--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the unmusical hearer a note on the…" description: "\"To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner, this perhaps often is menacing enough.\" — Ralph Vaughan Williams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg" --- # To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner… ![“To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner, this perhaps often is menacing enough.” quote by Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg) > “To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner, this perhaps often is menacing enough.” [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can be misinterpreted by those unfamiliar, turning a simple sound into a threatening signal. **In simple terms:** Unfamiliar ears may misread music as danger. Key Takeaway Consider context before assuming meaning. Themes interpret interpretation context perception music Mood cautious reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - Concert listening - cultural exchange - educational settings Key Concepts Semiotics cultural bias acoustic perception Questions to Reflect On - How does cultural background shape sound perception? - Can we train ears to hear beyond fear? A Different Perspective Misinterpretation can cause unnecessary fear or conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Gong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gong/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-could-speak-all-the-languages-of-earth-and-of-angels-but-didn-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Look at any inspired painting. It's like a gong sounding; it puts you in a state of reverberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/look-at-any-inspired-painting-it-s-like-a-gong-sounding-it-puts-you/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I had only planned to strike the gong violently in order to somehow shake people up and make them more aware. I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthus/i-had-only-planned-to-strike-the-gong-violently-in-order-to-somehow/) [Balthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balthus/) > [I helped set The Gong Show. I've done so many game shows. I've helped create game shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-farr/i-helped-set-the-gong-show-i-ve-done-so-many-game-shows-i-ve-helped/) [Jamie Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-farr/) > [He wasn’t a carrier of commitment-phobia or other notable boy diseases and he used expensive moisturizer. That’s about all it takes to bang my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/he-wasn-t-a-carrier-of-commitment-phobia-or-other-notable-boy/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [I must be the only person of my age who doesn't have a bloody gong. They are so common in show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-street-porter/i-must-be-the-only-person-of-my-age-who-doesn-t-have-a-bloody-gong/) [Janet Street-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-street-porter/) > [If you don't disturb yourself, like a broken gong does not vibrate, then you have achieved nirvana. Irritability no longer exists for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/if-you-don-t-disturb-yourself-like-a-broken-gong-does-not-vibrate/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [In much the same way Ip Man embodied the struggles of the Chinese people, I wanted Gong Er to represent the changing role of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wong-kar-wai/in-much-the-same-way-ip-man-embodied-the-struggles-of-the-chinese/) [Wong Kar-wai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wong-kar-wai/) > [Well Jr. Gong is coming up and doing well excellent. Treat the people right you stand out predominant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-delgado/well-jr-gong-is-coming-up-and-doing-well-excellent-treat-the-people/) [Junior Delgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-delgado/) > [“Whenever Jeu Gong could get away from the store, he went to his small plot of land at the far end of Bruce Street,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-berard/whenever-jeu-gong-could-get-away-from-the-store-he-went-to-his-small/) [Adrienne Berard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-berard/) > [When the gong sounds, get the hell out of there. -Haymitch Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunger-games/when-the-gong-sounds-get-the-hell-out-of-there-haymitch-abernathy/) [Hunger Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunger-games/) > [“At that moment the gong sounded, and the genial host came tumbling downstairs like the delivery of a ton of coals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/at-that-moment-the-gong-sounded-and-the-genial-host-came-tumbling/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [Sometimes I do my walkabouts, all the young fellows will come and call me 'hypebeast Ah Gong.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/sometimes-i-do-my-walkabouts-all-the-young-fellows-will-come-and-call/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) > [On the Gong Show, we won't get gonged. We're the Beastie Boys, not Cheech and Chong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beastie-boys/on-the-gong-show-we-won-t-get-gonged-we-re-the-beastie-boys-not/) [Beastie Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beastie-boys/) > [Britain's Got Talent' isn't all that far from 'The Gong Show' 35 years ago, is it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-tarrant/britain-s-got-talent-isn-t-all-that-far-from-the-gong-show-35-years/) [Chris Tarrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-tarrant/) ## More by Ralph Vaughan Williams > [A supreme composer can only come out of a musical nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/a-supreme-composer-can-only-come-out-of-a-musical-nation/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [I suppose it never occurs to these people that a man might just want to write a piece of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/i-suppose-it-never-occurs-to-these-people-that-a-man-might-just-want/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [The great men of music close periods; they do not inaugurate them. The pioneer work, the finding of new paths, is left to smaller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/the-great-men-of-music-close-periods-they-do-not-inaugurate-them-the/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Wagner used to read the libretti of his operas to his friends; I am glad I was not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/wagner-used-to-read-the-libretti-of-his-operas-to-his-friends-i-am/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Two years of close association with some of the best (as well as some of the worst) tunes in the world was a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/two-years-of-close-association-with-some-of-the-best-as-well-as-some/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [But in the next world I shan't be doing music, with all the striving and disappointments. I shall be being it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/but-in-the-next-world-i-shan-t-be-doing-music-with-all-the-striving/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Have we not all about us forms of a musical expression which we can take and purify and raise to the level of great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/have-we-not-all-about-us-forms-of-a-musical-expression-which-we-can/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [The audience is requested not to refrain from talking during the overture. Otherwise they will know all the tunes before the opera begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/the-audience-is-requested-not-to-refrain-from-talking-during-the/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [It looks wrong, and it sounds wrong, but it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/it-looks-wrong-and-it-sounds-wrong-but-it-s-right/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [The art of music above all the other arts is the expression of the soul of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/the-art-of-music-above-all-the-other-arts-is-the-expression-of-the/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Music is the reaching out towards the utmost realities by means of ordered sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/music-is-the-reaching-out-towards-the-utmost-realities-by-means-of/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [The business of finding a nation's soul is a long and slow one at the best and a great many prophets must be slain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/the-business-of-finding-a-nation-s-soul-is-a-long-and-slow-one-at-the/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [ There \[is\] a feeling of recognition, as of meeting an old friend, which comes to us all in the face of great artistic experiences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/there-is-a-feeling-of-recognition-as-of-meeting-an-old-friend-which/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [No, it's a Bb. It looks wrong and it sounds wrong, but it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/no-it-s-a-bb-it-looks-wrong-and-it-sounds-wrong-but-it-s-right/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [Beethoven was ahead of the times, Bach behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/beethoven-was-ahead-of-the-times-bach-behind-them/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) [Explore all 24 Ralph Vaughan Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . A public banquet, if eaten with thought and care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/my-dinners-have-never-interfered-with-my-business-they-have-been-my/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [“We just went out for dinner. We didn't participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dahl/we-just-went-out-for-dinner-we-didn-t-participate-in-a-roman-orgy-i/) [Victoria Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dahl/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner, this perhaps often is menacing enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Vaughan Williams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-gong-means-dinner-this-perhaps/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dinner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-gong-means-dinner-this-perhaps/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/ralph-vaughan-williams-24520_dinner_to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-go_2745899.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To the unmusical hearer a note on the gong means dinner, this perhaps often is menacing enough.” — Ralph Vaughan Williams", "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": "Ralph Vaughan Williams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To the unmusical hearer a note...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-gong-means-dinner-this-perhaps/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/to-the-unmusical-hearer-a-note-on-the-gong-means-dinner-this-perhaps/#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 } } ] } ```