--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The pleasure we obtain from music comes…" description: "\"The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.\" — Gottfried Leibniz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/gottfried-leibniz-3585_aesthetic_the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes_270485.png" --- # The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but… ![“The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” quote by Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/gottfried-leibniz-3585_aesthetic_the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes_270485.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/gottfried-leibniz-3585_aesthetic_the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes_270485.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/gottfried-leibniz-3585_aesthetic_the-pleasure-we-obtain-from-music-comes_270485.png) > “The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music's pleasure arises from unconscious counting, making it hidden arithmetic. **In simple terms:** Music is hidden math. Key Takeaway Recognize patterns in music. Themes music theory mathematics perception Mood intellectual curious Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - music education - composition - audio engineering Key Concepts cognitive science aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing this change your listening? - Can music be appreciated without math? A Different Perspective Not all music feels mathematical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Arithmetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-theory/) [Playing music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-music/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/music-is-nothing-but-unconscious-arithmetic/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Who will in time present pleasure refrain, shall in time to come the more pleasure obtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/who-will-in-time-present-pleasure-refrain-shall-in-time-to-come-the/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [“Music is an unconscious exercise in metaphysics in which the mind does not know it is philosophizing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/music-is-an-unconscious-exercise-in-metaphysics-in-which-the-mind/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I am just fascinated by music and I want to know how to identify all the things I love about it; to me music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finneas/i-am-just-fascinated-by-music-and-i-want-to-know-how-to-identify-all/) [Finneas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finneas/) > [I've never really been schooled in music theory. I'm a guitar player, and I attack the guitar in a certain way that it not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-borland/i-ve-never-really-been-schooled-in-music-theory-i-m-a-guitar-player/) [Wes Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-borland/) > [“So one might say that music killed him, that he was felled by music. It's a theory. String theory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-richler/so-one-might-say-that-music-killed-him-that-he-was-felled-by-music-it/) [Emma Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-richler/) > [I always wanted to be a musician, 100 percent, my whole life. I went to school, I did music theory, I did voice training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adria-petty/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-musician-100-percent-my-whole-life-i-went-to/) [Adria Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adria-petty/) > [I was guided into piano lessons and 'guided' is a nice way of saying 'forced.' 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Because I don't come from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-lekman/i-had-a-drummer-in-my-band-who-started-teaching-me-tricks-to-come-up/) [Jens Lekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-lekman/) > [Many musicians are fabulously skilled at playing the black dots on the printed page, but mystified by how the dots got there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/many-musicians-are-fabulously-skilled-at-playing-the-black-dots-on/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [I met my wife when we were both 19 or 20, at a music school where she was taking voice and piano lessons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/i-met-my-wife-when-we-were-both-19-or-20-at-a-music-school-where-she/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [I'm maybe too rude with myself but the fact is that I don't know music theory so I can't tell myself "it's ok now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilou/i-m-maybe-too-rude-with-myself-but-the-fact-is-that-i-don-t-know/) [Marilou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilou/) > [I think my knowledge of music theory is rooted in jazz theory, and a lot of the writers of standards - Rodgers and Hart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-think-my-knowledge-of-music-theory-is-rooted-in-jazz-theory-and-a/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [I learned to play by ear before I learned music theory. For me, that makes sense. After all, children learn to speak before they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/i-learned-to-play-by-ear-before-i-learned-music-theory-for-me-that/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [It's easy to get next to music theory, especially between your peers and music classes and so forth. You just pay attention. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/it-s-easy-to-get-next-to-music-theory-especially-between-your-peers/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) ## More by Gottfried Leibniz > [There are two famous labyrinths where our reason very often goes astray. One concerns the great question of the free and the necessary, above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-are-two-famous-labyrinths-where-our-reason-very-often-goes/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Either there are no corporeal substances, and bodies are merely phenomena which are true or consistent with each other, such as a rainbow or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/either-there-are-no-corporeal-substances-and-bodies-are-merely/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [The present is saturated with the past and pregnant with the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-present-is-saturated-with-the-past-and-pregnant-with-the-future/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Make me the the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/make-me-the-the-master-of-education-and-i-will-undertake-to-change/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [All the different classes of beings which taken together make up the universe are, in the ideas of God who knows distinctly their essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/all-the-different-classes-of-beings-which-taken-together-make-up-the/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [I hold that the mark of a genuine idea is that its possibility can be proved, either a priori by conceiving its cause or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-hold-that-the-mark-of-a-genuine-idea-is-that-its-possibility-can-be/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [The monad, of which we shall speak here, is nothing but a simple substance which enters into compounds; simple, that is to say, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-monad-of-which-we-shall-speak-here-is-nothing-but-a-simple/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [There is no way in which a simple substance could begin in the course of nature, since it cannot be formed by means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-no-way-in-which-a-simple-substance-could-begin-in-the-course/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [In symbols one observes an advantage in discovery which is greatest when they express the exact nature of a thing briefly and, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/in-symbols-one-observes-an-advantage-in-discovery-which-is-greatest/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [There is nothing without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-is-nothing-without-reason/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [God, possessing supreme and infinite wisdom, acts in the most perfect manner, not only metaphysically, but also morally speaking, and ... with respect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/god-possessing-supreme-and-infinite-wisdom-acts-in-the-most-perfect/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [It can have its effect only through the intervention of God, inasmuch as in the ideas of God a monad rightly demands that God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/it-can-have-its-effect-only-through-the-intervention-of-god-inasmuch/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [I do not conceive of any reality at all as without genuine unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/i-do-not-conceive-of-any-reality-at-all-as-without-genuine-unity/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [If we were magically shrunk and put into someone's brain while she was thinking, we would see all the pumps, pistons, gears and levers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/if-we-were-magically-shrunk-and-put-into-someone-s-brain-while-she/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [God makes nothing without order, and everything that forms itself develops imperceptibly out of small parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/god-makes-nothing-without-order-and-everything-that-forms-itself/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) [Explore all 127 Gottfried Leibniz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. 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I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. 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