--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is basically me, and although I have…" description: "\"That is basically me, and although I have done many things in my life - conducting, playing piano, and so on - what is fundamental is my being a compos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg" --- # That is basically me, and although I have done many things… ![“That is basically me, and although I have done many things in my life - conducting, playing piano, and so on - what is fundamental is my being a composer.” quote by Morton Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg) > “That is basically me, and although I have done many things in my life - conducting, playing piano, and so on - what is fundamental is my being a composer.” Morton Gould ## 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 defines his core identity as a composer despite diverse experiences. **In simple terms:** He sees composition as his fundamental self. Key Takeaway Embrace your core passion. Themes identity creativity career selfdefinition Mood reflective proud Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - music composition - career counseling - personal development Key Concepts artistic purpose personal branding Questions to Reflect On - How does your core identity shape your choices? - What other roles support your composition? A Different Perspective May overlook other talents. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) ## Related quotes > [I actually don't like playing the piano or conducting the orchestra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hisaishi/i-actually-don-t-like-playing-the-piano-or-conducting-the-orchestra/) [Joe Hisaishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hisaishi/) > [Writing is a little athletic for me. I get worked up a little bit when I do it. So I guess I'm a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/writing-is-a-little-athletic-for-me-i-get-worked-up-a-little-bit-when/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [I started playing piano with a little band in high school. I was terrible. I thought I had absolutely no talent. I couldn't keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-bacharach/i-started-playing-piano-with-a-little-band-in-high-school-i-was/) [Burt Bacharach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-bacharach/) > [I didn't start playing piano until I was 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-winston/i-didn-t-start-playing-piano-until-i-was-18/) [George Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-winston/) > [I got started at a really young age. I was about two years old when I started playing the piano and around seven or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-guthy/i-got-started-at-a-really-young-age-i-was-about-two-years-old-when-i/) [Jackson Guthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-guthy/) > [I've been playing piano my whole life but I'd never tried to understand how compositions are made really. Try to imagine if you'd loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caio-fonseca/i-ve-been-playing-piano-my-whole-life-but-i-d-never-tried-to/) [Caio Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caio-fonseca/) > [I was ballet dancing at four, playing piano by six, and doing commercials by 12. When I was 21, I was on the number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselyn-sanchez/i-was-ballet-dancing-at-four-playing-piano-by-six-and-doing/) [Roselyn Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselyn-sanchez/) > [Sometimes I feel like a melody doesn't have anything to do with me, but it's just something that comes, is accumulated from me playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-obel/sometimes-i-feel-like-a-melody-doesn-t-have-anything-to-do-with-me/) [Agnes Obel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-obel/) > [My father was always playing the piano. He played all kinds of music - Gershwin, all kinds of stuff. He was really a hugely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/my-father-was-always-playing-the-piano-he-played-all-kinds-of-music/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I first started playing in piano bars for three reasons - to make money, to be in the company of my friends - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/i-first-started-playing-in-piano-bars-for-three-reasons-to-make-money/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/please-do-not-shoot-the-pianist-he-is-doing-his-best/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I studied chord theory and started playing the piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flea/i-studied-chord-theory-and-started-playing-the-piano/) [Flea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flea/) > [The things I do outside of playing the piano are done out of an inner necessity, not just because I want to try my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/the-things-i-do-outside-of-playing-the-piano-are-done-out-of-an-inner/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I spent thousands of thousands of hours playing the piano, and by thousands of hours, I mean playing in cover bands or wedding bands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/i-spent-thousands-of-thousands-of-hours-playing-the-piano-and-by/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) ## More by Morton Gould > [Composing is my life blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/composing-is-my-life-blood/) Morton Gould > [I've always felt that music should be a normal part of the experience that surrounds people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/i-ve-always-felt-that-music-should-be-a-normal-part-of-the-experience/) Morton Gould > [It's not a special taste. An American composer should have something to say to a cab driver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/it-s-not-a-special-taste-an-american-composer-should-have-something/) Morton Gould Explore all 4 Morton Gould quotes ## More Composer quotes > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) Michael Brecker > [“- Mom, can I tell them there that I'm Romanian? - Sure, why not tell them? - I was thinking that they wouldn't think...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-enescu/mom-can-i-tell-them-there-that-i-m-romanian-sure-why-not-tell-them-i/) George Enescu > [The number of e-mails and letters that I get from choreographers, from sculptors, from composers who are being inspired by science is huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-number-of-e-mails-and-letters-that-i-get-from-choreographers-from/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) Ernest Gold > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/signe-baumane/the-ability-to-understand-and-deliver-comedy-and-tragedy-is-extremely/) [Signe Baumane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/signe-baumane/) > [When synthesizers appeared everyone was a composer suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-synthesizers-appeared-everyone-was-a-composer-suddenly/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [A mission that comes from the heart to promote these things and to encourage composers to write, then of course they should do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/a-mission-that-comes-from-the-heart-to-promote-these-things-and-to/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beebe/the-beauty-and-genius-of-a-work-of-art-may-be-reconceived-though-its/) [William Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beebe/) > [Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/every-time-i-see-a-film-or-tv-show-i-think-about-how-that-composer/) [Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/) > [Like any other composer of opera, I choose a subject not for polemical reasons, but because it contains vivid characters in highly charged dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/like-any-other-composer-of-opera-i-choose-a-subject-not-for-polemical/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) [Browse all 885 Composer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is basically me, and although I have done many things in my life - conducting, playing piano, and so on - what is fundamental is my being a composer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morton Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have-done-many-things-in-my-life/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have-done-many-things-in-my-life/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afb/morton-gould-69953_composer_that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have_1248529.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is basically me, and although I have done many things in my life - conducting, playing piano, and so on…” — Morton Gould", "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": "Morton Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is basically me, and although...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have-done-many-things-in-my-life/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-gould/that-is-basically-me-and-although-i-have-done-many-things-in-my-life/#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 } } ] } ```