--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think that the brass is not…" description: "\"If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.\" — Richard Strauss" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg" --- # If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough… ![“If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.” quote by Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg) > “If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.” [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If brass isn’t loud enough, lower its volume slightly to achieve balance. **In simple terms:** Adjust volume for balance. Key Takeaway Fine‑tune ensemble sound. Themes music balance acoustics performance Mood technical thoughtful Type musical educational When to use this quote - rehearsals - live concerts - recording sessions Key Concepts orchestration dynamic control sound engineering Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide the right adjustment? - When is silence more powerful than volume? A Different Perspective May reduce intended impact if over‑adjusted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brass/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Humans listen to their hearts so fucking loud that they mute their dumbass brains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-fart-blast/humans-listen-to-their-hearts-so-fucking-loud-that-they-mute-their/) The Fart Blast > [Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a short glance to give an important cue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-encouragingly-at-the-brass-except-with-a-short-glance-to/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never look at the brass - it only encourages them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-brass-it-only-encourages-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [I have reared a memorial more enduring than brass, and loftier than the regal structure of the pyramids, which neither the corroding shower nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/i-have-reared-a-memorial-more-enduring-than-brass-and-loftier-than/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ As many bands as you heard \[in New Orleans\], that's how many bands you heard playing right. I thought I was in Heaven playing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/as-many-bands-as-you-heard-in-new-orleans-that-s-how-many-bands-you/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [Custom is custom: it is built of brass, boiler-iron, granite; facts, reasonings, arguments have no more effect upon it than the idle winds have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/custom-is-custom-it-is-built-of-brass-boiler-iron-granite-facts/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their-intrinsic-value-but-if-they/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [My father died very suddenly at sixty-three. Just dropped dead. For a long time afterward, I'd ask myself, Why didn't I ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/my-father-died-very-suddenly-at-sixty-three-just-dropped-dead-for-a/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money... I used to love traveling on the trains from town to town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-liotta/man-i-did-love-this-game-i-d-have-played-for-food-money-i-used-to/) [Ray Liotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-liotta/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could-" said Percy "Percy... Chiron's collection!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/hercules-used-noise-brass-bells-he-scared-them-away-with-the-most/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More by Richard Strauss > [I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/i-want-to-be-able-to-depict-in-music-a-glass-of-beer-so-accurately/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never look at the trombones, you'll just encourage them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-trombones-you-ll-just-encourage-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never look at the brass - it only encourages them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-brass-it-only-encourages-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but the most difficult to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/the-human-voice-is-the-most-beautiful-instrument-of-all-but-the-most/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [The aria, after all, is the soul of opera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/the-aria-after-all-is-the-soul-of-opera/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [don't perspire while conducting - only the audience should get warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/don-t-perspire-while-conducting-only-the-audience-should-get-warm/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Must one become seventy years old to recognize that one's greatest strength lies in creating musical kitsch?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/must-one-become-seventy-years-old-to-recognize-that-one-s-greatest/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [He'd be better off shoveling snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/he-d-be-better-off-shoveling-snow/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [On conducting: If you can just barely hear the French horns on stage, the balance is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/on-conducting-if-you-can-just-barely-hear-the-french-horns-on-stage/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [I shall never be converted, and I shall remain true to my old religion of the classics until my life's end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/i-shall-never-be-converted-and-i-shall-remain-true-to-my-old-religion/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never let the horns and woodwinds out of your sight; if you can hear them at all, they are too loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-let-the-horns-and-woodwinds-out-of-your-sight-if-you-can-hear/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Ideas, like young wine, should be put in storage and taken up again only after they have been allowed to ferment and to ripen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/ideas-like-young-wine-should-be-put-in-storage-and-taken-up-again/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [“Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a brief glance to give an important cue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-encouragingly-at-the-brass-except-with-a-brief-glance-to/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/i-may-not-be-a-first-rate-composer-but-i-am-a-first-class-second-rate/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never look at the trombones. You'll only encourage them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-trombones-you-ll-only-encourage-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) [Explore all 21 Richard Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) ## More Brass quotes > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could-" said Percy "Percy... Chiron's collection!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/hercules-used-noise-brass-bells-he-scared-them-away-with-the-most/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I smiled,"Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes she'll find it strong as iron-bound brass, or gold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-smiled-deoch-my-heart-is-made-of-stronger-stuff-than-glass-when-she/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Man, I did love this game. I'd have played for food money... I used to love traveling on the trains from town to town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-liotta/man-i-did-love-this-game-i-d-have-played-for-food-money-i-used-to/) [Ray Liotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-liotta/) > [My father died very suddenly at sixty-three. Just dropped dead. For a long time afterward, I'd ask myself, Why didn't I ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/my-father-died-very-suddenly-at-sixty-three-just-dropped-dead-for-a/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value: but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/virtue-and-learning-like-gold-have-their-intrinsic-value-but-if-they/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Custom is custom: it is built of brass, boiler-iron, granite; facts, reasonings, arguments have no more effect upon it than the idle winds have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/custom-is-custom-it-is-built-of-brass-boiler-iron-granite-facts/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ As many bands as you heard \[in New Orleans\], that's how many bands you heard playing right. I thought I was in Heaven playing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/as-many-bands-as-you-heard-in-new-orleans-that-s-how-many-bands-you/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [I have reared a memorial more enduring than brass, and loftier than the regal structure of the pyramids, which neither the corroding shower nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/i-have-reared-a-memorial-more-enduring-than-brass-and-loftier-than/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [If bullshit was music, that fellow would be a brass band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-crosbie/if-bullshit-was-music-that-fellow-would-be-a-brass-band/) Paddy Crosbie > [You fire blanks, but the guns eject real brass, hot cartridges. They're, like, 400 degrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-friend/you-fire-blanks-but-the-guns-eject-real-brass-hot-cartridges-they-re/) [Rupert Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-friend/) > [Mexican Shuffle was a turning point of the Brass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-alpert/mexican-shuffle-was-a-turning-point-of-the-brass/) [Herb Alpert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-alpert/) [Browse all 204 Brass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brass/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Strauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowing-loud-enough-mute-it-by-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brass" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowing-loud-enough-mute-it-by-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/richard-strauss-26560_brass_if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowi_2826591.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you think that the brass is not blowing loud enough, mute it by a couple of degrees.” — Richard Strauss", "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": "Richard Strauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you think that the brass...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowing-loud-enough-mute-it-by-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/if-you-think-that-the-brass-is-not-blowing-loud-enough-mute-it-by-a/#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 } } ] } ```