--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was trained completely by ear. And it…" description: "\"I was trained completely by ear. And it was actually diving into the Bach that led me to get - there was like a Mel Bay \"Teach Yourself How To Sight Re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/922/chris-thile-4170_bach_i-was-trained-completely-by-ear-and-it-w_694172.png" --- # I was trained completely by ear. And it was actually… ![“I was trained completely by ear. And it was actually diving into the Bach that led me to get - there was like a Mel Bay "Teach Yourself How To Sight Read..."” quote by Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/922/chris-thile-4170_bach_i-was-trained-completely-by-ear-and-it-w_694172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/922/chris-thile-4170_bach_i-was-trained-completely-by-ear-and-it-w_694172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/922/chris-thile-4170_bach_i-was-trained-completely-by-ear-and-it-w_694172.png) > “I was trained completely by ear. And it was actually diving into the Bach that led me to get - there was like a Mel Bay "Teach Yourself How To Sight Read..."” [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning by ear and immersing in Bach’s music led to mastery, highlighting experiential learning over formal methods. **In simple terms:** Learning by listening can be powerful. Key Takeaway Embrace immersive practice. Themes music learning improvisation Mood inspired curious Type educational musical When to use this quote - music education - self‑directed study - practice routines Key Concepts cognitive learning skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance ear training with theory? - What habits improve musical intuition? A Different Perspective May overlook need for structured theory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bach/) [Bay Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bay-teach-5508659/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Diving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diving/) [Diving Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diving-bach-5508658/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Trained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trained/) [Trained Completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trained-completely-5508657/) ## Related quotes > [My thesis statement would be—Bach didn't write Baroque music. He wrote great music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/my-thesis-statement-would-be-bach-didn-t-write-baroque-music-he-wrote/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It was kind of sort of the heavens opened up and I realized that Bach, at least, you know - out of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-was-kind-of-sort-of-the-heavens-opened-up-and-i-realized-that-bach/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [The music of Bach is without doubt the most sacred gift to the world of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heitor-villa-lobos/the-music-of-bach-is-without-doubt-the-most-sacred-gift-to-the-world/) [Heitor Villa-Lobos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heitor-villa-lobos/) > [I used to listen to a lot of Bach on the radio, and when the basses started to sing, it made everything complete -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/i-used-to-listen-to-a-lot-of-bach-on-the-radio-and-when-the-basses/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [In Bach there is still too much crude Christianity, crude Germanism, crude scholasticism; he stands on the threshold of European (modern) music, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-bach-there-is-still-too-much-crude-christianity-crude-germanism/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“The way we define opera circa 1700 may help us to throw light not just on the choices facing Bach and his brilliant peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot-gardiner/the-way-we-define-opera-circa-1700-may-help-us-to-throw-light-not/) [John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot-gardiner/) > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [Whenever you study composition you inevitably encounter Bach right off the bat. You can't get across the room without running into him and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/whenever-you-study-composition-you-inevitably-encounter-bach-right/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Yes, I mean like you know, having studied with Yehudi Menuhin that is like some direct route into Bach, because he was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kennedy/yes-i-mean-like-you-know-having-studied-with-yehudi-menuhin-that-is/) [Nigel Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kennedy/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## More by Chris Thile > [A cocktail and an oyster is an awfully good thing after a park, especially one close to water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/a-cocktail-and-an-oyster-is-an-awfully-good-thing-after-a-park/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I think people react so strongly to hearing the human voice, you can't give them too much of it or else they want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-think-people-react-so-strongly-to-hearing-the-human-voice-you-can-t/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I'm always going to need to play in front of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-m-always-going-to-need-to-play-in-front-of-people/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I love music so much. It's like the one thing I'm good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-love-music-so-much-it-s-like-the-one-thing-i-m-good-at/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Like a sporting event, live events are the one thing you can't have anytime you want them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/like-a-sporting-event-live-events-are-the-one-thing-you-can-t-have/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Musicians and non-musicians alike are priding themselves on the width and breadth of their musical interests, which I think is to be encouraged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/musicians-and-non-musicians-alike-are-priding-themselves-on-the-width/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [There's a lot of steps between there not being music and there being music. Composition is one part of that, but if no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/there-s-a-lot-of-steps-between-there-not-being-music-and-there-being/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [The fact that I'm a fifth of Punch Brothers... that's lucky for me because I feel like I get to operate in the context…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/the-fact-that-i-m-a-fifth-of-punch-brothers-that-s-lucky-for-me/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It seems like if they'd given Bob Dylan a pen and paper in the cradle that he would've come up with a great song.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-seems-like-if-they-d-given-bob-dylan-a-pen-and-paper-in-the-cradle/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Improvising is writing, too - there was no music and now there's music. So that's composition. And any time you take any sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/improvising-is-writing-too-there-was-no-music-and-now-there-s-music/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It's very hard to make grand, romantic gestures on a mandolin, and there are times, particularly when playing Bach, that you long for just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-s-very-hard-to-make-grand-romantic-gestures-on-a-mandolin-and/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Everything in our lives is encouraging us to turn inward with all the technology that we have available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/everything-in-our-lives-is-encouraging-us-to-turn-inward-with-all-the/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Improvisation is an important part of bluegrass, and I would hasten to add that classical music wasn't always such an improvisational void. Back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/improvisation-is-an-important-part-of-bluegrass-and-i-would-hasten-to/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It was kind of sort of the heavens opened up and I realized that Bach, at least, you know - out of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-was-kind-of-sort-of-the-heavens-opened-up-and-i-realized-that-bach/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I think that we'll see the concept of 'genre' continue to die a slow and painful death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-think-that-we-ll-see-the-concept-of-genre-continue-to-die-a-slow/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) [Explore all 115 Chris Thile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) ## More Bach quotes > [“Do you know what he told me after lying under a cliff for thirty six hours with two inches of his femur sticking out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/do-you-know-what-he-told-me-after-lying-under-a-cliff-for-thirty-six/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Yes, I mean like you know, having studied with Yehudi Menuhin that is like some direct route into Bach, because he was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kennedy/yes-i-mean-like-you-know-having-studied-with-yehudi-menuhin-that-is/) [Nigel Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kennedy/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Whenever you study composition you inevitably encounter Bach right off the bat. You can't get across the room without running into him and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-roberts/whenever-you-study-composition-you-inevitably-encounter-bach-right/) [Howard Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-roberts/) > [Bernard Herrmann used to write all his scores by himself. So did Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky. I dont understand why this happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ennio-morricone/bernard-herrmann-used-to-write-all-his-scores-by-himself-so-did-bach/) [Ennio Morricone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ennio-morricone/) > [“The way we define opera circa 1700 may help us to throw light not just on the choices facing Bach and his brilliant peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot-gardiner/the-way-we-define-opera-circa-1700-may-help-us-to-throw-light-not/) [John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot-gardiner/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In Bach there is still too much crude Christianity, crude Germanism, crude scholasticism; he stands on the threshold of European (modern) music, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-bach-there-is-still-too-much-crude-christianity-crude-germanism/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I used to listen to a lot of Bach on the radio, and when the basses started to sing, it made everything complete -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-haden/i-used-to-listen-to-a-lot-of-bach-on-the-radio-and-when-the-basses/) [Charlie Haden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-haden/) > [The music of Bach is without doubt the most sacred gift to the world of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heitor-villa-lobos/the-music-of-bach-is-without-doubt-the-most-sacred-gift-to-the-world/) [Heitor Villa-Lobos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heitor-villa-lobos/) > [“To wake up one day and be Steinway and Glen in One... Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“You're the kind of child who might develop a passion for Bach." I told him I hadn't at school. The one Bach piece I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/you-re-the-kind-of-child-who-might-develop-a-passion-for-bach-i-told/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) [Browse all 199 Bach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bach/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was trained completely by ear. 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