---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not really thinking, I am just…"
description: "\"I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the music. And people have asked me, why don't you say more, or why do you not have singers, or why d..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg"
---

#  I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the…

![“I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the music. And people have asked me, why don't you say more, or why do you not have singers, or why don't you sing? I think it's because, if I would have words for what I am doing, I I could write. But I really don't. It's a whole different thing…” quote by Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg)

> “I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the music. And people have asked me, why don't you say more, or why do you not have singers, or why don't you sing? I think it's because, if I would have words for what I am doing, I I could write. But I really don't. It's a whole different thing. And I think it's one of the beauty of instrumental music is that it can be background. It can be what people call "easy listening." But it's really one of those things where it's as much as you are willing to give it.”

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The artist values instrumental music’s openness, believing words would limit its expressive freedom and listener involvement.

**In simple terms:** Instrumental music invites personal interpretation.

Key Takeaway

Allow space for listeners to fill in meaning.

Themes

creativity music expression

Mood

contemplative inspired

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- film scoring
- live performance
- personal meditation

Key Concepts

instrumental composition artistic freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- How does silence shape your emotional response?
- What does “background” music mean to you?

A Different Perspective

Some may view instrumental music as lacking depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Instrumental music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instrumental-music/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [If you read about a tree, and there is a description, you have to grow that tree in your mind. So that's an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/if-you-read-about-a-tree-and-there-is-a-description-you-have-to-grow/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

> [When I'm writing instrumental music, I try to find musical and non-musical inspirations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dessner/when-i-m-writing-instrumental-music-i-try-to-find-musical-and-non/)

[Bryce Dessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dessner/)

> [After all my years of doing instrumental music I still like just a simple instrumental song with a nice catchy melody and an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/after-all-my-years-of-doing-instrumental-music-i-still-like-just-a/)

[Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/)

> [I realised a long time ago that instrumental music speaks a lot more clearly than English, Spanish, Yiddish, Swahili, any other language. Pure melody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-santana/i-realised-a-long-time-ago-that-instrumental-music-speaks-a-lot-more/)

[Carlos Santana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-santana/)

> [I really love the fact that instrumental music can have you do your own inner-movies or your own visuals to the sound. There's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trentem-ller/i-really-love-the-fact-that-instrumental-music-can-have-you-do-your/)

[Trentemøller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trentem-ller/)

> [Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sanborn/instrumental-music-is-increasingly-marginalized/)

[David Sanborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sanborn/)

> [You look back, and it was important to bring back instrumental music, and it was great to be a part of that wave of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hamm/you-look-back-and-it-was-important-to-bring-back-instrumental-music/)

Stuart Hamm

> [The Chili Peppers do a lot of improvising, but it's within the framework of song structures. The Meatbats is from a purely instrumental standpoint.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-smith/the-chili-peppers-do-a-lot-of-improvising-but-it-s-within-the/)

[Chad Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-smith/)

> [The essence of higher instrumental music lays herein that one is able to express in tones that what one is unable to say in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/the-essence-of-higher-instrumental-music-lays-herein-that-one-is-able/)

[Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/)

> [I write a lot of more instrumental music than I do vocal music. It's because I come out of a background of playing piano…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/i-write-a-lot-of-more-instrumental-music-than-i-do-vocal-music-it-s/)

[Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/)

> [Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized and there's just no outlet, there's no venue for it, in terms of media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sanborn/instrumental-music-is-increasingly-marginalized-and-there-s-just-no/)

[David Sanborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sanborn/)

> [I probably listen to more instrumental music than music with lyrics, but at the same time I do love both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/i-probably-listen-to-more-instrumental-music-than-music-with-lyrics/)

[Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/)

> [I really hope that with my album, because I have a bit more of a mainstream crossover following, I really hope that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-strauss/i-really-hope-that-with-my-album-because-i-have-a-bit-more-of-a/)

[Nita Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-strauss/)

> [With instrumental music, it is traditionally hard to get exposure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/with-instrumental-music-it-is-traditionally-hard-to-get-exposure/)

[Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/)

> [The character of instrumental music... lets the emotions radiate and shine in their own character without presuming to display them as real or imaginary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-liszt/the-character-of-instrumental-music-lets-the-emotions-radiate-and/)

[Franz Liszt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-liszt/)

## More by Ottmar Liebert

> [You grow the fastest by getting... adopting ideas and technologies from other cultures. And that has been proven in history, time and time again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/you-grow-the-fastest-by-getting-adopting-ideas-and-technologies-from/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

> [If you read about a tree, and there is a description, you have to grow that tree in your mind. So that's an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/if-you-read-about-a-tree-and-there-is-a-description-you-have-to-grow/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

> [There was a show in Germany called Beat Club, and they had a lot of bands playing live. And I had this master plan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/there-was-a-show-in-germany-called-beat-club-and-they-had-a-lot-of/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

> [Flamenco is Arabic music and rhythms filtered through centuries of gypsies making music. The gypsies themselves came originally from India. And then there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/flamenco-is-arabic-music-and-rhythms-filtered-through-centuries-of/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

> [When I came to the States, I still wanted to be an electric guitar player. But moved to Santa Fe in '86. And just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/when-i-came-to-the-states-i-still-wanted-to-be-an-electric-guitar/)

[Ottmar Liebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

[Explore all 6 Ottmar Liebert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the music. And people have asked me, why don't you say more, or why do you not have singers, or why don't you sing? I think it's because, if I would have words for what I am doing, I I could write. But I really don't. It's a whole different thing. And I think it's one of the beauty of instrumental music is that it can be background. It can be what people call \"easy listening.\" But it's really one of those things where it's as much as you are willing to give it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ottmar Liebert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-working-with-the-music-and-people/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-working-with-the-music-and-people/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e22/ottmar-liebert-57998_communication_i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-worki_1512675.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I am not really thinking, I am just, working with the music. And people have asked me, why don't you say…” — Ottmar Liebert",
                "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": "Ottmar Liebert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-liebert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I am not really thinking, I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-working-with-the-music-and-people/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-liebert/i-am-not-really-thinking-i-am-just-working-with-the-music-and-people/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
