--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't improve sound by having only…" description: "\"You can't improve sound by having only silence. The problem is to use each at the proper time.\" — Norton Juster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/norton-juster-2113_problem_you-can-t-improve-sound-by-having-only-s_346024.png" --- # You can't improve sound by having only silence. The… ![“You can't improve sound by having only silence. The problem is to use each at the proper time.” quote by Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/norton-juster-2113_problem_you-can-t-improve-sound-by-having-only-s_346024.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/norton-juster-2113_problem_you-can-t-improve-sound-by-having-only-s_346024.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/145/norton-juster-2113_problem_you-can-t-improve-sound-by-having-only-s_346024.png) > “You can't improve sound by having only silence. The problem is to use each at the proper time.” [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence alone isn’t enough; you must use sound wisely at the right moments. **In simple terms:** Both silence and sound are needed appropriately. Key Takeaway Balance quiet and noise for effective communication. Themes communication balance timing Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - public speaking - music production - classroom management - meditation practice Key Concepts information theory audio design Questions to Reflect On - When is silence more powerful than speech? - How do you decide the right time to speak? A Different Perspective Overusing silence can create confusion; overusing sound can overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Tatiana and the soldier were having a silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/tatiana-and-the-soldier-were-having-a-silence/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [“…And you’re acting like I should be able to read something in your silence. The problem is that speech needs periods of silence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wildbow/and-you-re-acting-like-i-should-be-able-to-read-something-in-your/) wildbow > [Anyone that's trying to do something to improve sound... that's all good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-dre/anyone-that-s-trying-to-do-something-to-improve-sound-that-s-all-good/) [Dr. Dre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-dre/) > [You have to have a certain amount of grit in your sound, and having real synths and talking certain elements outside your computer can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deadmau5/you-have-to-have-a-certain-amount-of-grit-in-your-sound-and-having/) Deadmau5 > [I've never been good at being nostalgic, and I've never been able to focus on sound without having a voice that's very here-and-now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-never-been-good-at-being-nostalgic-and-i-ve-never-been-able-to/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I like the idea of imagining a sound and feeling a sound and then having it come out through your body, through an instrument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tod-machover/i-like-the-idea-of-imagining-a-sound-and-feeling-a-sound-and-then/) [Tod Machover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tod-machover/) > [Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/have-you-ever-heard-the-wonderful-silence-just-before-the-dawn-or-the/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Technology has altered the way music sounds, how it’s composed and how we experience it. It has also flooded the world with music. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/technology-has-altered-the-way-music-sounds-how-it-s-composed-and-how/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [The material of music is sound and silence. Integrating these is composing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-material-of-music-is-sound-and-silence-integrating-these-is/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [It was no mean trick doing the wiring with those mittens on. But I managed it and crawled out, batting spiders into the shadows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-white/it-was-no-mean-trick-doing-the-wiring-with-those-mittens-on-but-i/) [Bailey White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-white/) > [There are houses in certain provincial towns whose aspect inspires melancholy, akin to that called forth by sombre cloisters, dreary moorlands, or the desolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/there-are-houses-in-certain-provincial-towns-whose-aspect-inspires/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“When I say I love the silence, I'm not being entirely truthful. What I actually love are the abundant, delicate sounds that amplify when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/when-i-say-i-love-the-silence-i-m-not-being-entirely-truthful-what-i/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence, but imagining the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-kodaly/we-should-read-music-in-the-same-way-that-an-educated-adult-will-read/) [Zoltan Kodaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-kodaly/) > [It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/it-was-a-spring-without-voices-on-the-mornings-that-had-once-throbbed/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More by Norton Juster > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [“How are you going to make it move? It doesn't have a – " "Be very quiet," advised the duke, "for it goes without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/how-are-you-going-to-make-it-move-it-doesn-t-have-a-be-very-quiet/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [It was really written as most, I think, books are by writers - for themselves. 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It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things that matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/it-s-not-just-learning-that-s-important-it-s-learning-what-to-do-with/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Sometimes I find the best way of getting from one place to another is simply to erase everything and begin again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/sometimes-i-find-the-best-way-of-getting-from-one-place-to-another-is/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/have-you-ever-heard-the-wonderful-silence-just-before-the-dawn-or-the/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [How can you see something that isn't there?" yawned the Humbug, who wasn't fully awake yet. 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