--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If music is sound & came from silence…" description: "\"If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.\" — Keith Jarrett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png" --- # If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is… ![“If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.” quote by Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png) > “If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.” [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence holds potential energy that can surpass sound, highlighting the value of pause and reflection. **In simple terms:** Silence can be more powerful than sound. Key Takeaway Value pauses, listen to the space between actions. Themes creativity reflection music theory Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - composing music - public speaking - meditation - writing drafts Key Concepts negative space potential mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does silence influence your creative process? - When can a pause be more effective than speaking? A Different Perspective Silence may be misinterpreted as lack of action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [If sound is music and came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound. If the sound is effective, it should actually have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-sound-is-music-and-came-from-silence-then-silence-is-potentially/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [The empty vessel giveth a greater sound than the full barrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/the-empty-vessel-giveth-a-greater-sound-than-the-full-barrel/) [John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/) > [That's how it is with legends. The greater they sound, the more must've got left out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tharp/that-s-how-it-is-with-legends-the-greater-they-sound-the-more-must-ve/) [Tim Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tharp/) > [Speech is better than silence; silence is better than speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/speech-is-better-than-silence-silence-is-better-than-speech/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Silence is never-ending speech. Vocal speech obstructs the other speech of silence. In silence one is in intimate contact with the surroundings. Language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/silence-is-never-ending-speech-vocal-speech-obstructs-the-other/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [All Profound things, and emotions of things are preceded and attended by Silence...Silence is the general consecration of the Universe. Silence is the invisible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/all-profound-things-and-emotions-of-things-are-preceded-and-attended-2/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Meditation is making research into yourself, and into the subtler fields of activity. Day after day we culture our minds with the deep silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/meditation-is-making-research-into-yourself-and-into-the-subtler/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [Silence is difficult and arduous; it is not to be played with. It isn't something that you can experience by reading a book, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/silence-is-difficult-and-arduous-it-is-not-to-be-played-with-it-isn-t/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Do not interrogate silence because silence is mute; do not expect anything from the gods, nor should you try to bribe them with gifts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-interrogate-silence-because-silence-is-mute-do-not-expect/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Something is happening because of silence, because of peace, because of silence; if your mind is silent, if your mind is quiet, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja/something-is-happening-because-of-silence-because-of-peace-because-of/) [H. W. L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja/) > [As the truest society approaches always nearer to solitude, so the most excellent speech finally falls into Silence. Silence is audible to all men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-the-truest-society-approaches-always-nearer-to-solitude-so-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We can't stand silence, because silence induces thinking. And if we thought, we would have to face ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/we-can-t-stand-silence-because-silence-induces-thinking-and-if-we/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Meditation is silence. Silence is God In His Infinity's Smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/meditation-is-silence-silence-is-god-in-his-infinity-s-smile/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Music is nothing but sound, and there is no place for value judgement among various sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/music-is-nothing-but-sound-and-there-is-no-place-for-value-judgement/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) ## More by Keith Jarrett > [I grew up with the piano. I learned its language as I learned to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-grew-up-with-the-piano-i-learned-its-language-as-i-learned-to-speak/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [I believe that a truly valuable artist must be an artist who realizes the impossibility of his task -and then continues to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-believe-that-a-truly-valuable-artist-must-be-an-artist-who-realizes/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [If a person plays dissonance long enough, it will sound like consonance. It's a language that was alien and then it's less and less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-a-person-plays-dissonance-long-enough-it-will-sound-like/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [I realized that improvisers should probably always have time off. But musicians are always gigging and never have a chance to stop for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-realized-that-improvisers-should-probably-always-have-time-off-but/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [Jazz is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/jazz-is-there-and-gone-it-happens-you-have-to-be-present-for-it-that/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [I cannot say what I think is right about Music. I only know the rightness of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-cannot-say-what-i-think-is-right-about-music-i-only-know-the/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [When I joined the band I didn't know any of the tunes, and when I left the band I didn't know any of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/when-i-joined-the-band-i-didn-t-know-any-of-the-tunes-and-when-i-left/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [The way I think about the practicing, it is my undercover work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/the-way-i-think-about-the-practicing-it-is-my-undercover-work/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [Creativity is what makes humanity move. We were created to participate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/creativity-is-what-makes-humanity-move-we-were-created-to-participate/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [ I've never heard anything Wynton \[Marsalis\] played sound like it meant anything at all. Wynton has no voice and no presence. His music sounds… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-ve-never-heard-anything-wynton-marsalis-played-sound-like-it-meant/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [If you already have a piece of music ingrained in your body, why would you not play it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-you-already-have-a-piece-of-music-ingrained-in-your-body-why-would/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [I can't even tolerate my own playing on electric keyboards. It's not about the musical ideas - the sound itself is toxic. It's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-can-t-even-tolerate-my-own-playing-on-electric-keyboards-it-s-not/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [When you're up against an electric band like that, it's like you're on two separate planets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/when-you-re-up-against-an-electric-band-like-that-it-s-like-you-re-on/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [I actually get a metallic taste in my mouth when I think about electric music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/i-actually-get-a-metallic-taste-in-my-mouth-when-i-think-about/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) > [We really never know what we're gonna play when we get on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/we-really-never-know-what-we-re-gonna-play-when-we-get-on-stage/) [Keith Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) [Explore all 38 Keith Jarrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/) ## More Greater quotes > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) James T. Conway > [The unexpressed is always of greater value than the expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/the-unexpressed-is-always-of-greater-value-than-the-expressed/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [Life takes hold of us with strong hands and makes us greater than we thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/life-takes-hold-of-us-with-strong-hands-and-makes-us-greater-than-we/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [I think that as a writer your responsibility is to search for and stir up the things that are in this world. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-think-that-as-a-writer-your-responsibility-is-to-search-for-and/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [What greater insult can you give God than to take your own life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thibodeau/what-greater-insult-can-you-give-god-than-to-take-your-own-life/) [David Thibodeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thibodeau/) Browse all 5,587 Greater quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Keith Jarrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then-silence-is-potentially/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Greater" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then-silence-is-potentially/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fa/keith-jarrett-16919_greater_if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then_931362.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.” — Keith Jarrett", "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": "Keith Jarrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-jarrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If music is sound & came...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then-silence-is-potentially/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-jarrett/if-music-is-sound-came-from-silence-then-silence-is-potentially/#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 } } ] } ```