It is not hard to compose, but what is fabulously hard is to leave the superfluous notes under the table.
Meaning of the quote
Composing music is not very difficult, but the real challenge is being able to recognize which parts of the music are unnecessary and removing them. Brahms, a famous German composer, explains that the hardest part of writing music is deciding which notes to keep and which ones to get rid of, even if they seem like good ideas at first.
About Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a renowned German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. His music drew inspiration from the classical masters, and his compositions remain a staple of the concert repertoire, including symphonies, concertos, a Requiem, and more. Brahms was self-conscious but ultimately successful, receiving the support of influential figures like Robert and Clara Schumann.
More quotes from Johannes Brahms
It is not hard to compose, but what is fabulously hard is to leave the superfluous notes under the table.
German composer (1833-1897)
Composers in the old days used to keep strictly to the base of the theme, as their real subject. Beethoven varies the melody, harmony and rhythms so beautifully.
German composer (1833-1897)
Straight-away the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes in my mind’s eye, but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration.
German composer (1833-1897)
A symphony is no joke.
German composer (1833-1897)
If there is anyone here whom I have not insulted, I beg his pardon.
German composer (1833-1897)
Those who enjoy their own emotionally bad health and who habitually fill their own minds with the rank poisons of suspicion, jealousy and hatred, as a rule take umbrage at those who refuse to do likewise, and they find a perverted relief in trying to denigrate them.
German composer (1833-1897)
Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.
German composer (1833-1897)
I sometimes ponder on variation form and it seems to me it ought to be more restrained, purer.
German composer (1833-1897)
We cling nervously to the melody, but we don’t handle it freely, we don’t really make anything new out of it, we merely overload it.
German composer (1833-1897)