--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not…" description: "\"It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not. It's about how we listen, how we interact, how we guide our attention when we're listening, and how we can refin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_it-doesn-t-matter-if-it-s-jazz-or-not-it_1745709.jpg" --- # It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not. It's about how we… ![“It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not. It's about how we listen, how we interact, how we guide our attention when we're listening, and how we can refine what we're doing musically. Also how we can create our own music, and what opportunities that can bring us, as creative musicians. And then…” quote by Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_it-doesn-t-matter-if-it-s-jazz-or-not-it_1745709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_it-doesn-t-matter-if-it-s-jazz-or-not-it_1745709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/vijay-iyer-15503_attention_it-doesn-t-matter-if-it-s-jazz-or-not-it_1745709.jpg) > “It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not. It's about how we listen, how we interact, how we guide our attention when we're listening, and how we can refine what we're doing musically. Also how we can create our own music, and what opportunities that can bring us, as creative musicians. And then insisting that musicians put themselves through an intellectually rigorous process, which involves a lot of reading and writing, while insisting that music scholars think about ethics.” [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. Listening, interaction, and attention shape musical experience; musicians must blend practice with ethical and intellectual rigor. **In simple terms:** Listening and attention shape music; ethics matter. Key Takeaway Blend practice with critical thinking. Themes music ethics creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - studio rehearsals - composition workshops - collaborative performances Key Concepts active listening musical ethics creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can musicians integrate ethical considerations into performance? - What role does active listening play in creative collaboration? A Different Perspective Balancing technical skill with philosophical depth can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We were playing, not for the drunks, but for the musicians, because it was more intellectually challenging. We needed somewhere to put our energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-hawkins/we-were-playing-not-for-the-drunks-but-for-the-musicians-because-it/) [Ronnie Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-hawkins/) > [We always have a basic structure for a piece of music, but we encourage the musicians to elaborate on whatever they feel at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gerrard/we-always-have-a-basic-structure-for-a-piece-of-music-but-we/) [Lisa Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gerrard/) > [I haven't had that many people onstage for a while, and I'm looking forward to that. They're all such creative musicians in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-haven-t-had-that-many-people-onstage-for-a-while-and-i-m-looking/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Well, remember that we were all members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-jarman/well-remember-that-we-were-all-members-of-the-association-for-the/) [Joseph Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-jarman/) > [My mum loves jazz, and together we listen to loads of Chet Baker back home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid/my-mum-loves-jazz-and-together-we-listen-to-loads-of-chet-baker-back/) [Sigrid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid/) > [I don't separate one era of jazz from another, because I listen to everybody... Everybody takes from everybody else and adds their own thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonny-criss/i-don-t-separate-one-era-of-jazz-from-another-because-i-listen-to/) Sonny Criss > [In the last few years I've been listening to jazz more than anything else. I listen to a lot of world music and experimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/in-the-last-few-years-i-ve-been-listening-to-jazz-more-than-anything/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [In jazz, you listen to what the bass player is doing and what the drummer is doing, what the pianist and the guitarist is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amram/in-jazz-you-listen-to-what-the-bass-player-is-doing-and-what-the/) [David Amram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amram/) > [The chief trouble with jazz is that there is not enough of it; some of it we have to listen to twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-herold/the-chief-trouble-with-jazz-is-that-there-is-not-enough-of-it-some-of/) [Don Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-herold/) > [I'm always doing something musically - when I'm working or when I'm off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-m-always-doing-something-musically-when-i-m-working-or-when-i-m-off/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [If you focus too much on development of the visual angle, it could be a detriment to what you're doing musically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/if-you-focus-too-much-on-development-of-the-visual-angle-it-could-be/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [It sounds a bit pretentious, but I'm never really conscious of what I'm doing musically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hopkins/it-sounds-a-bit-pretentious-but-i-m-never-really-conscious-of-what-i/) [Jon Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hopkins/) > [We might find someone one day to do what he was doing musically, but there is only one Bob. His spirit has spread across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-marley/we-might-find-someone-one-day-to-do-what-he-was-doing-musically-but/) [Rita Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-marley/) > [Everything I'm doing musically is for its own sake. I'm recording at my house, trying really hard to write songs with a four-track tape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bucky-pope/everything-i-m-doing-musically-is-for-its-own-sake-i-m-recording-at/) [Bucky Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bucky-pope/) > [Nothing I'm doing musically is revolutionary in any way, shape, or form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bonamassa/nothing-i-m-doing-musically-is-revolutionary-in-any-way-shape-or-form/) [Joe Bonamassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bonamassa/) ## 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/) > [I think what music can offer is the feeling of forward motion, also the feeling of accumulation of information, of sensations, of feelings, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/i-think-what-music-can-offer-is-the-feeling-of-forward-motion-also/) [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/) [Explore all 43 Vijay Iyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It doesn't matter if it's jazz or not. 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