"I mean, there are only so many notes. What makes something original is how you put it together"
About this Quote
The subtext is also personal. Kravitz’s career has always lived in conversation with classic rock, soul, and funk; he’s been praised for channeling Prince and Hendrix and, at times, dinged as “retro.” This line reframes that critique as a misunderstanding of craft. Originality isn’t a brand-new color; it’s the arrangement, the grain of the guitar tone, the pocket of the groove, the choices about restraint versus excess. It’s composition as identity.
The phrasing matters: “how you put it together” is domestic, almost tactile. It demystifies creativity into assembly, taste, and judgment calls - the unglamorous work of sequencing, balancing, and insisting on certain textures until they feel inevitable. In an era where algorithms reward instantly legible references and audiences debate “copying” in real time, Kravitz offers a cooler metric: influence is unavoidable; the signature is in the stitching.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kravitz, Lenny. (2026, January 17). I mean, there are only so many notes. What makes something original is how you put it together. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-mean-there-are-only-so-many-notes-what-makes-56167/
Chicago Style
Kravitz, Lenny. "I mean, there are only so many notes. What makes something original is how you put it together." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-mean-there-are-only-so-many-notes-what-makes-56167/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I mean, there are only so many notes. What makes something original is how you put it together." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-mean-there-are-only-so-many-notes-what-makes-56167/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




