To me, a song is not finished. To me, there's no such thing as a finished anything. All of Beethoven's nine symphonies, to me, are one. I think of it as having no beginning and no end.
Wayne ShorterRead
Composing is improvisation slowed down.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights that composing music involves taking spontaneous creativity and carefully developing it over time.
Wayne Shorter suggests that the act of composing music is fundamentally about taking the natural spontaneity of improvisation and refining it into a structured form. This implies that creativity is not just about instant expression but also about the thoughtful construction and elaboration of ideas, allowing for depth and complexity in the artistic process.
Themes
ComposingImprovisationMusicCreativityArt
In practice
Example use cases
A music teacher sharing this quote to inspire students in their composition class.
More from Wayne Shorter
All quotes βJazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means, 'I dare you.'
Wayne ShorterRead
When they say 'jazz,' I'm thinking of a word called 'the creative process.' It intersects every vein and tributary, avenue, path, that everyone's living. It crosses through there, but it's been contained.
Wayne ShorterRead
There's a steady forward march of a creative process that some of us stay with and don't give up - that should be an admirable thing - from Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to Miles to Ornette and some people who are not even known today - some kids coming up - people who are out to change the world.
Wayne ShorterRead
The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this kind of risk, and courage is what we all need to create a better world.
Wayne ShorterRead
I think that music opens portals and doorways into unknown sectors that it takes courage to leap into. I always think that there's a potential that we all have, and we can emerge, rise up to this potential, when necessary. We have to be fearless, courageous, and draw upon wisdom that we think we don't have.
Wayne ShorterRead
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