--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music was not invented by the composer…" description: "\"Music was not invented by the composer, but found.\" — Nadia Boulanger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png" --- # Music was not invented by the composer, but found. ![“Music was not invented by the composer, but found.” quote by Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png) > “Music was not invented by the composer, but found.” [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) ## 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 suggests music exists independently of composers, being discovered rather than created. **In simple terms:** Music is discovered, not invented. Key Takeaway Listen for music’s innate form. Themes music creation discovery Mood inquisitive philosophical Type educational musical When to use this quote - academic lecture - public talk - written essay Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How does discovery differ from invention? - What does this mean for artistic originality? A Different Perspective May downplay composer’s role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [Music was invented to confirm human loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/music-was-invented-to-confirm-human-loneliness/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [My audience went, 'Wait, why is she singing jazz? What's going on?' And then they went, 'Oh, because she can. Because she loves it.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/my-audience-went-wait-why-is-she-singing-jazz-what-s-going-on-and/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Music has invented to confirm human loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-has-invented-to-confirm-human-loneliness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that essentially, since music was invented, it's basically reached out and touched every single kind of conceivable generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-halford/i-think-that-essentially-since-music-was-invented-it-s-basically/) [Rob Halford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-halford/) > [ Jazz is the favorite music \[of America\]. It is a type of music invented by \[American\] Blacks to please their primitive tendencies and desire… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayyid-qutb/jazz-is-the-favorite-music-of-america-it-is-a-type-of-music-invented/) [Sayyid Qutb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayyid-qutb/) > [The Peruvian flute music is . . . cool. In this music, they have not yet invented the industrial revolution that leads to excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/the-peruvian-flute-music-is-cool-in-this-music-they-have-not-yet/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [Music was invented for the souls to go with it,while art is for imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-flores/music-was-invented-for-the-souls-to-go-with-it-while-art-is-for/) [Lara Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-flores/) > [Jazz: Music invented for the torture of imbeciles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/jazz-music-invented-for-the-torture-of-imbeciles/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must break them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/to-study-music-we-must-learn-the-rules-to-create-music-we-must-break/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [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 > [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 > [Congress as a whole is less popular than it's been since polling was invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/congress-as-a-whole-is-less-popular-than-it-s-been-since-polling-was/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Redemption is invented by the sinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hill/redemption-is-invented-by-the-sinner/) [Lawrence Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hill/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I don't think I'm the one that invented glamour at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-lang/i-don-t-think-i-m-the-one-that-invented-glamour-at-all/) [Helmut Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-lang/) ## More by Nadia Boulanger > [Nothing is better than music; when it takes us out of time, it has done more for us than we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/nothing-is-better-than-music-when-it-takes-us-out-of-time-it-has-done/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Do nothing for effect. Do it for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/do-nothing-for-effect-do-it-for-truth/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [A great work of art is made out of a combination of obedience and liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/a-great-work-of-art-is-made-out-of-a-combination-of-obedience-and/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/do-not-take-up-music-unless-you-would-rather-die-than-not-do-so/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [It is one thing to be gifted and quite another thing to be worthy of one's own gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/it-is-one-thing-to-be-gifted-and-quite-another-thing-to-be-worthy-of/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [As far as the execution is concerned ... the most frequent and most serious mistake is to follow the music instead of preceding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/as-far-as-the-execution-is-concerned-the-most-frequent-and-most/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [I adore tradition. I cannot stand habit. Simply to repeat is nothing, also to destroy is nothing. Tradition is never interrupted, we are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/i-adore-tradition-i-cannot-stand-habit-simply-to-repeat-is-nothing/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [The history of harmony is the history of the development of the human ear, which has gradually assimilated, in their natural order, the successive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/the-history-of-harmony-is-the-history-of-the-development-of-the-human/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [In music everything is prolonged, everything is edified, and when the enchantment has ceased, we are still bathed in its clarity; solitude is accompanied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/in-music-everything-is-prolonged-everything-is-edified-and-when-the/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must break them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/to-study-music-we-must-learn-the-rules-to-create-music-we-must-break/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [A great work is made out of a combination of obedience and liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/a-great-work-is-made-out-of-a-combination-of-obedience-and-liberty/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [You should never listen to someone practice. That is their work and theirs alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/you-should-never-listen-to-someone-practice-that-is-their-work-and/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Great art likes chains. The greatest artists have created art within bounds. Or else they have created their own chains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/great-art-likes-chains-the-greatest-artists-have-created-art-within/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/life-is-denied-by-lack-of-attention-whether-it-be-to-cleaning-windows/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in-which-emotion-is-expressed/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) [Explore all 36 Nadia Boulanger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) ## 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": "Music was not invented by the composer, but found.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nadia Boulanger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-but-found/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-but-found/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/nadia-boulanger-17786_composer_music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-b_2622451.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music was not invented by the composer, but found.” — Nadia Boulanger", "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": "Nadia Boulanger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music was not invented by the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-but-found/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/music-was-not-invented-by-the-composer-but-found/#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 } } ] } ```