--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I hear what we call ‘music,’ it…" description: "\"When I hear what we call ‘music,’ it seems to me that someone is talking. And talking about his feelings, or about his ideas of relationships. But when..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/john-cage-2094_acting_when-i-hear-what-we-call-music-it-seems_517953.jpg" --- # When I hear what we call ‘music,’ it seems to me that… ![“When I hear what we call ‘music,’ it seems to me that someone is talking. And talking about his feelings, or about his ideas of relationships. But when I hear traffic, the sound of traffic — here on Sixth Avenue, for instance — I don’t have the feeling that anyone is talking. I have the feeling…” quote by John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/john-cage-2094_acting_when-i-hear-what-we-call-music-it-seems_517953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/john-cage-2094_acting_when-i-hear-what-we-call-music-it-seems_517953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/john-cage-2094_acting_when-i-hear-what-we-call-music-it-seems_517953.jpg) > “When I hear what we call ‘music,’ it seems to me that someone is talking. And talking about his feelings, or about his ideas of relationships. But when I hear traffic, the sound of traffic — here on Sixth Avenue, for instance — I don’t have the feeling that anyone is talking. I have the feeling that sound is acting. And I love the activity of sound I don’t need sound to talk to me.” [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. Sound can be an active force rather than a vehicle for speech, offering its own intrinsic value. **In simple terms:** Sound acts on its own. Key Takeaway Listen to sound as activity. Themes music sound perception Mood contemplative experimental Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - urban soundscape - contemporary composition - mindful listening Key Concepts acoustic phenomenology non‑representational art Questions to Reflect On - How does sound influence mood without words? - What does “sound acting” mean to you? A Different Perspective Treating sound as speech may miss its abstract qualities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Avenues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) [Feeling Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-sound-766010/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Hear Traffic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-traffic-3326034/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Sound Traffic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound-traffic-4375077/) [Talk to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-to-me/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Talking Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-feeling-1560117/) [Traffic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic/) [Traffic Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic-sound-4375078/) ## Related quotes > [“It seemed as if a glaze had been washed from my senses, brightening the sound of the traffic up ahead on the avenue, separating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-haslett/it-seemed-as-if-a-glaze-had-been-washed-from-my-senses-brightening/) [Adam Haslett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-haslett/) > [Every day, I talk to people about their commutes. What I hear, and see, are traffic jams, delayed trains, not enough buses. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-walsh/every-day-i-talk-to-people-about-their-commutes-what-i-hear-and-see/) [Marty Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-walsh/) > [“Music is feeling, then not sound; And thus it is what i feel, Here in this room, desiring you, Thinking of your blue- shadowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stevens/music-is-feeling-then-not-sound-and-thus-it-is-what-i-feel-here-in/) [William Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stevens/) > [I'm chasing a feeling more than a sound and I try to reflect that in my turns of phrases. Growing up in church, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-childers/i-m-chasing-a-feeling-more-than-a-sound-and-i-try-to-reflect-that-in/) [Tyler Childers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-childers/) > [“Since that time, I've had many similar moments, and I can never hear the words "family" and "home" without feeling that they sound strange,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ogawa/since-that-time-i-ve-had-many-similar-moments-and-i-can-never-hear/) [Yōko Ogawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ogawa/) > [I like the idea of imagining a sound and feeling a sound and then having it come out through your body, through an instrument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-like-the-idea-of-imagining-a-sound-and-feeling-a-sound-and-then/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [The music was more than music - at least what we are used to hearing. The music was feeling itself. The sound connected instantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/the-music-was-more-than-music-at-least-what-we-are-used-to-hearing-2/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Sound doesn't always have to be heard. Sound can also be created by how a pattern is set up on a surface- how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/sound-doesn-t-always-have-to-be-heard-sound-can-also-be-created-by/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“The music was more than music- at least what we are used to hearing. The music was feeling itself. The sound connected instantly with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/the-music-was-more-than-music-at-least-what-we-are-used-to-hearing/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [And also, I'm most comfortable with like two people just sitting and talking about their feeling, you know, in a room with like two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stoller/and-also-i-m-most-comfortable-with-like-two-people-just-sitting-and/) [Nicholas Stoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stoller/) > [I’m not too keen on talking. I always have the feeling that the words are getting away from me, escaping and scattering. It’s not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-vigan/i-m-not-too-keen-on-talking-i-always-have-the-feeling-that-the-words/) [Delphine de Vigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-vigan/) > [“I hear people talking about the feeling they get when they pain stuff in illegal places. Leo says he gets this fast-moving fear swinging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-hear-people-talking-about-the-feeling-they-get-when-they-pain-stuff/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [I don't really like talking too much about myself, but I have this feeling that it's all clicking for me. It's all coming together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukasz-fabianski/i-don-t-really-like-talking-too-much-about-myself-but-i-have-this/) [Lukasz Fabianski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukasz-fabianski/) > [“She’s beautiful, too, did I mention that? She lives the life I didn’t live. I feel middle-age and middle-class around her. Nothing wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/she-s-beautiful-too-did-i-mention-that-she-lives-the-life-i-didn-t/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [Talking about your feeling with someone who is willing to listen can be enormously consoling, especially if that person has experienced a death similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-lightner/talking-about-your-feeling-with-someone-who-is-willing-to-listen-can/) [Candy Lightner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-lightner/) ## 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 Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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