Presuming that there is such a thing as "progress" when it comes to music, and that music is "better" now than it used to be, is typical of the high self-regard of those who live in the present. It is a myth. Creativity doesn't "improve.

David Byrne
About This Quote

Many people have said that it’s easier to create music now than ever before, but that is just not true. Most of us are stuck in a rut, never improving. We are always at the same point when it comes to music, but the idea of progress is one that most people cling to. It’s easy to see why, because many people live for the “now” and want to be better now.

But the truth is most people are stuck in their own little ruts and there is no getting out of them. The most creative people are not always the ones who are the best at what they do today. Most of us are simply playing music that was written by someone else long ago or composing with an instrument that hasn't changed much in the past century.

Source: How Music Works

Some Similar Quotes
  1. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. - William Shakespeare

  2. And, in the end The love you takeis equal to the love you make. - Paul Mccartney

  3. Life, he realize, was much like a song. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile. - Nicholas Sparks

  4. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again. - Maggie Stiefvater

  5. Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering. - Steve Maraboli

More Quotes By David Byrne
  1. Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.

  2. I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe--but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry--poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world...

  3. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry - poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs - is how the world works. The world isn't logical; it's a song.

  4. It's a bit like sympathetic magic in a way: the usual Western presumption that 'primitive' rituals mimic what they desire to achieve--that phallic objects might be believed to increase male potency and playacting rainfall might somehow bring it about. I am suspicious of such obvious...

  5. Complete freedom is as much curse as boon; freedom within strict and well-defined confines is, to me, ideal.

Related Topics