---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I imagine that as contemporary music goes…"
description: "\"I imagine that as contemporary music goes on changing in the way that I'm changing it what will be done is to more and more completely liberate sounds ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31a/john-cage-2094_abstract_i-imagine-that-as-contemporary-music-goe_1205512.jpg"
---

#  I imagine that as contemporary music goes on changing in…

![“I imagine that as contemporary music goes on changing in the way that I'm changing it what will be done is to more and more completely liberate sounds from abstract ideas about them and more and more exactly to let them be physically uniquely themselves. This means for me: knowing more and more…” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31a/john-cage-2094_abstract_i-imagine-that-as-contemporary-music-goe_1205512.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31a/john-cage-2094_abstract_i-imagine-that-as-contemporary-music-goe_1205512.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31a/john-cage-2094_abstract_i-imagine-that-as-contemporary-music-goe_1205512.jpg)

> “I imagine that as contemporary music goes on changing in the way that I'm changing it what will be done is to more and more completely liberate sounds from abstract ideas about them and more and more exactly to let them be physically uniquely themselves. This means for me: knowing more and more not what I think a sound is but what it actually is in all of its acoustical details and then letting this sound exist, itself, changing in a changing sonorous environment.”

[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.

Advocates freeing sound from conceptual constraints, letting its physical reality shape music

**In simple terms:** Music should reflect its true acoustic nature, not abstract ideas

Key Takeaway

Listen to the pure, physical qualities of sound

Themes

music theory acoustics creativity

Mood

thoughtful exploratory

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- composition
- sound design
- experimental performance
- audio engineering

Key Concepts

sound physics aesthetic freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- How does focusing on physical sound affect emotional impact?
- Can abstraction and physicality coexist in music?

A Different Perspective

Pure acoustic focus may limit emotional expression

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[Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Contemporary music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-music/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Knowing more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-more/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

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