--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a composer has a nice wife and some…" description: "\"If a composer has a nice wife and some nice children, how can he let the children starve on his dissonances?\" — Charles Ives" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/charles-ives-17391_children_if-a-composer-has-a-nice-wife-and-some-n_2966387.png" --- # If a composer has a nice wife and some nice children, how… ![“If a composer has a nice wife and some nice children, how can he let the children starve on his dissonances?” quote by Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/charles-ives-17391_children_if-a-composer-has-a-nice-wife-and-some-n_2966387.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/charles-ives-17391_children_if-a-composer-has-a-nice-wife-and-some-n_2966387.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd1/charles-ives-17391_children_if-a-composer-has-a-nice-wife-and-some-n_2966387.png) > “If a composer has a nice wife and some nice children, how can he let the children starve on his dissonances?” [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A composer must prioritize his family's needs over artistic pursuits that neglect them. **In simple terms:** He shouldn't let his art starve his family. Key Takeaway Balance art with responsibility. Themes family artistry ethics Mood thoughtful ethical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - family budgeting - artistic deadlines - career planning Key Concepts sacrifice creative tension social duty Questions to Reflect On - How do you fund creative work responsibly? - What compromises are acceptable for art? A Different Perspective Artists often face financial strain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composer Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer-nice-4544227/) [Dissonance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissonance/) [Dissonances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissonances-1131289/) [Let Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-children/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Some nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some-nice/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Starve Dissonances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starve-dissonances-4544228/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [Unresolved dissonances between the characters and dispositions of the parents continue to reverberate in the nature of the child and make up the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/unresolved-dissonances-between-the-characters-and-dispositions-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Discord occasions a momentary distress to the ear, which remains unsatisfied, and even uneasy, until it hears something better. I am convinced...that provided the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/discord-occasions-a-momentary-distress-to-the-ear-which-remains/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [As we rise higher in the understanding of ourselves, the national and racial dissonances will be forgotten in the universal rhythms of Truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/as-we-rise-higher-in-the-understanding-of-ourselves-the-national-and/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [If we understood the world, we would realize that there is a logic of harmony underlying its manifold apparent dissonances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/if-we-understood-the-world-we-would-realize-that-there-is-a-logic-of/) [Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/) > [Stand up and take your dissonance like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/stand-up-and-take-your-dissonance-like-a-man/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [The act of laughing releases some nice chemical into your brain, you feel good and it's free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/the-act-of-laughing-releases-some-nice-chemical-into-your-brain-you/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Girls that aren't cut out for business careers usually wind up married to some nice man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/girls-that-aren-t-cut-out-for-business-careers-usually-wind-up/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Listen she said, everything ends, every single relationship you will ever have in your lifetime is going to end… I'll die, you'll die, you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/listen-she-said-everything-ends-every-single-relationship-you-will/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can bake. I made myself some nice French fries once. But otherwise I just eat out. Lots of salad bars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-can-bake-i-made-myself-some-nice-french-fries-once-but-otherwise-i/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [Be the compromise you want to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/be-the-compromise-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Build what you want to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/build-what-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/) [Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/) > [The rest of my days I'm going to spend on the sea. And when I die, I'm going to die on the sea. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/the-rest-of-my-days-i-m-going-to-spend-on-the-sea-and-when-i-die-i-m/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Saxton smelled really good and had a handshake that was firm. "You've grown up a lot." Blay found himself flushing as he took his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/saxton-smelled-really-good-and-had-a-handshake-that-was-firm-you-ve/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [All fanmail is a bit of fun. We do get some nice letters and some fanatical mail too. There's one woman who thinks me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-andre/all-fanmail-is-a-bit-of-fun-we-do-get-some-nice-letters-and-some/) [Peter Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-andre/) > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) ## More by Charles Ives > [Expression, to a great extent, is a matter of terms, and terms are anyone's. The meaning of 'God' may have a billion interpretations if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/expression-to-a-great-extent-is-a-matter-of-terms-and-terms-are/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [I don't write music for sissy ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/i-don-t-write-music-for-sissy-ears/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [In some century to come, when the school children will whistle popular tunes in quarter-tones--when the diatonic scale will be as obsolete as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/in-some-century-to-come-when-the-school-children-will-whistle-popular/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [It is conceivable that what is unified form to the author or composer may of necessity be formless to his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/it-is-conceivable-that-what-is-unified-form-to-the-author-or-composer/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [A rare experience of a moment at daybreak, when something in nature seems to reveal all consciousness, cannot be explained at noon. 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A rare experience of a moment at daybreak, when something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/an-apparent-confusion-if-lived-with-long-enough-may-become-orderly-a/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [The possibilities of percussion sounds, I believe, have never been fully realized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/the-possibilities-of-percussion-sounds-i-believe-have-never-been/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair. Many sounds that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/beauty-in-music-is-too-often-confused-with-something-that-lets-the/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [Stand up and take your dissonance like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/stand-up-and-take-your-dissonance-like-a-man/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [A song has a few rights the same as ordinary citizens... if it happens to feel like flying where humans cannot fly... to scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/a-song-has-a-few-rights-the-same-as-ordinary-citizens-if-it-happens/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [You cannot set art off in a corner and hope for it to have vitality, reality, and substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ives/you-cannot-set-art-off-in-a-corner-and-hope-for-it-to-have-vitality/) [Charles Ives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ives/) > [But maybe music was not intended to satisfy the curious definiteness of man. 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