--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...music does not mean anything at all…" description: "\"“...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it to speak to you in such concrete terms. It can evoke, affect, cajole and persuade, but it's ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg" --- # ...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it… ![“...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it to speak to you in such concrete terms. It can evoke, affect, cajole and persuade, but it's language is not that of speech. Indeed, if a composer can say in literal terms what his music means, he had much better write prose than notes…” quote by Imogen Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg) > ““...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it to speak to you in such concrete terms. It can evoke, affect, cajole and persuade, but it's language is not that of speech. Indeed, if a composer can say in literal terms what his music means, he had much better write prose than notes... Let music, when you hear it, work on you in its own way...let it flow around you and find its own way to touch you. It is not something you must translate moment by moment. Give it your attention. If it fails to speak to you in its own manner then, well, it is a failure of the music, not in yourself.”” [Imogen Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-robertson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues music communicates non‑verbally, urging listeners to feel rather than translate it. **In simple terms:** Music speaks through feeling, not literal words. Key Takeaway Listen deeply to music’s own language. Themes Music Art Communication Perception Emotion Mood immersive thoughtful Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - concert listening - music therapy - art criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts Non‑verbal expression Aesthetic experience Listener engagement Creative interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does music affect you without words? - Can music be “translated” into prose? A Different Perspective May dismiss analytical approaches. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer-say-2791425/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Let Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-music/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-does/) [Music Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-means/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Terms Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terms-music-1580186/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you think of the way a composer or say a pop arranger works - he has an idea and he writes it down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-think-of-the-way-a-composer-or-say-a-pop-arranger-works-he-has/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Battlestar Galactica' was my first job as a composer. To say that it changed my life is the understatement of the century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/battlestar-galactica-was-my-first-job-as-a-composer-to-say-that-it/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [With television you are producing hours and hours of music and for film it is a shorter experience for both the audience and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/with-television-you-are-producing-hours-and-hours-of-music-and-for-2/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-mahler/if-a-composer-could-say-what-he-had-to-say-in-words-he-would-not/) [Gustav Mahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-mahler/) > [It's not a special taste. An American composer should have something to say to a cab driver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/it-s-not-a-special-taste-an-american-composer-should-have-something/) [Morton Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-gould/) > [I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macklemore/i-want-to-be-someone-who-is-respected-and-not-just-in-terms-of-my/) [Macklemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macklemore/) > [Music is the purest form of art... therefore true poets...seek to express the universe in terms of music. The singer has everything within him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/music-is-the-purest-form-of-art-therefore-true-poets-seek-to-express/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Composers often think in terms of music and not of an instrument itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michala-petri/composers-often-think-in-terms-of-music-and-not-of-an-instrument/) [Michala Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michala-petri/) > [It's not like somewhere along the way I decided to be a total formalist in terms of music and to not care about content;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/it-s-not-like-somewhere-along-the-way-i-decided-to-be-a-total/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [Sales have never been a source of joy for me in terms of my music. It's really about who's turning up at your shows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/sales-have-never-been-a-source-of-joy-for-me-in-terms-of-my-music-it/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [Music is the purest form of art... therefore true poets, they who are seers, seek to express the universe in terms of music... The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/music-is-the-purest-form-of-art-therefore-true-poets-they-who-are/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [I see my life in terms of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-see-my-life-in-terms-of-music/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I usually think in terms of music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-west/i-usually-think-in-terms-of-music/) [Shane West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-west/) > [In terms of music, I can try anything I want, even something that doesn't work at all, because I'm not putting my career in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/in-terms-of-music-i-can-try-anything-i-want-even-something-that-doesn/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [So I don't really have a clear plan, in terms of music, as to where I want to head in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nobuo-uematsu/so-i-don-t-really-have-a-clear-plan-in-terms-of-music-as-to-where-i/) [Nobuo Uematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nobuo-uematsu/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it to speak to you in such concrete terms. It can evoke, affect, cajole and persuade, but it's language is not that of speech. Indeed, if a composer can say in literal terms what his music means, he had much better write prose than notes... Let music, when you hear it, work on you in its own way...let it flow around you and find its own way to touch you. It is not something you must translate moment by moment. Give it your attention. If it fails to speak to you in its own manner then, well, it is a failure of the music, not in yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Imogen Robertson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-robertson/music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you-cannot-ask-it-to-speak-to-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-robertson/music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you-cannot-ask-it-to-speak-to-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bab/imogen-robertson-170575_failure_music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you_1486772.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...music does not mean anything at all. You cannot ask it to speak to you in such concrete terms. It can…” — Imogen Robertson", "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": "Imogen Robertson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-robertson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...music does not mean anything at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-robertson/music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you-cannot-ask-it-to-speak-to-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-robertson/music-does-not-mean-anything-at-all-you-cannot-ask-it-to-speak-to-you/#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 } } ] } ```