--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think there is much American music." description: "\"I don't think there is much American music.\" — Harrison Birtwistle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png" --- # I don't think there is much American music. ![“I don't think there is much American music.” quote by Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png) > “I don't think there is much American music.” [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests American music lacks distinctiveness or depth compared to other traditions. **In simple terms:** American music is seen as lacking uniqueness. Key Takeaway Consider exploring diverse musical traditions. Themes cultural identity music criticism nationalism Mood reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - music education - playlist curation - radio programming - cross‑cultural collaboration Key Concepts Aesthetic value cultural homogenization Questions to Reflect On - What defines a nation's musical identity? - How does globalization affect musical uniqueness? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook regional diversity and genre innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-music/) [Don Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-think/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Think American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-american/) ## Related quotes > [I think that American music, for me, it's a synthesis of a lot of different things. But for me growing up in North Carolina,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-taylor/i-think-that-american-music-for-me-it-s-a-synthesis-of-a-lot-of/) [James Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-taylor/) > [I think the American people, with some justification, think that most politicians live in la-la land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kennedy/i-think-the-american-people-with-some-justification-think-that-most/) [John Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kennedy/) > [I think American industry has lost perspective about their products.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russel-honore/i-think-american-industry-has-lost-perspective-about-their-products/) [Russel Honore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russel-honore/) > [I think the American public wants a solemn ass as a president, and I think I'll go along with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/i-think-the-american-public-wants-a-solemn-ass-as-a-president-and-i/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Are there many Tims in America? I don't know if I can think of many American Tims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/are-there-many-tims-in-america-i-don-t-know-if-i-can-think-of-many/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [I think there is an American attitude that is very hard to break which is "We're great. Who wouldn't want to be like us?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/i-think-there-is-an-american-attitude-that-is-very-hard-to-break/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [I actually think if the American people understood what was going on instead of just being told tidbits by this administration, they would actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/i-actually-think-if-the-american-people-understood-what-was-going-on/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I don't think of myself as either American or Australian really, I'm a true hybrid. It's a good thing for me because both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-either-american-or-australian-really-i-m-a/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [I don't think the American people, if you look historically, elect angry candidates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/i-don-t-think-the-american-people-if-you-look-historically-elect/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I think the American People are well aware at this point that both people parties are working with large financial and corporate interests to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-ratigan/i-think-the-american-people-are-well-aware-at-this-point-that-both/) [Dylan Ratigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-ratigan/) > [I think the American people are very smart in understanding our country is very trustworthy with nuclear weapons. We've had them from the beginning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-barbour/i-think-the-american-people-are-very-smart-in-understanding-our/) [Haley Barbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-barbour/) > [I've said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/i-ve-said-many-a-time-that-i-think-the-un-american-activities/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [The American people recognize that their careers or their kids' careers are going to have to be more dynamic. That they might not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-recognize-that-their-careers-or-their-kids/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think the American people have a generous instinct. They understand that we're a nation of immigrants. But if those folks are going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-think-the-american-people-have-a-generous-instinct-they-understand/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Harrison Birtwistle > [I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-have-ideas-so-much-as-there-are-things-which-constantly/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I didn't have a record player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-didn-t-have-a-record-player/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-thing-about-influence-is-that-any-composer-worth-anything-will/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I always write the pieces I want to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-always-write-the-pieces-i-want-to-write/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [Minimalism now is a reaction to what came before. It's absolutely of its time. Music moved into the set theory thing, and moved out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/minimalism-now-is-a-reaction-to-what-came-before-it-s-absolutely-of/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I think there are influences that you open the door to, and influences that come under the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-think-there-are-influences-that-you-open-the-door-to-and-influences/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-wrote-music-as-soon-as-i-knew-notation/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-opera-tells-the-story-with-all-the-built-in-contradictions-and/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I'm not a music lover in the sense that I look for something to have on. I've never had that attitude to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-m-not-a-music-lover-in-the-sense-that-i-look-for-something-to-have/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [I think music has gone through a period of something very severe, rather radical, rather the way painting did with cubism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-think-music-has-gone-through-a-period-of-something-very-severe/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-piece-that-had-a-large-influence-on-me-was-turangalila/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/there-are-rhythmic-ideas-which-sometimes-only-work-up-to-a-point-in/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [The theatre only knows what it's doing next week, not like the opera, where they say: What are we going to do in five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/the-theatre-only-knows-what-it-s-doing-next-week-not-like-the-opera/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [This sounds horribly pretentious, but I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/this-sounds-horribly-pretentious-but-i-like-to-think-that-if-music/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) > [When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I'd been writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/when-i-was-confronted-with-official-tuition-the-academic-thing-i/) [Harrison Birtwistle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) [Explore all 29 Harrison Birtwistle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think there is much American music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harrison Birtwistle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-music/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-music/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e9/harrison-birtwistle-21154_american_i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-mus_2359765.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think there is much American music.” — Harrison Birtwistle", "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": "Harrison Birtwistle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-birtwistle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think there is much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-music/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-birtwistle/i-don-t-think-there-is-much-american-music/#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 } } ] } ```