--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My beats and my production aren't dark or…" description: "\"My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any means; it's basically the lyrics I think, and the melody sometimes can be too.\" — Sarah Barthel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg" --- # My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any… ![“My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any means; it's basically the lyrics I think, and the melody sometimes can be too.” quote by Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg) > “My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any means; it's basically the lyrics I think, and the melody sometimes can be too.” [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker emphasizes that their music style is defined by lyrical content and melody rather than genre labels like dark or emo. **In simple terms:** Music is shaped by lyrics and melody, not genre tags. Key Takeaway Focus on authentic expression over categorization. Themes music creation genre perception authenticity Mood reflective introspective Type artistic musical When to use this quote - songwriting - recording sessions - live performance - marketing music Key Concepts artistic identity genre fluidity Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when a song fits a genre? - What impact do genre expectations have on listener reception? A Different Perspective Genre labels can limit audience expectations and artistic freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Basically Lyrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basically-lyrics-4853502/) [Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats/) [Beats Production](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats-production-4853504/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Emo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emo/) [Lyrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrics/) [Lyrics Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyrics-think-321660/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melody/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Think Melody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-melody-1351565/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I think a melody is a melody. And the way I usually start is I start writing my themes without even writing to picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramin-djawadi/i-think-a-melody-is-a-melody-and-the-way-i-usually-start-is-i-start/) [Ramin Djawadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramin-djawadi/) > [I don't really have time to sit down and write. But when I think of a melody, I call up my answering machine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/i-don-t-really-have-time-to-sit-down-and-write-but-when-i-think-of-a/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [I would literally never think about melody. I never thought people listened to melody because I listen to words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-nesbitt/i-would-literally-never-think-about-melody-i-never-thought-people/) [Nina Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-nesbitt/) > [Well yes, I think melody is still my forte.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vidyasagar/well-yes-i-think-melody-is-still-my-forte/) [Vidyasagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vidyasagar/) > [I think the melody is the first time I hear in a song and if I like the melody, then I'll pay closer attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-strait/i-think-the-melody-is-the-first-time-i-hear-in-a-song-and-if-i-like/) [George Strait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-strait/) > [I always try, when I'm singing songs, to interpret them the way that I would've arranged them. I think about the melody first, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/i-always-try-when-i-m-singing-songs-to-interpret-them-the-way-that-i/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [We've learned over the years that if we wanted we could write anything that just felt good or sounded good and it didn't necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/we-ve-learned-over-the-years-that-if-we-wanted-we-could-write/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [Sometimes people mishear my lyrics and think a song's about something it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/sometimes-people-mishear-my-lyrics-and-think-a-song-s-about-something/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I like Patti Smith's lyrics, and sometimes think I could be influenced by them. But she has a kind of cool that's beyond me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/i-like-patti-smith-s-lyrics-and-sometimes-think-i-could-be-influenced/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [When I write songs, I like to write lyrics first, and I think that's different from a lot of singer-songwriters. But I heard Sammy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-sobule/when-i-write-songs-i-like-to-write-lyrics-first-and-i-think-that-s/) [Jill Sobule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-sobule/) > [In fact, many rock critics look askance at explicitly political lyrics, which I think is pretty stupid, without denying that some political lyrics are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/in-fact-many-rock-critics-look-askance-at-explicitly-political-lyrics/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [When you're in a daze - whether it's from running or a hangover or whatever else - I think that ideas from your subconscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alasdair-maclean/when-you-re-in-a-daze-whether-it-s-from-running-or-a-hangover-or/) [Alasdair MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alasdair-maclean/) > [As far as the lyrics go, I think I was negotiating a moment in my life where I didn't feel happy. I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/as-far-as-the-lyrics-go-i-think-i-was-negotiating-a-moment-in-my-life/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [“Some sample lyrics I think I catch: "My engine races up to seventh gear; wrap your legs around my engine, dear . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-fischer/some-sample-lyrics-i-think-i-catch-my-engine-races-up-to-seventh-gear/) [Rusty Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-fischer/) > [The beauty of being the person behind the pen is that you get to rewrite history, but people who read my lyrics think they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-wentz/the-beauty-of-being-the-person-behind-the-pen-is-that-you-get-to/) [Pete Wentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-wentz/) ## More by Sarah Barthel > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [Music for me is very therapeutic, it's very cathartic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/music-for-me-is-very-therapeutic-it-s-very-cathartic/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [There are so many layers of bullshit and everything sounds the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/there-are-so-many-layers-of-bullshit-and-everything-sounds-the-same/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [If the lyrics have meaning to it and it gives me a certain emotion, I think that's the most beautiful part about music -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/if-the-lyrics-have-meaning-to-it-and-it-gives-me-a-certain-emotion-i/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [Missing your loved ones is really tough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/missing-your-loved-ones-is-really-tough/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [I think a lot of what I do musically is about juxtaposition and contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/i-think-a-lot-of-what-i-do-musically-is-about-juxtaposition-and/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [For me, I don't think I gravitate to listening to only dark music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/for-me-i-don-t-think-i-gravitate-to-listening-to-only-dark-music/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [The higher the heel, the more drastic it can get. But I do need heels to perform, which is strange. I can't perform in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/the-higher-the-heel-the-more-drastic-it-can-get-but-i-do-need-heels/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [If someone says something good or bad, or whatever they have to say about your song, you've just got to embrace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/if-someone-says-something-good-or-bad-or-whatever-they-have-to-say/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [Maybe one day a song might make you feel completely different than the next, but I like to have a lot of everything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/maybe-one-day-a-song-might-make-you-feel-completely-different-than/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [We definitely tend to gravitate toward writing more on the darker side of life, but also incorporate the light at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-definitely-tend-to-gravitate-toward-writing-more-on-the-darker/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [I tend to use my music as therapy, in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/i-tend-to-use-my-music-as-therapy-in-a-way/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [I feel like I write about life and love and death; it's just what I gravitate towards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/i-feel-like-i-write-about-life-and-love-and-death-it-s-just-what-i/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [I like to incorporate all different elements into my music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/i-like-to-incorporate-all-different-elements-into-my-music/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) [Explore all 15 Sarah Barthel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) ## More Beats quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/i-don-t-know-about-the-rest-of-the-world-but-i-know-in-our-region/) [Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/) > [Grand business plans are all very well, but nothing beats dipping your toe in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/grand-business-plans-are-all-very-well-but-nothing-beats-dipping-your/) [Baron Bilimoria Karan Bilimoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Imagine if you were a drummer, and you accidentally picked up two magic wands instead of sticks. There you are, keeping the beat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/imagine-if-you-were-a-drummer-and-you-accidentally-picked-up-two/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I don't like small birds. They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 3,311 Beats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any means; it's basically the lyrics I think, and the melody sometimes can be too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Barthel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-or-emo-by-any-means-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beats" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-or-emo-by-any-means-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2c/sarah-barthel-32540_beats_my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-o_593617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My beats and my production aren't dark or emo by any means; it's basically the lyrics I think, and the…” — Sarah Barthel", "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": "Sarah Barthel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My beats and my production aren't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-or-emo-by-any-means-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/my-beats-and-my-production-aren-t-dark-or-emo-by-any-means-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```