--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After I had been studying with him for…" description: "\"After I had been studying with him for two years, Schoenberg said, ‘In order to write music, you must have a feeling for harmony.’ I explained to him t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/john-cage-2094_cases_after-i-had-been-studying-with-him-for-t_1159475.png" --- # After I had been studying with him for two years… ![“After I had been studying with him for two years, Schoenberg said, ‘In order to write music, you must have a feeling for harmony.’ I explained to him that I had no feeling for harmony. He then said that I would always encounter an obstacle, that it would be as though I came to a wall through which…” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/john-cage-2094_cases_after-i-had-been-studying-with-him-for-t_1159475.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/john-cage-2094_cases_after-i-had-been-studying-with-him-for-t_1159475.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ba/john-cage-2094_cases_after-i-had-been-studying-with-him-for-t_1159475.png) > “After I had been studying with him for two years, Schoenberg said, ‘In order to write music, you must have a feeling for harmony.’ I explained to him that I had no feeling for harmony. He then said that I would always encounter an obstacle, that it would be as though I came to a wall through which I could not pass. I said, ‘In that case I will devote my life to beating my head against that wall.’” [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding harmony is essential for composing; lacking it creates a perceived barrier that can be overcome through dedication. **In simple terms:** Harmony is key to music; obstacles can be faced with perseverance. Key Takeaway Study harmony relentlessly. Themes music perseverance obstacle learning Mood determined inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - composing - practice - teaching - overcoming creative blocks Key Concepts music theory creative resilience Questions to Reflect On - What steps will you take to develop your sense of harmony? - Can technical study complement emotional intuition? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on feeling may ignore technical skill development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Explained Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explained-feeling-3313329/) [Feeling Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-harmony-463669/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-feeling-298750/) [Obstacles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstacles/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Schoenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schoenberg/) [Schoenberg Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schoenberg-said-3313328/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-years/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Schoenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-schoenberg-3313330/) ## Related quotes > [I certainly had no feeling for harmony, and Schoenberg thought that that would make it impossible for me to write music. He said, 'You'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/i-certainly-had-no-feeling-for-harmony-and-schoenberg-thought-that/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [A work of art doesn't have to be explained. If you do not have any feeling about this, I cannot explain it to you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained-if-you-do-not-have-any/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [One day when I was studying with Schoenberg, he pointed out the eraser on his pencil and said, 'This end is more important than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/one-day-when-i-was-studying-with-schoenberg-he-pointed-out-the-eraser/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [When a type design is good it is not because each individual letter of the alphabet is perfect in form, but because there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-goudy/when-a-type-design-is-good-it-is-not-because-each-individual-letter/) [Frederic Goudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-goudy/) > [In art, and in the higher ranges of science, there is a feeling of harmony which underlies all endeavor. There is no true greatness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-art-and-in-the-higher-ranges-of-science-there-is-a-feeling-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Wherever there is harmony, joy is present. Wherever there is a feeling of harmony, happiness is found. Wherever there is unity, growth is present.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricio-telman-chincocolo/wherever-there-is-harmony-joy-is-present-wherever-there-is-a-feeling/) [Patricio Telman Chincocolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricio-telman-chincocolo/) > [I was born poor and without religion, under a happy sky, feeling harmony, not hostility, in nature. I began not by feeling torn, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-was-born-poor-and-without-religion-under-a-happy-sky-feeling/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Dancing with life is moving into the flow of our experiences - good or bad - with a feeling of harmony, trust, guidance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dancing-with-life-is-moving-into-the-flow-of-our-experiences-good-or/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Why is Schoenberg's Music so Hard to Understand?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alban-berg/why-is-schoenberg-s-music-so-hard-to-understand/) [Alban Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alban-berg/) > [“Schoenberg came to the crisis of modernism from a standpoint diametrically opposed to that of Schenker and Tovey: not with his finger in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kerman/schoenberg-came-to-the-crisis-of-modernism-from-a-standpoint/) [Joseph Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kerman/) > [Because essentially Schoenberg was an extremely gifted man. And in spite of many of his theories and so on, when he really began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-ornstein/because-essentially-schoenberg-was-an-extremely-gifted-man-and-in/) [Leo Ornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-ornstein/) > [“In fact, had there been less discussion of the syntactical construction of Schoenberg’s music, and more of what it says, people might more readily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-macdonald/in-fact-had-there-been-less-discussion-of-the-syntactical/) [Malcolm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-macdonald/) > [You can't expect someone born into a family with no music... to understand when I'm conducting the Schoenberg Variations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/you-can-t-expect-someone-born-into-a-family-with-no-music-to/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [“One day in 1948 or 1949, the Brentwood County Mart, a shopping complex in an upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, was the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ross/one-day-in-1948-or-1949-the-brentwood-county-mart-a-shopping-complex/) [Alex Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ross/) > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) ## More by John Cage > [If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/if-something-is-boring-after-two-minutes-try-it-for-four-if-still/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [So somebody has talent? So what? Dime a dozen. And we're overpopulated. Actually we have more food than we have people and more art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/so-somebody-has-talent-so-what-dime-a-dozen-and-we-re-overpopulated/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“...the important questions are answered by not liking only but disliking and accepting equally what one likes and dislikes. Otherwise there is no access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-important-questions-are-answered-by-not-liking-only-but-disliking/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-is-poetry-as-soon-as-we-realize-that-we-possess-nothing/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [To see, one must go beyond the imiagination and for that one must stand absolutely still as though at the center of a leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/to-see-one-must-go-beyond-the-imiagination-and-for-that-one-must/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Value judgments are destructive to our proper business, which is curiosity and awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/value-judgments-are-destructive-to-our-proper-business-which-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Our intention is to affirm this life, not to bring order out of chaos, nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/our-intention-is-to-affirm-this-life-not-to-bring-order-out-of-chaos/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [There are some good people in it, but the orchestra as a whole is equivalent to a gang bent on destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-are-some-good-people-in-it-but-the-orchestra-as-a-whole-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Art's purpose is to sober and quiet the mind so that it is in accord with what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/art-s-purpose-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-so-that-it-is-in-accord/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [People who aren't artists often feel that artists are inspired. But if you work at your art you don't have time to be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/people-who-aren-t-artists-often-feel-that-artists-are-inspired-but-if/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [“Farting, don't think, just fart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/farting-don-t-think-just-fart/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Not one sound fears the silence that extinguishes it. And no silence exists that is not pregnant with sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/not-one-sound-fears-the-silence-that-extinguishes-it-and-no-silence/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [My work became an exploration of non-intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/my-work-became-an-exploration-of-non-intention/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) [Explore all 186 John Cage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## More Cases quotes > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. 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