--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I recorded harp first or singing first. I…" description: "\"I recorded harp first or singing first. I recorded it all together. Part of the reason is that I don't know how to play the songs without also singing...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/joanna-newsom-11563_chorus_i-recorded-harp-first-or-singing-first-i_741129.jpg" --- # I recorded harp first or singing first. I recorded it all… ![“I recorded harp first or singing first. I recorded it all together. Part of the reason is that I don't know how to play the songs without also singing. I forget how they progress. I don't think that any of them are verse, chorus, verse, and so on. They are not simple.” quote by Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/joanna-newsom-11563_chorus_i-recorded-harp-first-or-singing-first-i_741129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/joanna-newsom-11563_chorus_i-recorded-harp-first-or-singing-first-i_741129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/joanna-newsom-11563_chorus_i-recorded-harp-first-or-singing-first-i_741129.jpg) > “I recorded harp first or singing first. I recorded it all together. Part of the reason is that I don't know how to play the songs without also singing. I forget how they progress. I don't think that any of them are verse, chorus, verse, and so on. They are not simple.” [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist records harp and vocals simultaneously because the songs lack conventional structure, making separate tracking impractical. **In simple terms:** She records together as the music is non‑traditional. Key Takeaway Embrace unconventional song forms. Themes creativity process nonconformity Mood experimental thoughtful Type artistic innovative When to use this quote - studio sessions - live improvisation - experimental composition Key Concepts musical structure integrated performance artistic intuition Questions to Reflect On - How does this approach affect listener perception? - Can the songs be adapted later? A Different Perspective This method limits post‑production flexibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Harp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harp/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) ## Related quotes > [I've been unaware of how people react to the instrument. People have ideas of what a harp is supposed to sound like, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-ve-been-unaware-of-how-people-react-to-the-instrument-people-have/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I can't play my songs on the smaller harp. I have a Celtic harp. I can't do the key changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-can-t-play-my-songs-on-the-smaller-harp-i-have-a-celtic-harp-i-can/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I am producing sounds that people are not used to hearing from the harp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-am-producing-sounds-that-people-are-not-used-to-hearing-from-the/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I started playing harp about fourteen years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-started-playing-harp-about-fourteen-years-ago/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I didn't really know a lot of the history when I was younger. I didn't realize that the harp is coded in such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-didn-t-really-know-a-lot-of-the-history-when-i-was-younger-i-didn-t/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [My voice in combination with the harp - which, by the way, I use because I've played it my entire life, not to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/my-voice-in-combination-with-the-harp-which-by-the-way-i-use-because/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I didn't sing for years and years, but I started playing harp when I was maybe 9 or 10. I had actually wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-didn-t-sing-for-years-and-years-but-i-started-playing-harp-when-i/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I had known that people would probably have strange reactions to my voice, because I have kind of an unwieldy, difficult voice, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-had-known-that-people-would-probably-have-strange-reactions-to-my/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [There's something fundamental to the harp that has retained its appeal my whole life. It's an instrument I am just in love with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/there-s-something-fundamental-to-the-harp-that-has-retained-its/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [It's defeatist to harp on what might have been, and yet, it's hard to resist considering what might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/it-s-defeatist-to-harp-on-what-might-have-been-and-yet-it-s-hard-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [“My music teacher offered twittering madrigals and something about how, in Italy, in Italy, the oranges hang on the tree. He treated me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/my-music-teacher-offered-twittering-madrigals-and-something-about-how/) [Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/) > [Two touch the string, The harp is dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/two-touch-the-string-the-harp-is-dumb/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [During the reign of Rameses III (the Twentieth Dynasty) Egypt saw a flowering of its civilization and the harp became the royal instrument of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-heline/during-the-reign-of-rameses-iii-the-twentieth-dynasty-egypt-saw-a/) [Corinne Heline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-heline/) > [Nature is an aeolian harp, a musical instrument whose tones are the re-echo of higher strings within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/nature-is-an-aeolian-harp-a-musical-instrument-whose-tones-are-the-re/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [(As a boy) I was listening to Sonny Boy Williamson's (I) records and I would close my eyes and I could visualize myself playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-wells/as-a-boy-i-was-listening-to-sonny-boy-williamson-s-i-records-and-i/) Junior Wells ## More by Joanna Newsom > [I never thought people would be mortally offended by the sounds I was making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-never-thought-people-would-be-mortally-offended-by-the-sounds-i-was/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [It broke my heart when I learned the moon had been passing the sun’s light off as its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/it-broke-my-heart-when-i-learned-the-moon-had-been-passing-the-sun-s/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I wasn't born of a whistle or milked from a thistle at twilight No I was all horns and thorns sprung out fully formed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-wasn-t-born-of-a-whistle-or-milked-from-a-thistle-at-twilight-no-i/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [Lyrics are very different. There is a clear line between that and a poem. Something that has been a source of great excitement and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/lyrics-are-very-different-there-is-a-clear-line-between-that-and-a/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I'm not a wanderer, which is funny because I'm on tour half the time. I'm a home, hearth and family kind of person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-m-not-a-wanderer-which-is-funny-because-i-m-on-tour-half-the-time-i/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I am producing sounds that people are not used to hearing from the harp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-am-producing-sounds-that-people-are-not-used-to-hearing-from-the/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I didn't sing for years and years, but I started playing harp when I was maybe 9 or 10. I had actually wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-didn-t-sing-for-years-and-years-but-i-started-playing-harp-when-i/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I have a voice that's obviously untrained - and I think untrainable - so I kind of secreted it away for a long time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-have-a-voice-that-s-obviously-untrained-and-i-think-untrainable-so/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [There's something fundamental to the harp that has retained its appeal my whole life. It's an instrument I am just in love with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/there-s-something-fundamental-to-the-harp-that-has-retained-its/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I don't think I'm abnormal and I think that lets people down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-don-t-think-i-m-abnormal-and-i-think-that-lets-people-down/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I can bear a lot but not that pall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-can-bear-a-lot-but-not-that-pall/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [What a woman does is open doors. And it is not a question of locking or unlocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/what-a-woman-does-is-open-doors-and-it-is-not-a-question-of-locking/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I am always trying to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-am-always-trying-to-write/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [You should listen to a lot of different music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/you-should-listen-to-a-lot-of-different-music/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) > [I am not doing something that it is experimental music in relation to classical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-newsom/i-am-not-doing-something-that-it-is-experimental-music-in-relation-to/) [Joanna Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) [Explore all 59 Joanna Newsom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-newsom/) ## More Chorus quotes > [It's tough hearing your voice on the radio, on a chorus, and knowing that people think it's another artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-rexha/it-s-tough-hearing-your-voice-on-the-radio-on-a-chorus-and-knowing/) [Bebe Rexha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-rexha/) > [“CHORUS What, never? CAPTAIN No, never! CHORUS What, never? CAPTAIN Well, hardly ever!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert-2/chorus-what-never-captain-no-never-chorus-what-never-captain-well/) [W.S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert-2/) > [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I had done chorus before in school, but I was only trying for an easy A. I was a bass going 'dum dum da…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/i-had-done-chorus-before-in-school-but-i-was-only-trying-for-an-easy/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) > [It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-was-a-spring-without-voices-on-the-mornings-that-had-once-throbbed/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [I sometimes wonder whether our churches--living as we do in American death-denying culture, relentlessly smiling through our praise choruses--are inadvertently helping people live not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-galli/i-sometimes-wonder-whether-our-churches-living-as-we-do-in-american/) [Mark Galli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-galli/) > [I think the inception of my interest in arts was when I was around 9 or 10 and I started dancing. I was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/i-think-the-inception-of-my-interest-in-arts-was-when-i-was-around-9/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [I think a lot of the writing, you know, I write is just kind of like that where, you know. I write exactly how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-camp/i-think-a-lot-of-the-writing-you-know-i-write-is-just-kind-of-like/) [Jeremy Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-camp/) > [I started acting as a child in Community Theatre but I didn't do any serious stuff. It was all musicals like 'Annie' and 'Wizard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-started-acting-as-a-child-in-community-theatre-but-i-didn-t-do-any/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [It's a very appropriate show to be doing around Halloween because it's very dark and mysterious. There are some great chorus scenes and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marvel/it-s-a-very-appropriate-show-to-be-doing-around-halloween-because-it/) James Marvel > [Everyone knows that quote because of the Doors." Jace looked at her blankly. "The Doors. They were a band." "If you say so," he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/everyone-knows-that-quote-because-of-the-doors-jace-looked-at-her/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [We worked the medley on side two of "Abbey Road" out carefully in advance. All of those mini songs were partly completed tunes; some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/we-worked-the-medley-on-side-two-of-abbey-road-out-carefully-in/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [HOG, n. A bird remarkable for the catholicity of its appetite and serving to illustrate that of ours. Among the Mahometans and Jews, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hog-n-a-bird-remarkable-for-the-catholicity-of-its-appetite-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > ["You ask me how I know he lives?" asks the revival chorus. "He lives within my heart." Exactly! A figment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-price/you-ask-me-how-i-know-he-lives-asks-the-revival-chorus-he-lives/) [Robert M. Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-price/) Browse all 326 Chorus quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I recorded harp first or singing first. 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