--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think what music can offer is the…" description: "\"I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like we're ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg" --- # I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward… ![“I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like we're going somewhere. When I say 'feel like,' I don't mean to suggest that it's not real, but that it's the work of the imagination, which is what…” quote by Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg) > “I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like we're going somewhere. When I say 'feel like,' I don't mean to suggest that it's not real, but that it's the work of the imagination, which is what narrative is.” [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) ## 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 create a sense of progress and layered emotional experience, acting like a narrative that moves the imagination forward. **In simple terms:** Music feels like moving forward and gathering feelings. Key Takeaway Embrace music as a storytelling tool. Themes creativity emotion storytelling Mood inspired reflective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - listening to new albums - using music in film scores - creative writing prompts - mindful meditation Key Concepts imagination narrative perception Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape your personal narrative? - What emotions does forward motion evoke? A Different Perspective May not resonate with everyone; subjective experience varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Forward motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward-motion/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When a person sets a thing in motion, there's a feeling of unease, almost regret, until you learn the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/when-a-person-sets-a-thing-in-motion-there-s-a-feeling-of-unease/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Emotion is created by motion. Whatever you're feeling right now is related to how you're using your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/emotion-is-created-by-motion-whatever-you-re-feeling-right-now-is/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Theoretical concepts of music and extended techniques are more like seasoning to me; they're not the meal. I like outside music that still has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-cox/theoretical-concepts-of-music-and-extended-techniques-are-more-like/) Gerard Cox > [The best antidote I have found is to yearn for something. As long as you yearn, you can't congeal: There is a forward motion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/the-best-antidote-i-have-found-is-to-yearn-for-something-as-long-as/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) > [Film is so much about that intensity of focus that there always needs to be some tension and some forward motion. The novel goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-abrahamson/film-is-so-much-about-that-intensity-of-focus-that-there-always-needs/) Lenny Abrahamson > [ On a good day, I view the job \[of president\] as directing an orchestra. On the dark days, it is more like that of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/on-a-good-day-i-view-the-job-of-president-as-directing-an-orchestra/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Home is in my hair, my lips, my arms, my thighs, my feet and my hands. I am my own home. And when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diriye-osman/home-is-in-my-hair-my-lips-my-arms-my-thighs-my-feet-and-my-hands-i/) [Diriye Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diriye-osman/) > [“We live our lives in forward motion, but only understand them when looking backward. I therefore challenge you to keep a six- to twelve-month…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-neal/we-live-our-lives-in-forward-motion-but-only-understand-them-when/) [Mary C. Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-neal/) > [Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/sometimes-the-biggest-gain-in-productive-energy-will-come-from/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [“The Artist His gift is the ability to deeply see a woman. There are men who truly see women and men who see only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-brody/the-artist-his-gift-is-the-ability-to-deeply-see-a-woman-there-are/) Karen Brody > [“May the grace of faith, keep you going in the forward motion to reach the ultimate goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/may-the-grace-of-faith-keep-you-going-in-the-forward-motion-to-reach/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/for-me-becoming-isn-t-about-arriving-somewhere-or-achieving-a-certain/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [“The best defense is great offense. . .We fight through our mistakes and failures by maximizing our forward motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayde-goodall/the-best-defense-is-great-offense-we-fight-through-our-mistakes-and/) [Wayde Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayde-goodall/) > [Keep on moving: any motion is forward motion. You can always course-correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/keep-on-moving-any-motion-is-forward-motion-you-can-always-course/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [“That girl, dead and gone, her spirit trapped forever just inside town limits—she'd come from someplace, was going somewhere. Until destiny had stepped into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-rosenfield/that-girl-dead-and-gone-her-spirit-trapped-forever-just-inside-town/) [Kat Rosenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-rosenfield/) ## More by Vijay Iyer > [What I find the challenge is with working with, say, digital machines - performing electronic music - is that when we play instruments there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/what-i-find-the-challenge-is-with-working-with-say-digital-machines/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I use are provisional terms, and they usually put any proper nouns in critical distance. I'm in a tradition of people who resist naming,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-use-are-provisional-terms-and-they-usually-put-any-proper-nouns-in/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [It is one thing to be a virtuoso, but a different thing to play with compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/it-is-one-thing-to-be-a-virtuoso-but-a-different-thing-to-play-with/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [This is the last sentence of my dissertation: "What is soul in music if not powerfully embodied human presence?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/this-is-the-last-sentence-of-my-dissertation-what-is-soul-in-music-if/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I find myself skeptical of music that forces you to have a certain experience, emotional reaction, or specific constructive arc of experience. But performers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-find-myself-skeptical-of-music-that-forces-you-to-have-a-certain/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [In the 1990s I got to play in a group that played in prisons in California. We would play in maximum security wards. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/in-the-1990s-i-got-to-play-in-a-group-that-played-in-prisons-in/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I want to make sure that I represent a variety of backgrounds and that represents the reality out here in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-want-to-make-sure-that-i-represent-a-variety-of-backgrounds-and/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I've realized that a lot of people come to me because of what's called identity. In the sense of "he's like me" - more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-ve-realized-that-a-lot-of-people-come-to-me-because-of-what-s/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [Beyond that, it gets down to the nuts and bolts of discipline - not a tradition or genre, I don't care about that, actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/beyond-that-it-gets-down-to-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-discipline-not-a/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [Music is made of what we do when we move, and we can only move in certain ways, in certain ranges of tempo because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/music-is-made-of-what-we-do-when-we-move-and-we-can-only-move-in/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [The sense of having to be the best at everything gets in the way of anybody doing anything. I put all that aside; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/the-sense-of-having-to-be-the-best-at-everything-gets-in-the-way-of/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I like the idea of the objecthood of music being destabilized by process and things like improvisation. That's what empowers us; that's how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-like-the-idea-of-the-objecthood-of-music-being-destabilized-by/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [A successful relationship is not about two people staring into each other's eyes, it's about two people looking ahead together. I think in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/a-successful-relationship-is-not-about-two-people-staring-into-each/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [Resonance is a physical process through which similarities are highlighted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/resonance-is-a-physical-process-through-which-similarities-are/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [We think of music as this substance that flows - you turn on the tap, and there it is, streaming off your computer -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/we-think-of-music-as-this-substance-that-flows-you-turn-on-the-tap/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) [Explore all 43 Vijay Iyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) ## More Feeling quotes > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) Myself > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Hate not knowing when things are going to happen feeling different every single day. It is called LIFE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-valdovinos/hate-not-knowing-when-things-are-going-to-happen-feeling-different/) Stephanie Valdovinos > [The best feeling comes when you realise, that you are perfectly happy without the things, once you thought you needed the most…!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-feeling-comes-when-you-realise-that-you-are-perfectly-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love transforming myself constantly because it gives me that 'new' feeling that I'm very much addicted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-mondo/i-love-transforming-myself-constantly-because-it-gives-me-that-new/) [Brad Mondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-mondo/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I don't think Alfonso was a big expert on Potter either. He was feeling his way through it more than I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-don-t-think-alfonso-was-a-big-expert-on-potter-either-he-was/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) Browse all 8,809 Feeling quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like we're going somewhere. When I say 'feel like,' I don't mean to suggest that it's not real, but that it's the work of the imagination, which is what narrative is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vijay Iyer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feeling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/vijay-iyer-15503_feelings_i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feel_882855.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of…” — Vijay Iyer", "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": "Vijay Iyer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think what music can offer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/#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 } } ] } ```