--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Playing is much, much harder than…" description: "\"Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life either you decide not to do ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg" --- # Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion… ![“Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life either you decide not to do it professionally and just enjoy it and just do it every weekend, but if you want to be a professional musician- hardest thing I could imagine and…” quote by John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg) > “Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life either you decide not to do it professionally and just enjoy it and just do it every weekend, but if you want to be a professional musician- hardest thing I could imagine and I really wasn't capable of doing it.” [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that mastering performance is far more demanding than creating music, especially for those aspiring to a professional career, which requires extraordinary dedication and skill. **In simple terms:** Performance demands greater effort than composition. Key Takeaway Professional musicianship is exceptionally challenging. Themes mastery dedication skill career artistry effort Mood determined reflective intense Type personal insight career advice musical philosophy When to use this quote - aspiring musicians - hobbyists - professional performers - career changers - students Key Concepts performance professionalism music creation personal fulfillment Practical Applications - music education - career counseling Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of performance make it harder than composition? - How does personal motivation affect the pursuit of professional musicianship? A Different Perspective Some may argue that composition also requires intense discipline and creative rigor, making both paths equally demanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Composing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composing/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [Harder Composing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder-composing-377212/) [Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardest/) [Hardest thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardest-thing/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Just do it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-do-it/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Musician Hardest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician-hardest-377211/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Playing Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-harder-377213/) [Professional Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-musician-291122/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Weekend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weekend/) ## Related quotes > [What's important to us is developing the habit of playing harder than our opponent every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-vogel/what-s-important-to-us-is-developing-the-habit-of-playing-harder-than/) [Frank Vogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-vogel/) > [You know, every time I go somewhere new... every time I'm given a chance to show people who I am, I show them by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wood/you-know-every-time-i-go-somewhere-new-every-time-i-m-given-a-chance/) [Christian Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wood/) > [But I hope to maintain my credibility after I stop playing. Because, yes of course, now I play and I score goals and children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/but-i-hope-to-maintain-my-credibility-after-i-stop-playing-because/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [Everybody gets all worked up about trash talk but it is what it is - it's talk... You ask any player, honestly, if trash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-babin/everybody-gets-all-worked-up-about-trash-talk-but-it-is-what-it-is-it/) [Jason Babin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-babin/) > [Being a professional musician with Downhere for 11 years now, I feel completely at home on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/being-a-professional-musician-with-downhere-for-11-years-now-i-feel/) [Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/) > [My son is a professional musician now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lukather/my-son-is-a-professional-musician-now/) [Steve Lukather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lukather/) > [I never pictured myself as a professional musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/borns/i-never-pictured-myself-as-a-professional-musician/) [Borns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/borns/) > [If a professional musician in a symphony orchestra is playing Beethoven. But this particular orchestra have played this particular chestnut so many times, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fripp/if-a-professional-musician-in-a-symphony-orchestra-is-playing/) [Robert Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fripp/) > [ The only thing I had in my mind \[when I was 17 \] was that I was going to be a professional musician. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/the-only-thing-i-had-in-my-mind-when-i-was-17-was-that-i-was-going-to/) [John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/) > [The fact of playing an instrument and singing... that I can try to make my dream of singing and becoming a professional musician come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/the-fact-of-playing-an-instrument-and-singing-that-i-can-try-to-make/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [My dad was a professional musician; my mom played, too, but just for fun. All my siblings played. The house was full of music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/my-dad-was-a-professional-musician-my-mom-played-too-but-just-for-fun/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [I always tell my students when you're going to be a jazz musician the first thing you've got to do is be a professional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bowie/i-always-tell-my-students-when-you-re-going-to-be-a-jazz-musician-the/) [Lester Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bowie/) > [When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-people-ask-me-how-they-should-approach-performance-i-always-tell/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Thyagaraja was not a professional musician. He did not sing for situations. He was music himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/thyagaraja-was-not-a-professional-musician-he-did-not-sing-for/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [I've made a life and career as a professional musician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-auf-der-maur/i-ve-made-a-life-and-career-as-a-professional-musician/) [Melissa Auf der Maur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-auf-der-maur/) ## More by John Powell > [“The trouble with ancient history is that, as far as I can tell, the vast majority of it took place a hell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/the-trouble-with-ancient-history-is-that-as-far-as-i-can-tell-the/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [There are only two potential tragedies in life, and dying young isn't one of them. These are the two real tragedies: If you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/there-are-only-two-potential-tragedies-in-life-and-dying-young-isn-t/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [God is to us like the sky to a small bird, which cannot see its outer limits and cannot reach its distant horizons, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/god-is-to-us-like-the-sky-to-a-small-bird-which-cannot-see-its-outer/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [He who has no inclination to learn more will be very apt to think that he knows enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/he-who-has-no-inclination-to-learn-more-will-be-very-apt-to-think/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [You just don't make decisions about what you're going to be like when you are old. I know that I am making that decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/you-just-don-t-make-decisions-about-what-you-re-going-to-be-like-when/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [A person can grow only as much as his horizon allows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/a-person-can-grow-only-as-much-as-his-horizon-allows/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [“It’s a shameful indictment of the shabby way we live nowadays, but we have to face the fact that most of you won’t have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/it-s-a-shameful-indictment-of-the-shabby-way-we-live-nowadays-but-we/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [Growth is always a gradual process, a bridge slowly crossed and not a corner sharply turned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/growth-is-always-a-gradual-process-a-bridge-slowly-crossed-and-not-a/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [It is essential that our love be liberating, not possessive. We must at all times give those we love the freedom to be themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/it-is-essential-that-our-love-be-liberating-not-possessive-we-must-at/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [You can't reinvent yourself for every movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/you-can-t-reinvent-yourself-for-every-movie/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [“But why should a flute make a sound which is smoother and less complex than that of a violin or oboe? To answer this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/but-why-should-a-flute-make-a-sound-which-is-smoother-and-less/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [Our lives are shaped by those who love us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/our-lives-are-shaped-by-those-who-love-us/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [Attitudes are capable of making the same experience either pleasant or painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/attitudes-are-capable-of-making-the-same-experience-either-pleasant/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [The only love worthy of a name is unconditional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/the-only-love-worthy-of-a-name-is-unconditional/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [When we contact each other, we change each other. We are constantly making each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/when-we-contact-each-other-we-change-each-other-we-are-constantly/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) [Explore all 53 John Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for all your life either you decide not to do it professionally and just enjoy it and just do it every weekend, but if you want to be a professional musician- hardest thing I could imagine and I really wasn't capable of doing it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Becoming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/john-powell-12850_becoming_playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composi_14363.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Playing is much, much harder than composing in my opinion, becoming a player. If you want to be a player for…” — John Powell", "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 Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Playing is much, much harder than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/playing-is-much-much-harder-than-composing-in-my-opinion-becoming-a/#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 } } ] } ```