Pat Metheny

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

— Pat Metheny

I saw A Hard Day's Night 12 or 13 times.

— Pat Metheny

I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is

— Pat Metheny

The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn.

— Pat Metheny

I was deep in the zone of practicing almost constantly

— Pat Metheny

I hate the way chorus boxes sound

— Pat Metheny

What I look for in musicians is a sense of infinity.

— Pat Metheny

Music is one big thing to me.

— Pat Metheny

Jazz music will continue to thrive, possibly in unexpected ways.

— Pat Metheny

Jazz is an idea that is more powerful than the details of its history.

— Pat Metheny

The reality of music itself, which is the fabric of life for me, is where most of my attention is.

— Pat Metheny

Most guys at Berklee are going to wind up truck drivers...

— Pat Metheny

I think that the melodic piece of the puzzle in music is the most esoteric and difficult to quantify.

— Pat Metheny

Someone who knew me when I was 14 said I was the oldest 14-year-old on the planet. Now I'm a 14-year-old who is 60.

— Pat Metheny

Whatever my recorded output is, it's a reflection of a general love of music.

— Pat Metheny

Its more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.

— Pat Metheny

When talking about writing, I often use the analogy of archaeology. There are these great tunes all around. Your skill as a…

— Pat Metheny

I try to be prepared for the moment, through understanding, and being warmed up, knowing all about chords and scales, so I…

— Pat Metheny

I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of…

— Pat Metheny

There are some musicians who are talented and see themselves as some kind of natural geniuses or something because of a certain…

— Pat Metheny

I just have never seen anyone build anything significant in any field without having a deep and detailed sense of what they…

— Pat Metheny

I didn't want there to be a computer on stage. When I see people with computers on stage, I think, 'Are you…

— Pat Metheny

And if I ever DO see [Kenny G] anywhere, at any function - he WILL get a piece of my mind, and…

— Pat Metheny

One very fundamental thing has not changed and I realized that it will never change... is that I really need to go…

— Pat Metheny

For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz classical music. Let's keep it as street music, as people's…

— Pat Metheny

Avant-garde, jazz, pop, classical, country and western, rock, free, straight-ahead, etc. are ultimately meaningless terms in the face of the music being…

— Pat Metheny

1962 to 1965, where suddenly the guitar became this icon of youth culture all over the world, thanks mostly to the Beatles.…

— Pat Metheny

The guitar for me is a translation device. It's not a goal. And in some ways, jazz isn't a destination for me.…

— Pat Metheny

I met Gary (Burton) at the Wichita Jazz Festival when I was 18 -- he was one of my favorite musicians and…

— Pat Metheny

I have to admit that more and more lately, the whole idea of jazz as an idiom is one that I've completely…

— Pat Metheny

Music is what you notice when it's no longer in your presence...

— Pat Metheny

More and more as time has gone on, I realize that playing is really more about listening than it is about playing.

— Pat Metheny

The main thing in my life...is that I really need to go home and practice.

— Pat Metheny

...to me if it's anything, jazz is a verb-it's more like a process than it is a thing.

— Pat Metheny

Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.

— Pat Metheny

I have three young kids and a great family. I love hanging out with them more than anything.

— Pat Metheny

Sometimes I try to lose my identity, and I can't get rid of it!

— Pat Metheny

As much as I have done collaborations over the years, I am actually kind of a reluctant partner.

— Pat Metheny

I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do

— Pat Metheny

It's more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.

— Pat Metheny