--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To practice your scales, so to speak, in…" description: "\"To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.\" — Rita Dove" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg" --- # To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the… ![“To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg) > “To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Practicing fundamentals is essential before tackling complex creative work. **In simple terms:** Master basics before grand projects. Key Takeaway Build solid foundations first. Themes practice skill growth Mood reflective motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - musical training - writing workshops - artistic mentorship Key Concepts creative process education Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance practice with innovation? - When is it time to move beyond fundamentals? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on basics can stifle experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [To play with a symphony today is just fabulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-campbell/to-play-with-a-symphony-today-is-just-fabulous/) [Glen Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-campbell/) > [It's a wonderful thing to play with symphony orchestras - I've played with many - but it's really special in Israel because you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-feliciano/it-s-a-wonderful-thing-to-play-with-symphony-orchestras-i-ve-played/) [Jose Feliciano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-feliciano/) > [You can't play a symphony alone, it takes an orchestra to play it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navjot-singh-sidhu/you-can-t-play-a-symphony-alone-it-takes-an-orchestra-to-play-it/) [Navjot Singh Sidhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navjot-singh-sidhu/) > [... I practice more than ever ... mostly scales and arpeggios ... and anything I can't do ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-practice-more-than-ever-mostly-scales-and-arpeggios-and-anything-i/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [The only thing you really have to practice is your ability. And this is something I do all the time. I try to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-brion/the-only-thing-you-really-have-to-practice-is-your-ability-and-this/) [Jon Brion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-brion/) > [I'm not the type of player to sit home and practice scales and work on runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-navarro/i-m-not-the-type-of-player-to-sit-home-and-practice-scales-and-work/) [Dave Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-navarro/) > [I would keep in mind to a young poet that you are entering into something that is very important, that has always been important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-would-keep-in-mind-to-a-young-poet-that-you-are-entering-into/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [I think the coming of spring, the stars overhead, the first snowfall and so on are gifts for a child, a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-think-the-coming-of-spring-the-stars-overhead-the-first-snowfall/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [As a very young poet, I had been brought up on that dogma that politics was bad for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/as-a-very-young-poet-i-had-been-brought-up-on-that-dogma-that/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [As a young poet, you need corroboration, and that's what publication does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/as-a-young-poet-you-need-corroboration-and-that-s-what-publication/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Bad luck for the young poet would be a rich father, an early marriage, an early success or the ability to do anything well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bad-luck-for-the-young-poet-would-be-a-rich-father-an-early-marriage/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [When I came back to New York, it was such a joke because I was always referred to as the pure young poet who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/when-i-came-back-to-new-york-it-was-such-a-joke-because-i-was-always/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [I think a young poet, or an old poet, for that matter, should try to produce something that pleases himself personally, not only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-think-a-young-poet-or-an-old-poet-for-that-matter-should-try-to/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [But I'm too old to be written about as a young poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/but-i-m-too-old-to-be-written-about-as-a-young-poet/) [Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/) > [“She was one of those exceptional children who do still spend time outside, in solitude. In her case nature represented beauty - and refuge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/she-was-one-of-those-exceptional-children-who-do-still-spend-time/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## More Order quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [It is absolutely necessary... for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/it-is-absolutely-necessary-for-me-to-have-persons-that-can-think-for/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) [Browse all 13,339 Order quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rita Dove" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-order-play-the-symphony-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Order" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-order-play-the-symphony-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/rita-dove-4855_order_to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-o_2059324.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.” — Rita Dove", "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": "Rita Dove", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To practice your scales, so to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-order-play-the-symphony-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-practice-your-scales-so-to-speak-in-order-play-the-symphony-is/#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 } } ] } ```