--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can see forms and shapes in my mind…" description: "\"I can see forms and shapes in my mind when I solo, just as a painter can see forms and shapes when he starts painting. And I can see different colors.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elvin-jones-45398_artist_i-can-see-forms-and-shapes-in-my-mind-wh_2577862.png" --- # I can see forms and shapes in my mind when I solo, just as… ![“I can see forms and shapes in my mind when I solo, just as a painter can see forms and shapes when he starts painting. And I can see different colors.” quote by Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elvin-jones-45398_artist_i-can-see-forms-and-shapes-in-my-mind-wh_2577862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elvin-jones-45398_artist_i-can-see-forms-and-shapes-in-my-mind-wh_2577862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/elvin-jones-45398_artist_i-can-see-forms-and-shapes-in-my-mind-wh_2577862.png) > “I can see forms and shapes in my mind when I solo, just as a painter can see forms and shapes when he starts painting. And I can see different colors.” [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes improvisational imagination likening it to a painter visualizing forms and colors while creating music. **In simple terms:** Musicians see music like painters see images. Key Takeaway Cultivate vivid mental imagery in improvisation. Themes creativity improvisation visualization music artistic perception Mood inspirational reflective Type artistic insight musical philosophy When to use this quote - solo performance - composition - art education Key Concepts synesthetic perception creative process musical imagination Questions to Reflect On - Can visualizing music improve performance? - How does this compare to other art forms? A Different Perspective Not all musicians experience synesthetic imagery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different colors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-colors/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-music/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-solo-1751091/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painter Forms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter-forms-1751092/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-different-1370643/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Shapes Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes-mind-320030/) [Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solo/) ## Related quotes > [When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/when-the-pawn-hits-the-conflicts-he-thinks-like-a-king-what-he-knows/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [It was definitely in my mind to do a solo album, but I didn't know it would take this long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britta-phillips/it-was-definitely-in-my-mind-to-do-a-solo-album-but-i-didn-t-know-it/) [Britta Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britta-phillips/) > [What repeatedly enters your mind and occupies your mind, eventually shapes your mind, and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/what-repeatedly-enters-your-mind-and-occupies-your-mind-eventually/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Interpersonal experience shapes the mind as it continues to develop throughout the lifespan... Interactions with the environment, especially relationships with other people, directly shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/interpersonal-experience-shapes-the-mind-as-it-continues-to-develop/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [“His brain was in one of those states that are both violent and yet frighteningly calm, in which thought runs so deep it blots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/his-brain-was-in-one-of-those-states-that-are-both-violent-and-yet/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [If I have a blank piece of paper and I draw a red figure, immediately this brings sounds and shapes to my mind. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/if-i-have-a-blank-piece-of-paper-and-i-draw-a-red-figure-immediately/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [The mind shapes the body, and the body shapes the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-cuddy/the-mind-shapes-the-body-and-the-body-shapes-the-mind/) [Amy Cuddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-cuddy/) > [“When mind uses itself without the hands it runs the circle and may go too fast… The hand that shapes the mind into clay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/when-mind-uses-itself-without-the-hands-it-runs-the-circle-and-may-go/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [No one wants my painting because it is different from other people's peculiar, crazy public that demands the greatest possible degree of originality on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/no-one-wants-my-painting-because-it-is-different-from-other-people-s/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Every single painting is different. I'm always trying to figure out what I'm interested in. Usually when I go through and I make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/every-single-painting-is-different-i-m-always-trying-to-figure-out/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [Now painting is different. It's something recollected in tranquility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-levine/now-painting-is-different-it-s-something-recollected-in-tranquility/) [Jack Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-levine/) > [If you are feeling blue, try painting yourself a different color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-cheatem/if-you-are-feeling-blue-try-painting-yourself-a-different-color/) [Hannah Cheatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-cheatem/) > [There are different kinds of concentration required to make a painting, different kinds of being present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/there-are-different-kinds-of-concentration-required-to-make-a/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [My experience with life is that it's very fragmented. In one place certain kinds of thing occur, and in another place a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/my-experience-with-life-is-that-it-s-very-fragmented-in-one-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Like commercial stuff is sort of cheap and disposable and fun and can be sort of interesting in many ways. I love being in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/like-commercial-stuff-is-sort-of-cheap-and-disposable-and-fun-and-can/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More by Elvin Jones > [Music is a way of life, it's everything. I play drums and that's what I believe I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/music-is-a-way-of-life-it-s-everything-i-play-drums-and-that-s-what-i/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [The greatest contribution jazz has made in music has been to replace the role of the conductor with a member of the ensemble who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/the-greatest-contribution-jazz-has-made-in-music-has-been-to-replace/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [It's the honesty you apply to your playing that makes music enjoyable. The style of the music has little to do with it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/it-s-the-honesty-you-apply-to-your-playing-that-makes-music-enjoyable/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [To me John Coltrane was like an angel on earth. He struck me that deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/to-me-john-coltrane-was-like-an-angel-on-earth-he-struck-me-that/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [If there's any such thing as a perfect man, I think John Coltrane was one. And I think that kind of perfection has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/if-there-s-any-such-thing-as-a-perfect-man-i-think-john-coltrane-was/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [That's what the drummer is supposed to do. Keep the time. If you can do something else besides that, fine. But the time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/that-s-what-the-drummer-is-supposed-to-do-keep-the-time-if-you-can-do/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [I feel very, very gratified when people are complimentary to what I have done or appreciated it with sincerity... It makes me feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/i-feel-very-very-gratified-when-people-are-complimentary-to-what-i/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) > [You should get the feeling you should move. That's what is meant when people say the music moves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvin-jones/you-should-get-the-feeling-you-should-move-that-s-what-is-meant-when/) [Elvin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) [Explore all 9 Elvin Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvin-jones/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. 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