--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think there have to be Bachs and…" description: "\"I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. Musical training is available to so many more, but it may b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_accessible_i-think-there-have-to-be-bachs-and-beeth_3057678.png" --- # I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have… ![“I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. Musical training is available to so many more, but it may be that we've hit a right wall in terms of accessible styles and since we demand innovation as a criterion of genius, there may not be more…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_accessible_i-think-there-have-to-be-bachs-and-beeth_3057678.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_accessible_i-think-there-have-to-be-bachs-and-beeth_3057678.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_accessible_i-think-there-have-to-be-bachs-and-beeth_3057678.png) > “I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. Musical training is available to so many more, but it may be that we've hit a right wall in terms of accessible styles and since we demand innovation as a criterion of genius, there may not be more innovative styles to be found.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. There may be a limit to truly novel musical styles because of cultural constraints and the demand for innovation as genius. **In simple terms:** Innovation may be hitting a cultural wall in music. Key Takeaway Recognize creative limits. Themes creativity culture innovation music Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - music education - industry trends Key Concepts aesthetic theory cognitive limits Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster originality within constraints? - What defines musical genius today? A Different Perspective Innovation can arise from recombination, not just new styles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accessible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accessible/) [Available](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/available/) [Bachs Beethovens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachs-beethovens-5114962/) [Beethovens People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beethovens-people-5114963/) [Criterion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criterion/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Hit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hit/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Innovative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovative/) [Innovative Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovative-styles-5114961/) [Many](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/many/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [More people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-people/) [Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical/) [Musical Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-training-1350827/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Since](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/since/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/styles/) [Terms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terms/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Bachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-bachs-5114960/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [I had no musical training at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-carlisle/i-had-no-musical-training-at-all/) [Belinda Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-carlisle/) > [I have had no musical training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milind-soman/i-have-had-no-musical-training/) [Milind Soman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milind-soman/) > [Because my musical training has been limited, I've never been restricted by what technical musicians might call a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/because-my-musical-training-has-been-limited-i-ve-never-been/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/musical-training-is-a-more-potent-instrument-than-any-other-because-2/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Other than a few years of piano as a kid, I don't have all that much musical training. I played piano for all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keltonic/other-than-a-few-years-of-piano-as-a-kid-i-don-t-have-all-that-much/) [John Keltonic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keltonic/) > [My parents loved music, but they weren't musicians. So my musical training as a young kid was limited to piano lessons. I was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/my-parents-loved-music-but-they-weren-t-musicians-so-my-musical/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [I've no real musical training, although I took some piano lessons a while ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denny-laine/i-ve-no-real-musical-training-although-i-took-some-piano-lessons-a/) [Denny Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denny-laine/) > [Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/musical-training-is-a-more-potent-instrument-than-any-other-because/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [His overriding life necessity was not love, it was his profession…He had come to medicine not by coincidence or calculation but by a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/his-overriding-life-necessity-was-not-love-it-was-his-profession-he/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Whatever mitigates the woes, or increases the happiness of others, is a just criterion of goodness; and whatever injures society at large, or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/whatever-mitigates-the-woes-or-increases-the-happiness-of-others-is-a/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Our empirical criterion for a series of theories is that it should produce new facts. 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There is something, therefore, in true beauty that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grenville/the-criterion-of-true-beauty-is-that-it-increases-in-examination-of/) [George Grenville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-grenville/) > [Sporting events like the Olympics have developed and maintained a clear message of promoting gender equality as an essential criterion in the success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/sporting-events-like-the-olympics-have-developed-and-maintained-a/) [Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. 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I deliberately made the artwork very clear, deceptively so. You think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/with-the-watchmen-comic-we-attempted-to-tell-it-in-an-accessible-way/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [I think sometimes - not always - I write songs that are accessible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-think-sometimes-not-always-i-write-songs-that-are-accessible/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [There's also the tradition of voodoo, the Haitian magic arts, in New Orleans. And because New Orleans is below sea level, when they bury…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-trammell/there-s-also-the-tradition-of-voodoo-the-haitian-magic-arts-in-new/) [Sam Trammell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-trammell/) > [Podcasts feel about as accessible and ubiquitous as books or articles or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bowen-yang/podcasts-feel-about-as-accessible-and-ubiquitous-as-books-or-articles/) [Bowen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bowen-yang/) > [Our constituents deserve outstanding services, and my office is working to ensure we are as accessible as possible to residents across the 18th Congressional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-lamb/our-constituents-deserve-outstanding-services-and-my-office-is/) [Conor Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-lamb/) > [Accessible design is good design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/accessible-design-is-good-design/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [Patrick Swayze reminded me a lot of Gene Kelly. Patrick had that Everyman quality. 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We must, however, take great care that the cure for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vint-cerf/like-almost-every-major-infrastructure-the-internet-can-be-abused-and/) [Vint Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vint-cerf/) [Browse all 211 Accessible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accessible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. 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