--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write…" description: "\"I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write songs... and good ones.\" — Nina Simone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/nina-simone-3396_ears_i-play-piano-by-ear-yes-i-write-songs-an_2545330.png" --- # I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write songs... and good ones. ![“I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write songs... and good ones.” quote by Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/nina-simone-3396_ears_i-play-piano-by-ear-yes-i-write-songs-an_2545330.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/nina-simone-3396_ears_i-play-piano-by-ear-yes-i-write-songs-an_2545330.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5d/nina-simone-3396_ears_i-play-piano-by-ear-yes-i-write-songs-an_2545330.png) > “I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write songs... and good ones.” [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Playing by ear and composing spontaneously showcases innate musical talent. **In simple terms:** Play and write by ear. Key Takeaway Trust your musical instincts. Themes creativity music spontaneity Mood inspirational joyful Type artistic musical When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - music education Key Concepts improvisation artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does ear training affect composition? - Can spontaneity coexist with structured practice? A Different Perspective Reliance on ear may limit formal training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I can play piano by ear, and some guitar. But I definitely havent mastered either instrument. I do it for fun as a hobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/i-can-play-piano-by-ear-and-some-guitar-but-i-definitely-havent/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [I started playing in the band and learned to play piano by ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-richardson/i-started-playing-in-the-band-and-learned-to-play-piano-by-ear/) [Kevin Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-richardson/) > [To play your colors by eye is worse than playing the piano by ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/to-play-your-colors-by-eye-is-worse-than-playing-the-piano-by-ear/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [I wanted to write songs that were as good as the covers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-thorogood/i-wanted-to-write-songs-that-were-as-good-as-the-covers/) [George Thorogood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-thorogood/) > [I'd like to write some songs that are so good that nobody understands them. Not even myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/townes-van-zandt/i-d-like-to-write-some-songs-that-are-so-good-that-nobody-understands/) [Townes Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/townes-van-zandt/) > [I know what my job is: I write the songs, I sing them, I play them on the piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-know-what-my-job-is-i-write-the-songs-i-sing-them-i-play-them-on/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [Since I was three I've been playing the piano. I've been onstage. My mother is an Evangelist and I used to play the piano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/since-i-was-three-i-ve-been-playing-the-piano-i-ve-been-onstage-my/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Schoolwork came easy to me. I learned to play piano effortlessly. I was coasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/schoolwork-came-easy-to-me-i-learned-to-play-piano-effortlessly-i-was/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [I got started when I was 3 years old because my father was a music teacher and my lessons were free. Instead of learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-got-started-when-i-was-3-years-old-because-my-father-was-a-music/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I don't go out much. I have people over, and I cook dinner, or we play the piano, or we watch TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/i-don-t-go-out-much-i-have-people-over-and-i-cook-dinner-or-we-play/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [I just like playing music and doing it with people that I care about. It doesn't really matter where. It's like, 'Why don't we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-klinghoffer/i-just-like-playing-music-and-doing-it-with-people-that-i-care-about/) [Josh Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-klinghoffer/) > [I can kind of play the piano and I've got a drum kit which I've been meaning to learn. And I am going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhod-gilbert/i-can-kind-of-play-the-piano-and-i-ve-got-a-drum-kit-which-i-ve-been/) [Rhod Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhod-gilbert/) > [I really wish I could play the piano really well without having to practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-miller/i-really-wish-i-could-play-the-piano-really-well-without-having-to/) [Christopher Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-miller/) > [If I don't channel pain into a song, I play my guitar or play the piano or play my drums, or go swimming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/if-i-don-t-channel-pain-into-a-song-i-play-my-guitar-or-play-the/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [I wanted to play the piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-carlson/i-wanted-to-play-the-piano/) [Gretchen Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-carlson/) ## More by Nina Simone > [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [My love is like the wind and wild is the wind. Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness. Let the wind blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/my-love-is-like-the-wind-and-wild-is-the-wind-give-me-more-than-one/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I can't stand loud guitars that make me deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-can-t-stand-loud-guitars-that-make-me-deaf/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I don't like to go to strange places. I was in Italy for about five hours on my way to Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-don-t-like-to-go-to-strange-places-i-was-in-italy-for-about-five/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [We have ordered things so long in a certain way, we are numb. Nobody dares question it. This is what is wrong, symbolically, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/we-have-ordered-things-so-long-in-a-certain-way-we-are-numb-nobody/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I wasn't a jazz player, but a classical musician, and I improvised arrangements of popular songs using classical motifs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-wasn-t-a-jazz-player-but-a-classical-musician-and-i-improvised/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I think the rich will eventually have to cave in too, because the economic situation around the world is not gonna tolerate the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-think-the-rich-will-eventually-have-to-cave-in-too-because-the/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [There's no excuse for the young...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/there-s-no-excuse-for-the-young/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/everything-that-happened-to-me-as-a-child-involved-music-it-was-part/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [When I was studying... there weren't any black concert pianists. My choices were intuitive, and I had the technique to do it. People have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/when-i-was-studying-there-weren-t-any-black-concert-pianists-my/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/you-have-to-learn-to-get-up-from-the-table-when-love-is-not-being/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [That's a very high goal to have, study eight hours a day to be a concert pianist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/that-s-a-very-high-goal-to-have-study-eight-hours-a-day-to-be-a/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/don-t-let-me-be-misunderstood-a-song-that-was-written-for-simone-she/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/this-is-the-world-you-have-made-yourself-now-you-have-to-live-in-it/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-ll-tell-you-what-freedom-is-to-me-no-fear-i-mean-really-no-fear/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) [Explore all 132 Nina Simone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I play piano, by ear. 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