--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even my colleagues don't read classic…" description: "\"Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my feeling is that if you don't do that then you're not really practicing your craft. That's how y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/gary-giddins-25694_classic_even-my-colleagues-don-t-read-classic-cr_282889.jpg" --- # Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my… ![“Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my feeling is that if you don't do that then you're not really practicing your craft. That's how you learn how to do it. You don't learn how to write about jazz just from listening to jazz. You learn how to write by reading the great writers and…” quote by Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/gary-giddins-25694_classic_even-my-colleagues-don-t-read-classic-cr_282889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/gary-giddins-25694_classic_even-my-colleagues-don-t-read-classic-cr_282889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/gary-giddins-25694_classic_even-my-colleagues-don-t-read-classic-cr_282889.jpg) > “Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my feeling is that if you don't do that then you're not really practicing your craft. That's how you learn how to do it. You don't learn how to write about jazz just from listening to jazz. You learn how to write by reading the great writers and how they worked, the great music critics.” [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading masters is essential to mastering a craft **In simple terms:** Learn by studying great critics Key Takeaway Study exemplary work to improve your own Themes education craft mastery reading Mood reflective instructive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - writing - music criticism - creative professions Key Concepts critical analysis artistic development Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance study with personal voice? - What sources best illustrate technique? A Different Perspective Overreliance on imitation can stifle originality ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Classic Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic-criticism-2738957/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Great music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-music/) [Great writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-writers/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz Learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-learn-812139/) [Learn Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-write/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Listening Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening-jazz-607788/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Write Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-jazz-2738956/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been a jazz fan, but I don't write much about jazz, because I don't have the chops. But it's really, really hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/i-ve-always-been-a-jazz-fan-but-i-don-t-write-much-about-jazz-because/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I'm sure someone out there has a workable solution. But what do I know? I make comic books and write about jazz. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/i-m-sure-someone-out-there-has-a-workable-solution-but-what-do-i-know/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [It's like jazz: You learn the rules to break them - as long as you can break them in a meaningful way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-north/it-s-like-jazz-you-learn-the-rules-to-break-them-as-long-as-you-can/) [Ryan North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-north/) > [If they think they are doing something new, they ought to do what I do every day - spend at least two hours every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-hawkins/if-they-think-they-are-doing-something-new-they-ought-to-do-what-i-do/) [Coleman Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-hawkins/) > [Since my father is a musician as well, he taught me growing up that if you can play jazz, you can learn all instruments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-trainor/since-my-father-is-a-musician-as-well-he-taught-me-growing-up-that-if/) [Meghan Trainor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-trainor/) > [In the last few years I've been listening to jazz more than anything else. I listen to a lot of world music and experimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/in-the-last-few-years-i-ve-been-listening-to-jazz-more-than-anything/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [I grew up with classical music blasting in my parents' living room and my older brother's practicing saxophone in his room listening to jazz...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-de-la-baume/i-grew-up-with-classical-music-blasting-in-my-parents-living-room-and/) [Josephine de La Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-de-la-baume/) > [I've been playing too much guitar I, I've been listening to jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevershoutnever/i-ve-been-playing-too-much-guitar-i-i-ve-been-listening-to-jazz/) [Nevershoutnever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevershoutnever/) > [Lars Ulrich is not a jazz drummer, but he grew up listening to jazz. Why? Because his father, Torben - an incredible tennis player…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trujillo/lars-ulrich-is-not-a-jazz-drummer-but-he-grew-up-listening-to-jazz/) [Robert Trujillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trujillo/) > [We were either listening to jazz or Robert Johnson, the old blues man, but not to our peers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-trucks/we-were-either-listening-to-jazz-or-robert-johnson-the-old-blues-man/) [Butch Trucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-trucks/) > [Grover Washington was my main influence, and when I went to college, I started listening to more of the jazz masters like Sonny Rollins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-g/grover-washington-was-my-main-influence-and-when-i-went-to-college-i/) [Kenny G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-g/) > [So our ears got used to listening to jazz in the place that it was that the bass player could not play. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-vitous/so-our-ears-got-used-to-listening-to-jazz-in-the-place-that-it-was/) [Miroslav Vitous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-vitous/) > [I listened to the radio, so I was influenced by everyone from Michael Jackson to Milli Vanilli. But thankfully my dad had a collection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-listened-to-the-radio-so-i-was-influenced-by-everyone-from-michael/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [I don't really listen to a lot of stuff that sounds real similar to me because I work on that kind of music all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-don-t-really-listen-to-a-lot-of-stuff-that-sounds-real-similar-to/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [I love jazz. So to me, there are two main types of jazz. There's dancing jazz, and then there's listening jazz. Listening jazz is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-love-jazz-so-to-me-there-are-two-main-types-of-jazz-there-s-dancing/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) ## More by Gary Giddins > [I'm a critic. That means you are a writer. So, yes, you have to make yourself an authority on whatever subject it's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/i-m-a-critic-that-means-you-are-a-writer-so-yes-you-have-to-make/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [You're writing for some version of yourself. You're writing the kinds of things that you like to read or wanted to read at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/you-re-writing-for-some-version-of-yourself-you-re-writing-the-kinds/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [One of the things I always underscore when I teach criticism is that young critics, or would be critics, frequently have this illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/one-of-the-things-i-always-underscore-when-i-teach-criticism-is-that/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [Writing style is something is a consequence of who you are. I think that I had a certain propensity for a style that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/writing-style-is-something-is-a-consequence-of-who-you-are-i-think/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [I think all of us begin as writers. I wanted to be a writer from the time I as eight, long before I heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/i-think-all-of-us-begin-as-writers-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-from-the/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [Humility is a very important trait in a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/humility-is-a-very-important-trait-in-a-critic/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [People should not feel intimidated by received wisdom. You have to discover it yourself. If I tell you that Armstrong is great, it's meaningless;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/people-should-not-feel-intimidated-by-received-wisdom-you-have-to/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [I hate the idea of turning jazz into homework assignments. I would never have a quiz saying, "Who's the clarinetist on the Hot Five?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/i-hate-the-idea-of-turning-jazz-into-homework-assignments-i-would/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [Jazz is for joy. It's for euphoria, it's for emotion, and anguish, and excitement, and all of the joys that great art can produce,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/jazz-is-for-joy-it-s-for-euphoria-it-s-for-emotion-and-anguish-and/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [Bing Crosby said that Armstrong is "the beginning and the end of music in America," and he wasn't far wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/bing-crosby-said-that-armstrong-is-the-beginning-and-the-end-of-music/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [Nobody knows where jazz is going, because nobody has ever known where jazz was going. I mean, you couldn't possibly predict the Swing Era…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/nobody-knows-where-jazz-is-going-because-nobody-has-ever-known-where/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [When I teach criticism, the first thing I say, and this sometimes pisses off younger - I mean, students, is that, opinions are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/when-i-teach-criticism-the-first-thing-i-say-and-this-sometimes/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [If you're genuinely candid and expressive then you're never wrong, even when you are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/if-you-re-genuinely-candid-and-expressive-then-you-re-never-wrong/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [You've got to have a gimmick if your band sucks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/you-ve-got-to-have-a-gimmick-if-your-band-sucks/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) > [I can't get very excited about a musician who can do Art Tatum because I've got the Art Tatum records. I want to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-giddins/i-can-t-get-very-excited-about-a-musician-who-can-do-art-tatum/) [Gary Giddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) [Explore all 22 Gary Giddins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-giddins/) ## More Classic quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis-barrault/a-classic-is-like-a-hidden-treasure-its-core-is-buried-under-so-many/) [Jean-Louis Barrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis-barrault/) > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [One glance and I knew exactly who and what he was. The classic alpha male, the kind who had spurred evolution forward about five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/one-glance-and-i-knew-exactly-who-and-what-he-was-the-classic-alpha/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [Classic mountaineering grows out of a traditional romantic imagination. Its heart is the feeling, its path is blood, sweat and tears, and its restriction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-kurtyka/classic-mountaineering-grows-out-of-a-traditional-romantic/) [Wojciech Kurtyka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-kurtyka/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-story-being-told-in-star-wars-is-a-classic-one-every-few-hundred/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [In the tradition of the classic songwriter rooms like The Bluebird in Nashville, Strange Brew is a gift to the music community in Austin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-cross/in-the-tradition-of-the-classic-songwriter-rooms-like-the-bluebird-in/) [Christopher Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-cross/) > [It's sad that women characters have lost so much ground in popular movies. Didn't 'Thelma and Louise' prove that women want to see women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-quivers/it-s-sad-that-women-characters-have-lost-so-much-ground-in-popular/) [Robin Quivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-quivers/) > [Classic book is a book which people praise, but do not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/classic-book-is-a-book-which-people-praise-but-do-not-read/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) [Browse all 1,505 Classic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even my colleagues don't read classic criticism. And my feeling is that if you don't do that then you're not really practicing your craft. That's how you learn how to do it. You don't learn how to write about jazz just from listening to jazz. 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