--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all…" description: "\"The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all those very fast runs in the upper extremes, simply doesn't appeal to me. That's why I don't want to make my c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/gavin-bryars-22922_appeals_the-virtuoso-element-in-jazz-playing-all_1554104.jpg" --- # The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all those very fast… ![“The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all those very fast runs in the upper extremes, simply doesn't appeal to me. That's why I don't want to make my concerto "virtuosic" in the sense of a technical show-off. I want a beautiful sound and a melodic and lyrical line. I am more interested in the way…” quote by Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/gavin-bryars-22922_appeals_the-virtuoso-element-in-jazz-playing-all_1554104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/gavin-bryars-22922_appeals_the-virtuoso-element-in-jazz-playing-all_1554104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/gavin-bryars-22922_appeals_the-virtuoso-element-in-jazz-playing-all_1554104.jpg) > “The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all those very fast runs in the upper extremes, simply doesn't appeal to me. That's why I don't want to make my concerto "virtuosic" in the sense of a technical show-off. I want a beautiful sound and a melodic and lyrical line. I am more interested in the way someone can play musically.” [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The composer prefers musicality and lyrical beauty over technical flashiness in his work. **In simple terms:** He values sound and melody more than fast, showy runs. Key Takeaway Focus on musical expression, not virtuosity. Themes music artistry melody expression concerto Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - concert programming - composing - performance - teaching - listening Key Concepts musicality lyyrical line aesthetic preference Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance technical skill with emotional depth? - What makes a performance feel musically satisfying? A Different Perspective Technical showiness can distract from emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Lyrical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrical/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Showing off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/showing-off/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Virtuoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuoso/) ## Related quotes > [In order to play musically you have to learn the art of exaggerating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-still/in-order-to-play-musically-you-have-to-learn-the-art-of-exaggerating/) Ray Still > [For the moment, the jazz is playing; there is no melody, just notes, a myriad tiny tremors. The notes know no rest, an inflexibleorder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/for-the-moment-the-jazz-is-playing-there-is-no-melody-just-notes-a/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [I prefer to feel uncomfortable by participating in projects were I am not the specialist. I am always the one who knows nothing. Playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-claus/i-prefer-to-feel-uncomfortable-by-participating-in-projects-were-i-am/) [Gaspar Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-claus/) > [The reward for playing jazz is playing jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/the-reward-for-playing-jazz-is-playing-jazz/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [Anything you are shows up in your music - jazz is whatever you are, playing yourself, being yourself, letting your thoughts come through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lou-williams/anything-you-are-shows-up-in-your-music-jazz-is-whatever-you-are/) [Mary Lou Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-lou-williams/) > [My school music teacher, Al Bennest, introduced me to jazz by playing Louis Armstrong's record of "West End Blues" for me. I found more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crow/my-school-music-teacher-al-bennest-introduced-me-to-jazz-by-playing/) [Bill Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crow/) > [I suppose I am more comfortable with jazz because I have been playing it that much longer, and also because classical music is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/i-suppose-i-am-more-comfortable-with-jazz-because-i-have-been-playing/) [Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/) > [To me, Bill's musical heart is in Earthworks, in the jazz they are playing, in the acoustic kit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fripp/to-me-bill-s-musical-heart-is-in-earthworks-in-the-jazz-they-are/) [Robert Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fripp/) > [“Virtuoso? Are you serious? What kind of code name is that? Who's assigning code names these days? They should be shot. How can anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bevarly/virtuoso-are-you-serious-what-kind-of-code-name-is-that-who-s/) [Elizabeth Bevarly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bevarly/) > [“Provocative. Striking. Rachel Resnick is a virtuoso on the page. Her fearless examination of the desperate thirst to find love is guaranteed to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-dunn/provocative-striking-rachel-resnick-is-a-virtuoso-on-the-page-her/) Samantha Dunn > [When a pianist sits down and does a virtuoso performance he is in a technical sense transmitting more information to a machine than any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moog/when-a-pianist-sits-down-and-does-a-virtuoso-performance-he-is-in-a/) [Robert Moog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moog/) > [I have never learned to read or write music so I am not a virtuoso musician like the others you mentioned. I am completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-hensley/i-have-never-learned-to-read-or-write-music-so-i-am-not-a-virtuoso/) [Ken Hensley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-hensley/) > [It is one thing to be a virtuoso, but a different thing to play with compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/it-is-one-thing-to-be-a-virtuoso-but-a-different-thing-to-play-with/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [Well, I do expect a lot of myself. I'm a harsh critic because I know what I'm capable of. I have hit those occasional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-stevens/well-i-do-expect-a-lot-of-myself-i-m-a-harsh-critic-because-i-know/) Dave Stevens > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) Michael Brecker ## More by Gavin Bryars > [As I had collaborated with visual artists before whether on installations, on performance pieces, in the context of theatre works and as I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/as-i-had-collaborated-with-visual-artists-before-whether-on/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [When Philip Glass asked me if I would be interested in doing a new recording of Jesus' Blood he assumed that I would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/when-philip-glass-asked-me-if-i-would-be-interested-in-doing-a-new/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [I've heard though that there is a younger generation of tonal French composers who are reacting with vigour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/i-ve-heard-though-that-there-is-a-younger-generation-of-tonal-french/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Like an apparently strict musical form it breaks the five minute whole into its structural parts - a descriptive preamble, the action of taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/like-an-apparently-strict-musical-form-it-breaks-the-five-minute/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Music history has flowed under the bridges for many years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/music-history-has-flowed-under-the-bridges-for-many-years/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Similarly you can make a transition from one set of instruments to another imperceptibly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/similarly-you-can-make-a-transition-from-one-set-of-instruments-to/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [The project which we developed, however, was for a sound piece and I was initially curious that a sculptor should be interested in working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/the-project-which-we-developed-however-was-for-a-sound-piece-and-i/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [The academic area of new music or modern music festivals is not something which attracts me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/the-academic-area-of-new-music-or-modern-music-festivals-is-not/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [There's another way of making music, by touching the lives and feelings of ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/there-s-another-way-of-making-music-by-touching-the-lives-and/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [I currently spend a lot of time thinking about orchestration and every detail of a piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/i-currently-spend-a-lot-of-time-thinking-about-orchestration-and/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [I work very fast, keeping the ideas flowing but making sure they come out the way I intended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/i-work-very-fast-keeping-the-ideas-flowing-but-making-sure-they-come/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Writing tonal music now, you are not writing into the 19th Century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/writing-tonal-music-now-you-are-not-writing-into-the-19th-century/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [I have friends who have a CD mastering plant in Hollywood and they are very sceptical about European record labels' understanding of digital technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/i-have-friends-who-have-a-cd-mastering-plant-in-hollywood-and-they/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [Craft is part of the creative process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/craft-is-part-of-the-creative-process/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) > [I am writing something which I find satisfying and which I am prepared to put my name to as a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-bryars/i-am-writing-something-which-i-find-satisfying-and-which-i-am/) [Gavin Bryars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) [Explore all 26 Gavin Bryars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-bryars/) ## More Appeals quotes > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. 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Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [I sometimes find that my family's emphasis on stories, characters, and art that appeals directly to children rather than over their heads to adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/i-sometimes-find-that-my-family-s-emphasis-on-stories-characters-and/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [In my early teens, science fiction and fantasy had an almost-total hold over my imagination. Their outcast status was part of their appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/in-my-early-teens-science-fiction-and-fantasy-had-an-almost-total/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [The fact is that there is a profound spiritual hunger in the western world which, for a variety of reasons, its church is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-phillips/the-fact-is-that-there-is-a-profound-spiritual-hunger-in-the-western/) [Melanie Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-phillips/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Appeal to all scholars of stupidity in the world. 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