--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I started working on ambient music…" description: "\"When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.\" — Brian Eno" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg" --- # When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to… ![“When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg) > “When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.” [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. Treating ambient music like painting emphasizes texture, atmosphere, and non‑linear listening. **In simple terms:** Music can be experienced like visual art. Key Takeaway Create soundscapes that feel like visual textures. Themes creativity artistic process ambient music Mood contemplative innovative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio production - meditative spaces - gallery installations Key Concepts synesthesia sound design visual metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does visual thinking affect your music creation? - What environments benefit from ambient soundscapes? A Different Perspective Listeners may find lack of melody challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambient/) [Ambient music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambient-music/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-painting-343467/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-idea-373727/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working/) [Working Ambient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-ambient-977899/) ## Related quotes > [Ambient music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-is-intended-to-induce-calm-and-a-space-to-think/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [People do dismiss ambient music, don't they? They call it 'easy listening,' as if to suggest that it should be hard to listen to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/people-do-dismiss-ambient-music-don-t-they-they-call-it-easy/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Ambient music must be as ignorable as it is interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-must-be-as-ignorable-as-it-is-interesting/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [When I first started making ambient music, I was setting up systems using synthesizers that generated pulses more or less randomly. The end result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-i-first-started-making-ambient-music-i-was-setting-up-systems/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-must-be-able-to-accommodate-many-levels-of-listening/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I'd been making music that was intended to be like painting, in the sense that it's environmental, without the customary narrative and episodic quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-d-been-making-music-that-was-intended-to-be-like-painting-in-the/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Ambient music is my favorite art form because there's no interface. It just commands you how to feel. There's no suggestion of lyrics or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/ambient-music-is-my-favorite-art-form-because-there-s-no-interface-it/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I knew what real instruments I wanted and, in some cases, who I wanted to play them. I had started listening to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-bejar/i-knew-what-real-instruments-i-wanted-and-in-some-cases-who-i-wanted/) [Dan Bejar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-bejar/) > [Ah, it's just so soothing, and I'd like to make my own. When I listen to ambient music, I'm like 'Oh, but I would've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/ah-it-s-just-so-soothing-and-i-d-like-to-make-my-own-when-i-listen-to/) [Ruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruel/) > [You will hear ambient in our music. You will hear trip-hop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/you-will-hear-ambient-in-our-music-you-will-hear-trip-hop/) [Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/) > [If I don't already know a song's chord progression, I'll stop writing and try to figure it out. I can occasionally listen to unstructured,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-paul-wilson/if-i-don-t-already-know-a-song-s-chord-progression-i-ll-stop-writing/) [F. Paul Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-paul-wilson/) > [There's some ambient music that doesn't do anything. I wouldn't say that that's narrative. It is narrative in that it creates a sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/there-s-some-ambient-music-that-doesn-t-do-anything-i-wouldn-t-say/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [When I first started out, I was making really slow, psychedelic ambient music because it was all I could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/when-i-first-started-out-i-was-making-really-slow-psychedelic-ambient/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [I like listening to ambient music, especially in very scenic places because I think it allows for the most freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-like-listening-to-ambient-music-especially-in-very-scenic-places/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [With 'Minecraft,' I've started creating serene ambiance music. As the game went on to become famous, people started identifying me as the ambient music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c418/with-minecraft-i-ve-started-creating-serene-ambiance-music-as-the/) [C418](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c418/) ## 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 Ambient quotes > [Ambient music is intended to induce calm and a space to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-is-intended-to-induce-calm-and-a-space-to-think/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I am not a big fan of what I call 'ambient television,' which just washes through you in a very polite way. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purefoy/i-am-not-a-big-fan-of-what-i-call-ambient-television-which-just/) [James Purefoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purefoy/) > [Ambient means the natural center or atmosphere of a space. All music has that in it- a space or center. I think it just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laswell/ambient-means-the-natural-center-or-atmosphere-of-a-space-all-music/) [Bill Laswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-laswell/) > [I like listening to ambient music, especially in very scenic places because I think it allows for the most freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-like-listening-to-ambient-music-especially-in-very-scenic-places/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [Ambient music must be as ignorable as it is interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/ambient-music-must-be-as-ignorable-as-it-is-interesting/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [“First love is all sensation and ambient zooms, and letting the world ebb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/first-love-is-all-sensation-and-ambient-zooms-and-letting-the-world/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [When I first started out, I was making really slow, psychedelic ambient music because it was all I could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/when-i-first-started-out-i-was-making-really-slow-psychedelic-ambient/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [“Reducing ambient environmental radiation to the lowest levels possible would be prudent during the global COVID-19 pandemic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/reducing-ambient-environmental-radiation-to-the-lowest-levels/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [It was the Faith which gradually and indirectly transformed the slave into the serf, and the serf into the free peasant. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/it-was-the-faith-which-gradually-and-indirectly-transformed-the-slave/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [It simply isn't true, for example, that being big is in general better for fitness than being small except when there are effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-fodor/it-simply-isn-t-true-for-example-that-being-big-is-in-general-better/) [Jerry Fodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-fodor/) > [Germans grew reluctant to stay in communal ski lodges, fearing they might talk in their sleep. They postponed surgeries because of the lip-loosening effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/germans-grew-reluctant-to-stay-in-communal-ski-lodges-fearing-they/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [My favorite sounds are the high, spacey ones that are very ambient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-summers/my-favorite-sounds-are-the-high-spacey-ones-that-are-very-ambient/) [Andy Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-summers/) > [“AMBIENT FEAR: background anxiety of everyday life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-winokur/ambient-fear-background-anxiety-of-everyday-life/) [Jon Winokur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-winokur/) > [We weren't raised Muslim - we were born Muslim. I didn't go to a Muslim school, but it was just the theme song. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/we-weren-t-raised-muslim-we-were-born-muslim-i-didn-t-go-to-a-muslim/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [I love to hear a cool ambient sound at runway shows. It creates a good energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/i-love-to-hear-a-cool-ambient-sound-at-runway-shows-it-creates-a-good/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) [Browse all 58 Ambient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Eno" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music-my-idea-was-to-make-music/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music-my-idea-was-to-make-music/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/brian-eno-776_ambient_when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music_2492301.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I started working on ambient music, my idea was to make music that was more like painting.” — 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": "When I started working on ambient...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music-my-idea-was-to-make-music/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-i-started-working-on-ambient-music-my-idea-was-to-make-music/#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 } } ] } ```