--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven…" description: "\"For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.\" — Cornel West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/cornel-west-708_beethoven_for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-des_68040.jpg" --- # For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself… ![“For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/cornel-west-708_beethoven_for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-des_68040.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/cornel-west-708_beethoven_for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-des_68040.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/cornel-west-708_beethoven_for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-des_68040.jpg) > “For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music and poetry share the capacity to convey deep emotion and narrative through rhythm and tone, blurring the line between sound and language. **In simple terms:** Music as poetic expression Key Takeaway Sound can be literary Themes artistic identity interdisciplinary creativity emotional resonance cultural expression musical narrative Mood inspired reflective admiring Type analogy observation celebration When to use this quote - describing a composer's intent - teaching music theory - writing about jazz history - analyzing classical works - creating interdisciplinary art Key Concepts tone as language tempo as meter artist as poet cross‑genre metaphor Practical Applications - educational lectures on music literature - creative writing workshops using music as prompt Questions to Reflect On - How does rhythm shape meaning in poetry? - What does calling a musician a poet reveal about their creative process? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beethoven/) [Beethoven Describes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beethoven-describes-900396/) [Coltrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coltrane/) [Like Coltrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-coltrane-900399/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Musicians Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicians-poets-900398/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-beethoven-900397/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Tempo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tempo/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to make somebody feel like Coltrane made me feel, listening to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-wanted-to-make-somebody-feel-like-coltrane-made-me-feel-listening/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Don't make the mistakes I made of not taking care of myself. Please, keeps your chops cool and don't overblow. If you are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/don-t-make-the-mistakes-i-made-of-not-taking-care-of-myself-please/) [Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/) > [“I am not afraid to die because I know heaven is a place of artists, musicians and poets”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/i-am-not-afraid-to-die-because-i-know-heaven-is-a-place-of-artists/) [rassool jibraeel snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/) > [In The Doors we have both musicians and poets, and both know of each other's art, so we can effect a synthesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robby-krieger/in-the-doors-we-have-both-musicians-and-poets-and-both-know-of-each/) [Robby Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robby-krieger/) > [I don't like totally free jazz, unless it's done by somebody like Coltrane, who did bebop and cool jazz, so he was allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-densmore/i-don-t-like-totally-free-jazz-unless-it-s-done-by-somebody-like/) [John Densmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-densmore/) > [I take my fundamental cue from John Coltrane that says there must be a priority of integrity, honesty, decency, and mastery of craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-take-my-fundamental-cue-from-john-coltrane-that-says-there-must-be/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [John Coltrane was an addict; Billie Holiday was an addict; Eugene O'Neill was an addict. What would America be without addicts and post-addicts who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/john-coltrane-was-an-addict-billie-holiday-was-an-addict-eugene-o/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I think the important thing to understand first and foremost about Michael Jackson is that he was the international emblem of the African American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-the-important-thing-to-understand-first-and-foremost-about/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-mann/as-much-as-i-think-john-coltrane-belongs-on-the-list-i-think-without/) [Herbie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-mann/) > [I hear many extra-musical things somehow in Coltrane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-konitz/i-hear-many-extra-musical-things-somehow-in-coltrane/) [Lee Konitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-konitz/) > [Find a beautiful piece of art. If you fall in love with Van Gogh or Matisse or John Oliver Killens, or if you fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/find-a-beautiful-piece-of-art-if-you-fall-in-love-with-van-gogh-or/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [My dad would play me all of these records: Miles Davis records, John Coltrane records, Bill Evans records, a lot of jazz records. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eldar-djangirov/my-dad-would-play-me-all-of-these-records-miles-davis-records-john/) [Eldar Djangirov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eldar-djangirov/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [ John \[Coltrane\] was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace and he left in peace; but during his time here, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ayler/john-coltrane-was-like-a-visitor-to-this-planet-he-came-in-peace-and/) [Albert Ayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ayler/) > [I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/i-think-we-ve-all-had-enough-of-coltrane-saxophonists-there-s-a-case/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. 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In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Courage is the enabling virtue for any philosopher - for any human being, I think, in the end. Courage to think, courage to love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/courage-is-the-enabling-virtue-for-any-philosopher-for-any-human/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Beethoven quotes > [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/) [Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/) > [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/) [Maynard Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-solomon/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/) [Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/) > [“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/) > [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/) [Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/) > [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/) [Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/) > [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) [Browse all 240 Beethoven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beethoven/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me, musicians are poets. 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