--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret of a great melody is a secret." description: "\"The secret of a great melody is a secret.\" — Dave Brubeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg" --- # The secret of a great melody is a secret. ![“The secret of a great melody is a secret.” quote by Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg) > “The secret of a great melody is a secret.” [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A great melody contains a hidden structure that gives it depth, even if that secret is not obvious. **In simple terms:** A great tune has a hidden secret. Key Takeaway Explore the underlying structure of music. Themes music creativity structure Mood inspired curious Type musical reflective When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - music education - listening sessions Key Concepts melodic development theory of harmony artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What makes a melody feel great to you? - How can you uncover hidden patterns in music? A Different Perspective The "secret" may be subjective, not a fixed formula. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Songwriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriting/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up listening to hits, and if I write something I feel, I think that's pretty mass appeal. I'm not very elitist with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-warren/i-grew-up-listening-to-hits-and-if-i-write-something-i-feel-i-think/) [Diane Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-warren/) > [Great melody over great riffs is, to me, the secret of it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/great-melody-over-great-riffs-is-to-me-the-secret-of-it-all/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) > [I love a great melody and wonderful lyrics that speak from the heart, and my music has that and speaks about it; but there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaskade/i-love-a-great-melody-and-wonderful-lyrics-that-speak-from-the-heart/) [Kaskade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaskade/) > [Melodies are very important in a song. Having a great melody and a great hook. That's what I would always come up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-jackson/melodies-are-very-important-in-a-song-having-a-great-melody-and-a/) [Jackie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-jackson/) > [We human beings are tuned such that we crave great melody and great lyrics. And if somebody writes a great song, it's timeless that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-garfunkel/we-human-beings-are-tuned-such-that-we-crave-great-melody-and-great/) [Art Garfunkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-garfunkel/) > [Sometimes I start with a great title or idea, sometimes a great melody will run through my mind; but the higher percentage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/sometimes-i-start-with-a-great-title-or-idea-sometimes-a-great-melody/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [Tchaikovsky was one of the great melody writers of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-newton-howard/tchaikovsky-was-one-of-the-great-melody-writers-of-all-time/) [James Newton Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-newton-howard/) > [I love great lyrics, and I love the way it could shape a tune into a very unpredictable one, and I also like taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/i-love-great-lyrics-and-i-love-the-way-it-could-shape-a-tune-into-a/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [But I think a song that is really emotionally packed, with a great melody that just will soar, that's the keeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/but-i-think-a-song-that-is-really-emotionally-packed-with-a-great/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [The secret of being a great actor is a love of food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yash-chopra/the-secret-of-being-a-great-actor-is-a-love-of-food/) [Yash Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yash-chopra/) > [“If you want to be great, you must learn the secret of great men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-want-to-be-great-you-must-learn-the-secret-of-great-men/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Being part of a secret is a great source of strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/being-part-of-a-secret-is-a-great-source-of-strength/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [It didn't matter that the story had begun, because Kathakali discovered long ago that the secret of the Great Stories is that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-god-of-small-things/it-didn-t-matter-that-the-story-had-begun-because-kathakali/) The God Of Small Things > [“The secret of all greatness is in knowing what to do with time. The secret of all the great men and women in history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-secret-of-all-greatness-is-in-knowing-what-to-do-with-time-the/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More by Dave Brubeck > [I think the church should strive to give parishioners good music. Music is as necessary for worship as a building with a beautiful altar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-think-the-church-should-strive-to-give-parishioners-good-music/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My own Brubeck Institute in California is turning out fantastic young jazz players, and I know great things will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-own-brubeck-institute-in-california-is-turning-out-fantastic-young/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [You have to be taught to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/you-have-to-be-taught-to-hate/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [When I was 20, Shostakovich was my favorite composer. I still find his Fifth Symphony wonderful, with its outstanding themes and rhythms. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/when-i-was-20-shostakovich-was-my-favorite-composer-i-still-find-his/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [Every individual should be expressing themselves, whether a politician or a minister or a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/every-individual-should-be-expressing-themselves-whether-a-politician/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [If I told you all the people that have secretly told me I've influenced them, you'd never believe it, and you'll never see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-i-told-you-all-the-people-that-have-secretly-told-me-i-ve/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [If there's a deadline, I work late. If not, I like to have normal hours, and get up early and work. When things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-there-s-a-deadline-i-work-late-if-not-i-like-to-have-normal-hours/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My mother Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck was a pianist who studied with Dame Myra Hess and Tobias Matthey. As a child in California I used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-mother-elizabeth-ivey-brubeck-was-a-pianist-who-studied-with-dame/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [That's the beauty of music. You can take a theme from a Bach sacred chorale and improvise. It doesn't make any difference where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/that-s-the-beauty-of-music-you-can-take-a-theme-from-a-bach-sacred/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [After the Second World War, I returned to California to study composition with Darius Milhaud, who wrote wonderful works like 'Le Boeuf sur le…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/after-the-second-world-war-i-returned-to-california-to-study/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [I started growing up in a hurry and taking a lot of the philosophy I'd heard from church as a kid a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-started-growing-up-in-a-hurry-and-taking-a-lot-of-the-philosophy-i/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My dad was the manager at the 45,000-acre ranch, but he owned his own 1,200-acre ranch, and I owned four cattle that he gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-dad-was-the-manager-at-the-45-000-acre-ranch-but-he-owned-his-own/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [Many people don't understand how disciplined you have to be to play jazz... And that is really the idea of democracy - freedom within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/many-people-don-t-understand-how-disciplined-you-have-to-be-to-play/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [The reality for me is simple. When music is written, it is usually categorized as classical. When it is improvised, it can still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-reality-for-me-is-simple-when-music-is-written-it-is-usually/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [I was always very aware of drummers. My oldest brother Henry was a drummer, and he drummed on everything in the house from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-was-always-very-aware-of-drummers-my-oldest-brother-henry-was-a/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) [Explore all 66 Dave Brubeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) ## More Melody quotes > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I am moved more by melodies, song structure, and evocative textures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geddy-lee/i-am-moved-more-by-melodies-song-structure-and-evocative-textures/) [Geddy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geddy-lee/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/there-were-people-who-incorporated-melody-before-me-but-i-would-deem/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-old-age-our-bodies-are-worn-out-instruments-on-which-the-soul/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“I love you beyond paint, beyond melodies, beyond words. And I hope you will always feel that, even when I'm not around to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/i-love-you-beyond-paint-beyond-melodies-beyond-words-and-i-hope-you/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [My plea therefore is this: Let us get our instruments tightly strung and our melodies sweetly sung. Let us not die with our music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/my-plea-therefore-is-this-let-us-get-our-instruments-tightly-strung/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [A well trained body is a beautiful instrument on which to play the melody of the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/a-well-trained-body-is-a-beautiful-instrument-on-which-to-play-the/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) > [If you're going to start with melody you'll need some tympani, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-krupa/if-you-re-going-to-start-with-melody-you-ll-need-some-tympani-i-think/) [Gene Krupa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-krupa/) > [“Some people look like they sound better than they actually sound, because they look confident and have good posture," once musician, a veteran of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/some-people-look-like-they-sound-better-than-they-actually-sound/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [A thrumming of piano-strings beyond the gardens and through the elms. At length the melody steals into my being. I know not when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-thrumming-of-piano-strings-beyond-the-gardens-and-through-the-elms/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 1,170 Melody quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret of a great melody is a secret.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave Brubeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Melody" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/085/dave-brubeck-10370_melody_the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret_1041236.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret of a great melody is a secret.” — Dave Brubeck", "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": "Dave Brubeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The secret of a great melody...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-secret-of-a-great-melody-is-a-secret/#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 } } ] } ```