--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And my singing, I don't think I could…" description: "\"And my singing, I don't think I could sing Wagner or opera, but I could probably carry a tune. I was in a musical once, but it was never performed.\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/wallace-shawn-7437_music-making_and-my-singing-i-don-t-think-i-could-sin_378209.jpg" --- # And my singing, I don't think I could sing Wagner or… ![“And my singing, I don't think I could sing Wagner or opera, but I could probably carry a tune. I was in a musical once, but it was never performed.” quote by Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/wallace-shawn-7437_music-making_and-my-singing-i-don-t-think-i-could-sin_378209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/wallace-shawn-7437_music-making_and-my-singing-i-don-t-think-i-could-sin_378209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/wallace-shawn-7437_music-making_and-my-singing-i-don-t-think-i-could-sin_378209.jpg) > “And my singing, I don't think I could sing Wagner or opera, but I could probably carry a tune. I was in a musical once, but it was never performed.” [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits limited vocal skill but acknowledges he can stay on key, noting an unperformed musical experience. **In simple terms:** He can keep a tune despite not being a professional singer. Key Takeaway Accept your abilities while recognizing limits. Themes self‑assessment humor artistic ambition Mood lighthearted introspective Type personal humorous When to use this quote - auditions - personal hobbies - performance practice Key Concepts confidence self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What talents do you undervalue? - How can you develop unperformed ideas? A Different Perspective It may downplay the value of formal training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Premiering a new opera is probably one of the hardest things in the world to do, and opening nights of any opera are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/premiering-a-new-opera-is-probably-one-of-the-hardest-things-in-the/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I'm quite good on the harmonica and can get a tune out of most musical instruments, so long as the tune is 'Oh Susannah.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/i-m-quite-good-on-the-harmonica-and-can-get-a-tune-out-of-most/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [Wagner used to read the libretti of his operas to his friends; I am glad I was not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-vaughan-williams/wagner-used-to-read-the-libretti-of-his-operas-to-his-friends-i-am/) [Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-vaughan-williams/) > [As any opera fan knows, lawyers and judges do not fare well in most operas. Just consider the productions of 'Andrea Chenier,' 'Aida, Norma,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/as-any-opera-fan-knows-lawyers-and-judges-do-not-fare-well-in-most/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) > [I love Italian opera - it's so reckless. Damn Wagner, and his bellowings at Fate and death. Damn Debussy, and his averted face. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-love-italian-opera-it-s-so-reckless-damn-wagner-and-his-bellowings/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Everything in Wagner's work - the music, the acting, the staging - stemmed from the text. Everything served to interpret the text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/everything-in-wagner-s-work-the-music-the-acting-the-staging-stemmed/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [What a wonderful work Wagner has done for humanity in translating the toil of life into the readable script of music! For those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/what-a-wonderful-work-wagner-has-done-for-humanity-in-translating-the/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [When I was about 19, my stepmother said - because this was back in the '80s - that I had Robert Wagner's pompadour. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-weatherly/when-i-was-about-19-my-stepmother-said-because-this-was-back-in-the/) [Michael Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-weatherly/) > [We've been listening to Wagner, which is so great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-peters/we-ve-been-listening-to-wagner-which-is-so-great/) [Bernadette Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-peters/) > [ One day he \[Wagner\] was batting against a young pitcher who had just come into the league. The catcher was a kid, too .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burleigh-grimes/one-day-he-wagner-was-batting-against-a-young-pitcher-who-had-just/) [Burleigh Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burleigh-grimes/) > [They see me all the time at Bayreuth and think I only like Wagner's music, and it's not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-sauer/they-see-me-all-the-time-at-bayreuth-and-think-i-only-like-wagner-s/) [Joachim Sauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joachim-sauer/) > [I dig Strauss and Wagner. Those cats are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/i-dig-strauss-and-wagner-those-cats-are-good/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [“She's sweet on Wagner. I think she'd die for Beethoven. she loves the way Puccini lays down a tune, and Verdi's always creeping from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/electric-light-orchestra/she-s-sweet-on-wagner-i-think-she-d-die-for-beethoven-she-loves-the/) Electric Light Orchestra > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Up to the age of 14 I had not heard a note of anything before 1750, never heard a note of Bach, never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/up-to-the-age-of-14-i-had-not-heard-a-note-of-anything-before-1750/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) ## More by Wallace Shawn > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [You can go to a play that is enjoyable because it's funny, and then on the next night you can go to a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/you-can-go-to-a-play-that-is-enjoyable-because-it-s-funny-and-then-on/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [The actor's role in the community is quite unlike anyone else's. Businessmen, for example, don't take their clothes off or cry in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-actor-s-role-in-the-community-is-quite-unlike-anyone-else-s/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [From being a writer of plays, it was not that surprising that somebody thought of giving me a job as an actor. After I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/from-being-a-writer-of-plays-it-was-not-that-surprising-that-somebody/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I have more free time than a lot of individuals, so, instead of talking, I sometimes write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-have-more-free-time-than-a-lot-of-individuals-so-instead-of-talking/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [My personal life is lived as 'me,' but my professional life is lived as other people. In other words, when I go to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/my-personal-life-is-lived-as-me-but-my-professional-life-is-lived-as/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [There's nothing regular about my life at all, really. I don't keep a regular schedule and every day is different. It's all rather chaotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/there-s-nothing-regular-about-my-life-at-all-really-i-don-t-keep-a/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I am recognized a lot for 'Clueless,' but I am recognized a great deal for 'The Princess Bride.' I don't know... maybe everybody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-am-recognized-a-lot-for-clueless-but-i-am-recognized-a-great-deal/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Sleep: a poor substitute for caffeine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/sleep-a-poor-substitute-for-caffeine/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I'm a very lucky man. It's a beautiful thing for a writer, to see people allowing your words to enter their own unconscious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-a-very-lucky-man-it-s-a-beautiful-thing-for-a-writer-to-see/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-about-life-and-naturalism-or/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. The way I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-about-life-and-naturalism-or-the-way/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [When I was first starting to write plays, I quite literally had never heard of the idea of studying playwriting. I wouldn't have studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-first-starting-to-write-plays-i-quite-literally-had-never/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [When I was a child, I did always feel that people were hiding things, and that they weren't expressing their true feelings. When adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-always-feel-that-people-were-hiding-things/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Even with my wife, I find sharing soup is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/even-with-my-wife-i-find-sharing-soup-is-hard/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) [Explore all 91 Wallace Shawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## More Music making quotes > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [The only thing I try to watch carefully is that I never lose the love for the instrument. That's also why I decided against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nils-frahm/the-only-thing-i-try-to-watch-carefully-is-that-i-never-lose-the-love/) [Nils Frahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nils-frahm/) > [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [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/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Kenny G, I have to be grateful to him for proving that the instrument can be played all different kinds of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lacy/kenny-g-i-have-to-be-grateful-to-him-for-proving-that-the-instrument/) [Steve Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lacy/) > [I think my music has always been a mixture, depending on whom I'm working with - what band, what musicians, what producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/i-think-my-music-has-always-been-a-mixture-depending-on-whom-i-m/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [When I act, I act. When I sing, I sing. I don't put one over the other. Entertaining is what I do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-cara/when-i-act-i-act-when-i-sing-i-sing-i-don-t-put-one-over-the-other/) [Irene Cara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-cara/) > [Mechanical instruments, potentially a vehicle of rational human purposes, are scarcely a blessing when they enable the gossip of the village idiot and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/mechanical-instruments-potentially-a-vehicle-of-rational-human/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. 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