--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of music is to sober and…" description: "\"The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.\" — John Cage" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png" --- # The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus… ![“The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png) > “The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.” [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. Music should calm the mind, opening it to spiritual insight. **In simple terms:** Calm music invites spiritual influence. Key Takeaway Listen to quiet music for reflection. Themes music spirituality mindfulness Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - creative work - spiritual practice - study - relaxation Key Concepts aesthetic transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your thoughts? - When have you felt music change your mood? A Different Perspective Quiet music may not suit all personalities or contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine Influences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-influences-2443149/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-sober-2443148/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Purpose Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-music-968009/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Quiet Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet-mind/) [Sober Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober-quiet-2334704/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Susceptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/susceptible/) ## Related quotes > [Why make art ? To quiet the mind thus making it susceptible to divine influences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/why-make-art-to-quiet-the-mind-thus-making-it-susceptible-to-divine/) [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/) > [“You know, once,” Robert said, “I was working in the shop, doing some repairs on a music box, and it was all going wrong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bunzl/you-know-once-robert-said-i-was-working-in-the-shop-doing-some/) [Peter Bunzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bunzl/) > [So as I think back on it now, I think it is safe to say that music is something you both hear and feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-archuleta/so-as-i-think-back-on-it-now-i-think-it-is-safe-to-say-that-music-is/) [David Archuleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-archuleta/) > [Once a song's out there, it's no longer mine. And that's the whole purpose of music: to belong to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/once-a-song-s-out-there-it-s-no-longer-mine-and-that-s-the-whole/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [“Music theory, then, very simply, could be defined as a search for how and why music sounds right or wrong. In other words, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pilhofer/music-theory-then-very-simply-could-be-defined-as-a-search-for-how/) [Michael Pilhofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pilhofer/) > [We could say that meditation doesn't have a reason or doesn't have a purpose. In this respect it's unlike almost all other things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-could-say-that-meditation-doesn-t-have-a-reason-or-doesn-t-have-a/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Though my verse but roam the air And murmur in the trees, You may discern a purpose there, As in music of the bees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-austin/though-my-verse-but-roam-the-air-and-murmur-in-the-trees-you-may/) [Alfred Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-austin/) > [The rhythm of sitar cannot be created with chords of guitar and vice versa as both the instruments have a distinct purpose in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahat-fateh-ali-khan/the-rhythm-of-sitar-cannot-be-created-with-chords-of-guitar-and-vice/) [Rahat Fateh Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahat-fateh-ali-khan/) > [Music may appeal to crude and coarse feelings or to refined and noble ones; and in so far as it does the latter it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/music-may-appeal-to-crude-and-coarse-feelings-or-to-refined-and-noble/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The purpose of music is to elevate the spirit and inspire. Not to help push some product down your throat. It puts you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-purpose-of-music-is-to-elevate-the-spirit-and-inspire-not-to-help/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I went through a struggle, and I really needed to get myself together and connect with my purpose, which is music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandy-norwood/i-went-through-a-struggle-and-i-really-needed-to-get-myself-together/) [Brandy Norwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandy-norwood/) > [Maybe this is a made-up belief to preserve myself, but I do believe that everyone has a purpose, and my purpose is to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitski/maybe-this-is-a-made-up-belief-to-preserve-myself-but-i-do-believe/) [Mitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitski/) > [Breathing meditation can quiet the mind, open the body, and develop a great power of concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/breathing-meditation-can-quiet-the-mind-open-the-body-and-develop-a/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“All experience is kept in one’s memory, because it’s interpreted by the mind. Reality is no more than the interpretation of the mind. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-experience-is-kept-in-one-s-memory-because-it-s-interpreted-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Cage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-thus-making-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-thus-making-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/john-cage-2094_art_the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-qui_1042370.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences.” — John Cage", "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": "John Cage", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The purpose of music is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-thus-making-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-purpose-of-music-is-to-sober-and-quiet-the-mind-thus-making-it/#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 } } ] } ```