--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: \"Light Over Water\" is the longest piece I…" description: "\"\"Light Over Water\" is the longest piece I have ever composed. It is a landmark in my personal struggle to create large forms. I feel that it is by and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/lucinda-childs-37622_dance_light-over-water-is-the-longest-piece-i_487651.jpg" --- # "Light Over Water" is the longest piece I have ever… ![“"Light Over Water" is the longest piece I have ever composed. It is a landmark in my personal struggle to create large forms. I feel that it is by and large a formally successful work, though I was constrained to write a piece at least fifty minutes long, and there are some dead spots in the music…” quote by Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/lucinda-childs-37622_dance_light-over-water-is-the-longest-piece-i_487651.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/lucinda-childs-37622_dance_light-over-water-is-the-longest-piece-i_487651.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c1/lucinda-childs-37622_dance_light-over-water-is-the-longest-piece-i_487651.jpg) > “"Light Over Water" is the longest piece I have ever composed. It is a landmark in my personal struggle to create large forms. I feel that it is by and large a formally successful work, though I was constrained to write a piece at least fifty minutes long, and there are some dead spots in the music where I think I was simply marking time. However, I think when the dance is in motion, the formal problem is nonexistent.” [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The composer sees the piece as a personal milestone in tackling large-scale form, acknowledging constraints and occasional weak moments but believing movement resolves formal issues. **In simple terms:** A long composition marks personal growth despite flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace scale, accept imperfections, focus on motion. Themes creativity form growth music performance Mood reflective determined optimistic Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - concert programming - academic study - personal reflection - performance rehearsal Key Concepts composition formalist tension temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How does movement change your perception of structure? - Can constraints spark innovation? A Different Perspective Long works can feel forced if not organically motivated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Personal struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-struggle/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I push myself in a lot of aspects when I write a song. 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Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-hinton/) > [Sometimes when you write a thing you think, 'Oh, this is good', and it's not a modesty or an immodesty thing, you just... it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/sometimes-when-you-write-a-thing-you-think-oh-this-is-good-and-it-s/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [What do you really want? Sit down and write it out on a piece of paper. Write it in the present tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/what-do-you-really-want-sit-down-and-write-it-out-on-a-piece-of-paper/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jakes/be-yourself-above-all-let-who-you-are-what-you-are-what-you-believe/) [John Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jakes/) > [I suppose it never occurs to these people that a man might just want to write a piece of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/i-suppose-it-never-occurs-to-these-people-that-a-man-might-just-want/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Let me write down on a piece of paper, all the times you said I love you to me, and shove it down your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-morton/let-me-write-down-on-a-piece-of-paper-all-the-times-you-said-i-love/) [Cori Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-morton/) > [If you write a piece, it's a different thing to show it to an editor than it is to show it to your best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-jesso-jr/if-you-write-a-piece-it-s-a-different-thing-to-show-it-to-an-editor/) Tobias Jesso Jr > [My aim is to write my own piece of history - to try to give joy to my family, all Real Madrid supporters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/my-aim-is-to-write-my-own-piece-of-history-to-try-to-give-joy-to-my/) [Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/) > [I try to write each piece in the language of the piece, so that I'm not using the same language from piece to piece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-veaux/i-try-to-write-each-piece-in-the-language-of-the-piece-so-that-i-m/) [Alexis De Veaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-veaux/) > [No, I think that a person writes a poem because they have an inner urge of something that they want to express, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-ornstein/no-i-think-that-a-person-writes-a-poem-because-they-have-an-inner/) [Leo Ornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-ornstein/) ## More by Lucinda Childs > [I no longer need to have what I see as the surface of the dance so connected to the underlying structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-no-longer-need-to-have-what-i-see-as-the-surface-of-the-dance-so/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I disagree with the idea that modern dancers are cold or unemotional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-disagree-with-the-idea-that-modern-dancers-are-cold-or-unemotional/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [If the simple positions of ballet are demonstrated straight on, they seem quite dull and lifeless, but when put on a diagonal, they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/if-the-simple-positions-of-ballet-are-demonstrated-straight-on-they/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I think dancing is an emotional experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-think-dancing-is-an-emotional-experience/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I do not like a haphazard connection between the dances and the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-do-not-like-a-haphazard-connection-between-the-dances-and-the-music/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [The relationship between the audience and the dancers goes through many different stages. 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No master at a conservatory, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-previn/when-i-composed-i-heard-my-music-played-by-the-orchestra-within-days/) [Andre Previn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-previn/) > [“Forever is composed of nows. Das 'Für immer' besteht aus vielen 'jetzt'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/forever-is-composed-of-nows-das-f-r-immer-besteht-aus-vielen-jetzt/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I have composed music for many city-based movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-antony/i-have-composed-music-for-many-city-based-movies/) [Vijay Antony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-antony/) > [If one wants to go on living, one must evolve. Before, when we composed, we would start by a series of music themes. 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I mean, my mother was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-just-my-childhood-seems-when-i-look-back-to-be-largely-composed-of/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) Browse all 99 Composed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "\"Light Over Water\" is the longest piece I have ever composed. It is a landmark in my personal struggle to create large forms. I feel that it is by and large a formally successful work, though I was constrained to write a piece at least fifty minutes long, and there are some dead spots in the music where I think I was simply marking time. 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