--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Symphony musicians are not trained in…" description: "\"Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.\" — Gunther Schuller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png" --- # Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising… ![“Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.” quote by Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png) > “Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.” [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Classical musicians typically lack improvisational training, especially in jazz, due to formal education focus. **In simple terms:** Classical training rarely includes jazz improvisation. Key Takeaway Encourage improvisation practice for classical players. Themes music education improvisation genre boundaries Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - orchestra rehearsals - music conservatory curriculum - cross‑genre collaborations Key Concepts classical training jazz style skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula integrate improvisation? - What benefits arise from genre blending? A Different Perspective Improvisation skills require time and cultural exposure beyond standard curricula. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Improvising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvising/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicians/) [Musicians Trained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicians-trained-2517610/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Symphony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symphony/) [Symphony Musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symphony-musicians-2517609/) [Trained Improvising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trained-improvising-2517611/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe a part of me recognized how right the improvising spirit of jazz is. Not the sounds, but the freedom to work with musicians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/maybe-a-part-of-me-recognized-how-right-the-improvising-spirit-of/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [After the war, once the bop revolution had taken hold, there were all kinds of young musicians, talented young musicians, who were ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/after-the-war-once-the-bop-revolution-had-taken-hold-there-were-all/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [So now, thirty years, forty years later, I mean, I could find a whole orchestra of a thousand to put these things together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/so-now-thirty-years-forty-years-later-i-mean-i-could-find-a-whole/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Maybe it's because improvisational people have the same kind of understood language when you're working together. It really only took, like, maybe an hour...feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-levy/maybe-it-s-because-improvisational-people-have-the-same-kind-of/) [Eugene Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-levy/) > [Even if you're improvising, the fact that beforehand you know certain things will work helps you make those improvisations successful. It really helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cale/even-if-you-re-improvising-the-fact-that-beforehand-you-know-certain/) [John Cale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cale/) > [As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-mann/as-much-as-i-think-john-coltrane-belongs-on-the-list-i-think-without/) [Herbie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-mann/) > [I think jazz is a beautiful, democratic music. It encourages musicians with very strong, and many times, very different points of view to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-miller/i-think-jazz-is-a-beautiful-democratic-music-it-encourages-musicians/) [Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-miller/) > [If you're improvising with Paul Reiser, man, you'd better hold on tight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-stern/if-you-re-improvising-with-paul-reiser-man-you-d-better-hold-on-tight/) [Daniel Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-stern/) > [In life, sometimes everything falls into place, and sometimes everything just falls to pieces. The key is to begin creating with these fallen pieces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/in-life-sometimes-everything-falls-into-place-and-sometimes/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Sometimes when you start improvising on stage, which I do a fair bit of, obviously you haven't planned it. But to be honest, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/sometimes-when-you-start-improvising-on-stage-which-i-do-a-fair-bit/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [I enjoy the challenge of taking something which was not meant for the piano, distilling its essence and writing or improvising it for/at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hersch/i-enjoy-the-challenge-of-taking-something-which-was-not-meant-for-the/) [Michael Hersch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hersch/) > [I found the recording sessions very freeing because you can really try things. When you're filming something, if you're improvising a film and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-found-the-recording-sessions-very-freeing-because-you-can-really/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I'm an improviser at heart, when I'm writing, I'm improvising in my head. When you're an improviser on stage, you can never be precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-armstrong/i-m-an-improviser-at-heart-when-i-m-writing-i-m-improvising-in-my/) [Scot Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-armstrong/) > [In the U.S., it's like, you start with a great script, and then on set - not everybody, but definitely in the Apatow group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/in-the-u-s-it-s-like-you-start-with-a-great-script-and-then-on-set/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [For the most part, improvising while cameras are rolling is very difficult. 99% of people you should never ask to do that, because they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/for-the-most-part-improvising-while-cameras-are-rolling-is-very/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) ## More by Gunther Schuller > [I wanted to be a painter and an artist. And it's interesting that in some of my later musical works, I refer so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-and-an-artist-and-it-s-interesting-that-in/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I don't hate work, composing is not work for me, it's my pleasure; it's my life. So why should I stop? If something is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-don-t-hate-work-composing-is-not-work-for-me-it-s-my-pleasure-it-s/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [So now, thirty years, forty years later, I mean, I could find a whole orchestra of a thousand to put these things together in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/so-now-thirty-years-forty-years-later-i-mean-i-could-find-a-whole/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [My whole childhood was filled with classical music and going to concerts of the New York Philharmonic and other New York ensembles and organizations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/my-whole-childhood-was-filled-with-classical-music-and-going-to/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Many people think of me as a modernist, as a radical in music, you know, someone who's always sort of at the avant-garde of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/many-people-think-of-me-as-a-modernist-as-a-radical-in-music-you-know/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [After the war, once the bop revolution had taken hold, there were all kinds of young musicians, talented young musicians, who were ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/after-the-war-once-the-bop-revolution-had-taken-hold-there-were-all/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I would like to read some books: I don't have time; I would like to continue working on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-would-like-to-read-some-books-i-don-t-have-time-i-would-like-to/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [My primary calling, I always knew since the age of 11, was as a composer, and so that had to take priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/my-primary-calling-i-always-knew-since-the-age-of-11-was-as-a/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [His musical inspiration operates in a world uncluttered by conventional bar lines, conventional chord changes, and conventional ways of blowing or fingering a saxophone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/his-musical-inspiration-operates-in-a-world-uncluttered-by/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [You know, I'm not gonna take my money with me to heaven or hell, wherever I'm going. So I want to do something good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/you-know-i-m-not-gonna-take-my-money-with-me-to-heaven-or-hell/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Well, because music is my life and music is not work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/well-because-music-is-my-life-and-music-is-not-work-for-me/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [So this anchoring in some way, in some important way in the past without repeating the past, but on the basis of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/so-this-anchoring-in-some-way-in-some-important-way-in-the-past/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [As long as I'm healthy and can keep going that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/as-long-as-i-m-healthy-and-can-keep-going-that-s-what-i-ll-do/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [Because I have sixty years of being a professional composer, conductor, musician, whatever, and you develop a lot of friendships and you get involved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/because-i-have-sixty-years-of-being-a-professional-composer-conductor/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [The record company started as an adjunct to that, to give young composers their first recorded performances; to give young musicians their first debut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/the-record-company-started-as-an-adjunct-to-that-to-give-young/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) [Explore all 24 Gunther Schuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) ## More Improvising quotes > [For the most part, improvising while cameras are rolling is very difficult. 99% of people you should never ask to do that, because they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/for-the-most-part-improvising-while-cameras-are-rolling-is-very/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [In the U.S., it's like, you start with a great script, and then on set - not everybody, but definitely in the Apatow group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/in-the-u-s-it-s-like-you-start-with-a-great-script-and-then-on-set/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [I'm an improviser at heart, when I'm writing, I'm improvising in my head. When you're an improviser on stage, you can never be precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scot-armstrong/i-m-an-improviser-at-heart-when-i-m-writing-i-m-improvising-in-my/) [Scot Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scot-armstrong/) > [I found the recording sessions very freeing because you can really try things. When you're filming something, if you're improvising a film and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/i-found-the-recording-sessions-very-freeing-because-you-can-really/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [I enjoy the challenge of taking something which was not meant for the piano, distilling its essence and writing or improvising it for/at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hersch/i-enjoy-the-challenge-of-taking-something-which-was-not-meant-for-the/) [Michael Hersch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hersch/) > [Sometimes when you start improvising on stage, which I do a fair bit of, obviously you haven't planned it. But to be honest, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/sometimes-when-you-start-improvising-on-stage-which-i-do-a-fair-bit/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [In life, sometimes everything falls into place, and sometimes everything just falls to pieces. The key is to begin creating with these fallen pieces.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/in-life-sometimes-everything-falls-into-place-and-sometimes/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [If you're improvising with Paul Reiser, man, you'd better hold on tight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-stern/if-you-re-improvising-with-paul-reiser-man-you-d-better-hold-on-tight/) [Daniel Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-stern/) > [I think jazz is a beautiful, democratic music. It encourages musicians with very strong, and many times, very different points of view to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-miller/i-think-jazz-is-a-beautiful-democratic-music-it-encourages-musicians/) [Marcus Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-miller/) > [As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-mann/as-much-as-i-think-john-coltrane-belongs-on-the-list-i-think-without/) [Herbie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-mann/) > [Even if you're improvising, the fact that beforehand you know certain things will work helps you make those improvisations successful. It really helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cale/even-if-you-re-improvising-the-fact-that-beforehand-you-know-certain/) [John Cale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cale/) > [Maybe it's because improvisational people have the same kind of understood language when you're working together. It really only took, like, maybe an hour...feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-levy/maybe-it-s-because-improvisational-people-have-the-same-kind-of/) [Eugene Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-levy/) > [Jazz music should be inclusive. Smooth jazz to me rules out a certain kind of drama and a certain tension that I think all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sanborn/jazz-music-should-be-inclusive-smooth-jazz-to-me-rules-out-a-certain/) [David Sanborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sanborn/) > [A person improvising is sometimes very fortunate that just at that second things coincide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-ornstein/a-person-improvising-is-sometimes-very-fortunate-that-just-at-that/) [Leo Ornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-ornstein/) > [I did a smaller gig with an acoustic guitar and a drum machine. In one song, something wrong happened with the drum machine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violante-placido/i-did-a-smaller-gig-with-an-acoustic-guitar-and-a-drum-machine-in-one/) [Violante Placido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violante-placido/) [Browse all 193 Improvising quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvising/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gunther Schuller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-improvising-certainly-not-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Improvising" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-improvising-certainly-not-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/gunther-schuller-24722_improvising_symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-im_253694.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Symphony musicians are not trained in improvising, certainly not in a jazz style.” — Gunther Schuller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gunther Schuller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Symphony musicians are not trained in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-improvising-certainly-not-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/symphony-musicians-are-not-trained-in-improvising-certainly-not-in-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```