--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no room in music for the…" description: "\"There is no room in music for the second-rate - it might just as well be the nineteenth-rate.\" — Gustav Holst" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/gustav-holst-39174_might_there-is-no-room-in-music-for-the-second_987047.jpg" --- # There is no room in music for the second-rate - it might… ![“There is no room in music for the second-rate - it might just as well be the nineteenth-rate.” quote by Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/gustav-holst-39174_might_there-is-no-room-in-music-for-the-second_987047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/gustav-holst-39174_might_there-is-no-room-in-music-for-the-second_987047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ba/gustav-holst-39174_might_there-is-no-room-in-music-for-the-second_987047.jpg) > “There is no room in music for the second-rate - it might just as well be the nineteenth-rate.” [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excellence demands highest quality; mediocrity is unacceptable in art **In simple terms:** Only top quality belongs in music Key Takeaway Strive for excellence in creation Themes art excellence standards Mood determined critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - musical composition - performance - education - critical review Key Concepts Aesthetic standards creative integrity Questions to Reflect On - What defines "second-rate" in your field? - How can you maintain high standards? A Different Perspective Mediocre work dilutes artistic value ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Nineteenth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nineteenth/) [Second rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-rate/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [We came along at a time when people were really focused on music. 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It's healthy to work that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-do-my-music-for-me-second-for-my-entourage-and-at-the-end-for-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [“Music is a second language to my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-arps/music-is-a-second-language-to-my-heart/) Mara Arps > [Teach the student first, the music second and the piano third.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-elliott-clark/teach-the-student-first-the-music-second-and-the-piano-third/) Frances Elliott Clark > [He must understand that if he is the world's finest plum and someone he loves does not like plums, he has the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/he-must-understand-that-if-he-is-the-world-s-finest-plum-and-someone/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [If an enterprise does not aspire to be the best of its kind, it will attract second-rate employees, and it will be soon forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/if-an-enterprise-does-not-aspire-to-be-the-best-of-its-kind-it-will/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [Love is like those second-rate hotels where all the luxury is in the lobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-jean-toulet/love-is-like-those-second-rate-hotels-where-all-the-luxury-is-in-the/) Paul-Jean Toulet > [If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. 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Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) > [Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate Freudian evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/why-in-the-hell-do-journalists-insist-on-coming-up-with-a-second-rate/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) ## More by Gustav Holst > [Music, being identical with heaven, isn't a thing of momentary thrills, or even hourly ones. It's a condition of eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/music-being-identical-with-heaven-isn-t-a-thing-of-momentary-thrills/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [I’ve learned what ‘classical’ means. It means something that sings and dances through sheer joy of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/i-ve-learned-what-classical-means-it-means-something-that-sings-and/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [“I love my love because my love loves me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/i-love-my-love-because-my-love-loves-me/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [Always ask for advice but never take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/always-ask-for-advice-but-never-take-it/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [The Heavenly Spheres make music for us, The Holy Twelve dance with us, All things join in the dance! Ye who dance not, know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/the-heavenly-spheres-make-music-for-us-the-holy-twelve-dance-with-us/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [One of the advantages of being over forty is that one begins to learn the difference between knowing and realising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/one-of-the-advantages-of-being-over-forty-is-that-one-begins-to-learn/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [Music-making as a means of getting money is hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/music-making-as-a-means-of-getting-money-is-hell/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [Failure is the most important part of an artist's training, and one you cannot afford to do without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/failure-is-the-most-important-part-of-an-artist-s-training-and-one/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [The enormity of the universe revealed by science cannot readily be grasped by the human brain, but the music of The Planets enables the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/the-enormity-of-the-universe-revealed-by-science-cannot-readily-be/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) > [Never compose anything unless the not composing of it becomes a positive nuisance to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-holst/never-compose-anything-unless-the-not-composing-of-it-becomes-a/) [Gustav Holst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) [Explore all 11 Gustav Holst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-holst/) ## More Might quotes > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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