabh-bachchan/it-s-a-huge-change-from-when-i-started-in-the-1960s-but-what-is/) [Amitabh Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitabh-bachchan/) > [I don't miss anything about the 1960s, not really. I did it. It's like asking, 'Do you miss the fourth grade?' I loved the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/i-don-t-miss-anything-about-the-1960s-not-really-i-did-it-it-s-like/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [That's where we all kind of were in the mid-1960s. Students for a Democratic Society grew from a small group of socialists at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/that-s-where-we-all-kind-of-were-in-the-mid-1960s-students-for-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“THESE MANIFESTATIONS OF BACKLASH—against family breakup, illegitimacy, welfare, crime, riots, black activists, anti-war demonstrators, long-haired hippies, government programs that favored minorities, elitists, liberals generally—exposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/these-manifestations-of-backlash-against-family-breakup-illegitimacy/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [In the mid-1960s, as hard to believe as it may be now, choosing to go into academic philosophy was not an imprudent career choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/in-the-mid-1960s-as-hard-to-believe-as-it-may-be-now-choosing-to-go/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Just from the beginning, I really liked playing around with tape recorders. And then, when I got into punk rock, I only really liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-barlow/just-from-the-beginning-i-really-liked-playing-around-with-tape/) [Lou Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-barlow/) > [I had wanted a tape recorder since I was tiny. I thought it was a magic thing. I never got one until just before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-had-wanted-a-tape-recorder-since-i-was-tiny-i-thought-it-was-a/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I always loved the motion picture scores and the great film composers like Elmer Bernstein.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr/i-always-loved-the-motion-picture-scores-and-the-great-film-composers/) [Frank Sinatra Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr/) > [As a kid, I loved classical music. Composers like Beethoven were like rock stars to me. Then there were the real rock stars: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-menken/as-a-kid-i-loved-classical-music-composers-like-beethoven-were-like/) [Alan Menken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-menken/) > [Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-hill/composers-like-authors-have-a-lot-in-common-our-main-goal-is-to/) [Ken Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-hill/) > [When I was between the ages of 5 and 8 years old, I fell in love with the music of composers like Danny Elfman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/when-i-was-between-the-ages-of-5-and-8-years-old-i-fell-in-love-with/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) ## 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. It should be even more monotonous than the first one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/robert-fripp-and-i-will-be-recording-another-lp-very-soon-it-should/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think very often producers are really trying to repeat things. When they hear something in the new songs that they recognize as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-very-often-producers-are-really-trying-to-repeat-things-when/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think that's very significant that we're so attached to the idea now of - it was something I advocated for years, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-that-s-very-significant-that-we-re-so-attached-to-the-idea/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. 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. I was in the studio with a group of musicians, who shall remain nameless, and I said to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-had-an-interesting-day-i-was-in-the-studio-with-a-group-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) [Explore all 373 Brian Eno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) [Browse all 486 1960s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1960s-426/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I first heard composers like Terry Riley, and when I first started playing with tape recorders.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Eno" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-that-could-make-itself-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1960s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-that-could-make-itself-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/brian-eno-776_1960s_i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-th_2780951.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I got interested in the idea of music that could make itself, in a sense, in the mid 1960s really, when I…” — Brian Eno", "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": "Brian Eno", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I got interested in the idea...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-that-could-make-itself-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-got-interested-in-the-idea-of-music-that-could-make-itself-in-a/#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 } } ] } ```