--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I played a guitar with a file, and a…" description: "\"I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.\" — Jean-Michel Basquiat" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg" --- # I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer. ![“I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.” quote by Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg) > “I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.” [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Combining unconventional tools can create new artistic expressions. **In simple terms:** Using odd tools sparks creativity. Key Takeaway Experiment with unexpected materials. Themes creativity innovation artistic process Mood playful inquisitive Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - music production - visual art - performance - DIY projects Key Concepts experimentalism cross‑media improvisation Questions to Reflect On - How can unconventional tools reshape your work? - What risks do you accept when experimenting? A Different Perspective May lack technical precision without proper skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [File](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/file/) [File Synthesizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/file-synthesizer-1952018/) [Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar/) [Guitar File](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar-file-1952017/) [Played](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played/) [Played Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-guitar/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Synthesizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/synthesizer/) ## Related quotes > [A MIDI file contains coded instructions to play a particular series of notes on an electronic music synthesizer. A MIDI file is more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-petzold/a-midi-file-contains-coded-instructions-to-play-a-particular-series/) [Charles Petzold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-petzold/) > [I played guitar from the age of four or five. Every year there would be a slightly larger triangular box under the Christmas tree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-marr/i-played-guitar-from-the-age-of-four-or-five-every-year-there-would/) [Johnny Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-marr/) > [All the really good guitar players - Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, or even Bert Jansch or John Martin - I love all those people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vincent-mcmorrow/all-the-really-good-guitar-players-jimi-hendrix-jimmy-page-or-even/) [James Vincent McMorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vincent-mcmorrow/) > [I started working with synthesizer players, and I had to find new instruments. I needed a more complex sound, so I went to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/z-ev/i-started-working-with-synthesizer-players-and-i-had-to-find-new/) [Z'EV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/z-ev/) > [If you're a guitarist, you should not be intimidated by using your instrument as a synthesizer, but you shouldn't feel that you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-summers/if-you-re-a-guitarist-you-should-not-be-intimidated-by-using-your/) [Andy Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-summers/) > [You're forced to step into that performer role. I can't just hide behind a synthesizer forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-thorburn/you-re-forced-to-step-into-that-performer-role-i-can-t-just-hide/) [Nicholas Thorburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-thorburn/) > [If it's fast, no I don't have enough piano technique. In that case, it's probably been done on some kind of synthesizer or sequencer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bruford/if-it-s-fast-no-i-don-t-have-enough-piano-technique-in-that-case-it-s/) [Bill Bruford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bruford/) > [I have a Chamberlain I bought from some surfers in Westwood many years ago. It's an early analog synthesizer; it operates on tape loops.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-have-a-chamberlain-i-bought-from-some-surfers-in-westwood-many/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The most obvious thing you can't do with a guitar synthesizer is to really sound like a guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-summers/the-most-obvious-thing-you-can-t-do-with-a-guitar-synthesizer-is-to/) [Andy Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-summers/) > [A guitar being played by an actual person is never going to be as precise and perfect as a programmed synthesizer. But we maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bellamy/a-guitar-being-played-by-an-actual-person-is-never-going-to-be-as/) [Matt Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bellamy/) > [People shouldn't knock the synthesizer. It's an aid, and it depends on how you use it, just like any other instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusty-hill/people-shouldn-t-knock-the-synthesizer-it-s-an-aid-and-it-depends-on/) [Dusty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusty-hill/) > [It means basically I'm using the synthesizer more to change the sounds of other things rather than to use it as the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/it-means-basically-i-m-using-the-synthesizer-more-to-change-the/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [The use of electronics is a natural extension of the instrument - it is an electric guitar. So we guitarists have been plugging into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-brady/the-use-of-electronics-is-a-natural-extension-of-the-instrument-it-is/) [Tim Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-brady/) > [When you can inspire other people to do something they couldn't do before, that's a very satisfying feeling. Sometimes I meet people and they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-wiegand/when-you-can-inspire-other-people-to-do-something-they-couldn-t-do/) [Erik Wiegand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-wiegand/) > [My first synthesizer was the VCS3. I got it in Bristol in the late Sixties, long before Pink Floyd used them. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-jarre/my-first-synthesizer-was-the-vcs3-i-got-it-in-bristol-in-the-late/) [Jean-Michel Jarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-jarre/) ## More by Jean-Michel Basquiat > [Some days I can't get an idea, and I think, 'Man, I'm just washed up,' but it's just a mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/some-days-i-can-t-get-an-idea-and-i-think-man-i-m-just-washed-up-but/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-was-a-really-lousy-artist-as-a-kid-too-abstract-expressionist-or-i/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I am not a black artist, I am an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-am-not-a-black-artist-i-am-an-artist/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Medicine men live in caves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/medicine-men-live-in-caves/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Occasionally, when I get mad at a woman, I'll do some great, awful painting about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/occasionally-when-i-get-mad-at-a-woman-i-ll-do-some-great-awful/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [“Most Young Kings Get Their Heads Cut Off”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/most-young-kings-get-their-heads-cut-off/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Charles Saatchi has never liked my work at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/charles-saatchi-has-never-liked-my-work-at-all/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [SAMO as an end to to mindwash religion, nowhere politics and bogus philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/samo-as-an-end-to-to-mindwash-religion-nowhere-politics-and-bogus/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I have done only two portraits: one of the artist Francesco Clemente and another of Andy Warhol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-have-done-only-two-portraits-one-of-the-artist-francesco-clemente/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I wanted to build up a name for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-wanted-to-build-up-a-name-for-myself/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I want to make paintings that look as if they were made by a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-want-to-make-paintings-that-look-as-if-they-were-made-by-a-child/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix... I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/since-i-was-seventeen-i-thought-i-might-be-a-star-i-d-think-about-all/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [If I'm away from painting for a week, I get bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/if-i-m-away-from-painting-for-a-week-i-get-bored/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I start a picture and I finish it. I don't think about art while I work. I try to think about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-start-a-picture-and-i-finish-it-i-don-t-think-about-art-while-i/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [If you wanna talk about influence, man, then you've got to realize that influence is not influence. It's simply someone's idea going through my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/if-you-wanna-talk-about-influence-man-then-you-ve-got-to-realize-that/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) [Explore all 43 Jean-Michel Basquiat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) ## More File quotes > [Saving a file as 'dyjjyggffj', because I'm too lazy to write a proper name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/saving-a-file-as-dyjjyggffj-because-i-m-too-lazy-to-write-a-proper/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the phonies are expelled from their leadership roles and the Republican Party backs a moderate gubernatorial candidate acceptable to the rank and file…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-paladino/when-the-phonies-are-expelled-from-their-leadership-roles-and-the/) [Carl Paladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-paladino/) > [Somebody could send you an office document or a PDF file, and as soon as you open it, it's a booby trap and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/somebody-could-send-you-an-office-document-or-a-pdf-file-and-as-soon/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Rank and file Democrats are very patriotic. They love this country and support the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-mountjoy/rank-and-file-democrats-are-very-patriotic-they-love-this-country-and/) [Dick Mountjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-mountjoy/) > [Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labeled 'file and forget.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/without-the-possibility-of-action-all-knowledge-comes-to-one-labeled/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Things don't just fall into place because you have a dream. You're always going to have those negative thoughts. Our minds love to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colletti/things-don-t-just-fall-into-place-because-you-have-a-dream-you-re/) [Stephen Colletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colletti/) > [When an international news organization covers a story in Somalia, Yemen, Sudan or wherever, they will fly a crew to go there, spend a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/when-an-international-news-organization-covers-a-story-in-somalia/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [I start a lot of songs and throw them out because the energy is not right. It's almost like the file becomes cursed. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/i-start-a-lot-of-songs-and-throw-them-out-because-the-energy-is-not/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [The women who file for bankruptcy played by all the rules, but they are still in economic freefall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-women-who-file-for-bankruptcy-played-by-all-the-rules-but-they/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I spent much of my life dying for somebody to help me even file for a patent or make a prototype. I understand that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-norris/i-spent-much-of-my-life-dying-for-somebody-to-help-me-even-file-for-a/) [Woody Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-norris/) > [“A “file” was originally—in sixteenth-century England—a wire on which slips and bills and notes and letters could be strung for preservation and reference. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-file-was-originally-in-sixteenth-century-england-a-wire-on-which/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [I love getting cookbooks - people will give them to me, and I read them like novels and file everything away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-love-getting-cookbooks-people-will-give-them-to-me-and-i-read-them/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [Just don't create a file called '-rf.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/just-don-t-create-a-file-called-rf/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Our old site did not have very good support for the disabled, but our new site should soon have much better support. With all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davidson/our-old-site-did-not-have-very-good-support-for-the-disabled-but-our/) [Mike Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davidson/) > [Just don't create a file called.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/just-don-t-create-a-file-called/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) [Browse all 50 File quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/file/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Michel Basquiat" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synthesizer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "File" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synthesizer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/263/jean-michel-basquiat-15294_file_i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synt_2601962.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I played a guitar with a file, and a synthesizer.” — Jean-Michel Basquiat", "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": "Jean-Michel Basquiat", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I played a guitar with a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synthesizer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/i-played-a-guitar-with-a-file-and-a-synthesizer/#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 } } ] } ```