--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People often complain that music is too…" description: "\"People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. Wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/felix-mendelssohn-27271_also_people-often-complain-that-music-is-too_1492983.jpg" --- # People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that… ![“People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me, it is exactly the opposite, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words.” quote by Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/felix-mendelssohn-27271_also_people-often-complain-that-music-is-too_1492983.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/felix-mendelssohn-27271_also_people-often-complain-that-music-is-too_1492983.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/felix-mendelssohn-27271_also_people-often-complain-that-music-is-too_1492983.jpg) > “People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me, it is exactly the opposite, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words.” [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that music conveys meaning more ambiguously than words, yet can express the unsaid. **In simple terms:** Music is vague, words clear. Key Takeaway Embrace music’s mystery. Themes art communication interpretation Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Concert listening - music education - creative writing Key Concepts aesthetics semantics Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity affect emotional impact? - Can music replace language? A Different Perspective Listeners may misinterpret intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [People usually complain that music is so ambiguous, and what they are supposed to think when they hear it is so unclear, while words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mendelssohn-felix/people-usually-complain-that-music-is-so-ambiguous-and-what-they-are/) Mendelssohn Felix > [What happens when an art form becomes ambiguous, I think, is that the standards are lowered. You can say anything is jazz. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefon-harris/what-happens-when-an-art-form-becomes-ambiguous-i-think-is-that-the/) [Stefon Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefon-harris/) > [I want the music to be ambiguous. Its tone gives you a context in which to start visualizing what you're feeling with the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-branca/i-want-the-music-to-be-ambiguous-its-tone-gives-you-a-context-in/) [Glenn Branca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-branca/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [These, too, seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/these-too-seem-to-me-so-ambiguous-so-vague-so-easily-misunderstood-in/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Trent likes to record guitars direct, whereas I've always preferred playing through an amplifier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisy-berkowitz/trent-likes-to-record-guitars-direct-whereas-i-ve-always-preferred/) [Daisy Berkowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisy-berkowitz/) > [There's a whole lot of songs that men just can't do. The words are from another time and represent too much of an emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boz-scaggs/there-s-a-whole-lot-of-songs-that-men-just-can-t-do-the-words-are/) [Boz Scaggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boz-scaggs/) > [Experience tells us that whereas that degree of recognition can happen for one or two actors, for the vast majority it doesn't, so what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mccabe/experience-tells-us-that-whereas-that-degree-of-recognition-can/) [Richard McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mccabe/) > [In Formula One, the car can make a difference in a way that a driver cannot. 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/it-s-marvelous-when-you-visit-tokyo-they-have-these-clubs-and-they-ll/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) > [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [Music is a lot more like solving an intricate puzzle with moments of pure, random creative bliss... whereas painting is much more purely random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/music-is-a-lot-more-like-solving-an-intricate-puzzle-with-moments-of/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) ## More by Felix Mendelssohn > [Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/though-everything-else-may-appear-shallow-and-repulsive-even-the/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [It's not that music is too imprecise for words, but too precise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/it-s-not-that-music-is-too-imprecise-for-words-but-too-precise/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [“I stayed at home because I prefer to be in my own room, with my own family, or in my garden — which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/i-stayed-at-home-because-i-prefer-to-be-in-my-own-room-with-my-own/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Life and art are not two different things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/life-and-art-are-not-two-different-things/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [This is what I think art is and what I demand of it: that it pull everyone in, that it show one person another's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/this-is-what-i-think-art-is-and-what-i-demand-of-it-that-it-pull/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [I dislike nothing more than finding fault with a man's nature or talent; it only depresses and worries and does no good; one cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/i-dislike-nothing-more-than-finding-fault-with-a-man-s-nature-or/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [I know perfectly well that no musician can make his thoughts or his talents different to what Heaven has made them; but I also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/i-know-perfectly-well-that-no-musician-can-make-his-thoughts-or-his/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Ever since I began to compose, I have remained true to my starting principle: not to write a page because no matter what public,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/ever-since-i-began-to-compose-i-have-remained-true-to-my-starting/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Never mind, put any book on the piano, and someone can turn from time to time, so I need not look as though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/never-mind-put-any-book-on-the-piano-and-someone-can-turn-from-time/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [These, too, seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/these-too-seem-to-me-so-ambiguous-so-vague-so-easily-misunderstood-in/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Pray to God that He might create is us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/pray-to-god-that-he-might-create-is-us-a-clean-heart-and-renew-a/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [Such a divine profession is art! 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