--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I worked hard learning harmony and theory…" description: "\"I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.\" — Lionel Hampton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg" --- # I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was… ![“I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.” quote by Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg) > “I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.” [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He devoted early years to mastering musical harmony and theory, shaping his later success. **In simple terms:** He studied music deeply as a youth. Key Takeaway Invest in foundational skills early. Themes music education dedication Mood reflective proud Type biographical inspirational When to use this quote - learning an instrument - composing music - teaching - career development Key Concepts jazz theory harmony Questions to Reflect On - How did early study influence his style? - What balance between theory and practice is ideal? A Different Perspective May overlook practical experience in favor of theory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1920s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1920s-371/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Chicago 1920S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago-1920s-5963156/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Harmony Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony-theory-5963158/) [Learning Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-harmony-5963157/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-music-from-my-neighbor-s-house-through-the-summer-nights-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [France has had socialist presidents on and off since the 1920s, and it remains a free country. Socialists have ruled in many South American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/france-has-had-socialist-presidents-on-and-off-since-the-1920s-and-it/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [“The 1920s was a great time for reading altogether—very possibly the peak decade for reading in American life. Soon it would be overtaken by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-1920s-was-a-great-time-for-reading-altogether-very-possibly-the/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I've loved Alfred Cortot's playing from an early age, and I never tire of hearing his recordings, particularly Chopin and Schumann from the 1920s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-ve-loved-alfred-cortot-s-playing-from-an-early-age-and-i-never-tire/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [If I could have lived as an actress in any period, it would have been the 1920s - I would have loved to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/if-i-could-have-lived-as-an-actress-in-any-period-it-would-have-been/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [“How paltry are the traces left behind by a life, even one concentrated around those supposed things of permanence called words. 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McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [“Well, ha-jolly-ha to YOU, young Stiffie-- with knobs on!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/well-ha-jolly-ha-to-you-young-stiffie-with-knobs-on/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“The prosecutor uttered the party line that would distinguish revue from burlesque for the next thirty years. "The difference is movement. On Broadway, unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-prosecutor-uttered-the-party-line-that-would-distinguish-revue/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [I'm obsessed with the 1920s, everything from the style to the lifestyle. It was a really cool era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-conrad/i-m-obsessed-with-the-1920s-everything-from-the-style-to-the/) [Lauren Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-conrad/) ## More by Lionel Hampton > [So I always figured I'd still be playing at this age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/so-i-always-figured-i-d-still-be-playing-at-this-age/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [I feel honored to have been a part of that dramatic change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-feel-honored-to-have-been-a-part-of-that-dramatic-change/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [I always figured I'd still be playing at this age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-always-figured-i-d-still-be-playing-at-this-age/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Every day I look forward to getting with my instruments, trying new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/every-day-i-look-forward-to-getting-with-my-instruments-trying-new/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/gratitude-is-when-memory-is-stored-in-the-heart-and-not-in-the-mind/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [All art is communication of the artists' ideas, sounds, thoughts; without that no one will support the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/all-art-is-communication-of-the-artists-ideas-sounds-thoughts-without/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [I'm motivated. The spirit hits me and I just keep going and don't stop. The more I play, the more I can invent, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-m-motivated-the-spirit-hits-me-and-i-just-keep-going-and-don-t-stop/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Seemed to me that drumming was the best way to get close to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/seemed-to-me-that-drumming-was-the-best-way-to-get-close-to-god/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Man, as long as people want to hear Jazz, I'll give it to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/man-as-long-as-people-want-to-hear-jazz-i-ll-give-it-to-them/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Music was our wife and we loved her. We stayed with her, clothed her and put diamond rings on her hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/music-was-our-wife-and-we-loved-her-we-stayed-with-her-clothed-her/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Playing is my way of thinking, talking, communicating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/playing-is-my-way-of-thinking-talking-communicating/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/the-secret-is-keeping-busy-and-loving-what-you-do/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [It's always Jazz. You can put a new dress on her, a new hat, but no matter what kind of clothes she's the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/it-s-always-jazz-you-can-put-a-new-dress-on-her-a-new-hat-but-no/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Music was our wife, and we loved her. And we stayed with her, and we clothed her, and we put diamond rings on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/music-was-our-wife-and-we-loved-her-and-we-stayed-with-her-and-we/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) > [Playing gives me as much good feeling now as it did when I was a bitty kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/playing-gives-me-as-much-good-feeling-now-as-it-did-when-i-was-a/) [Lionel Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) [Explore all 17 Lionel Hampton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/) ## More 1920s quotes > [“There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-music-from-my-neighbor-s-house-through-the-summer-nights-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Everywhere was the atmosphere of a long debauch that had to end; the orchestras played too fast, the stakes were too high at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-cowley/everywhere-was-the-atmosphere-of-a-long-debauch-that-had-to-end-the/) [Malcolm Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-cowley/) > [“The prosecutor uttered the party line that would distinguish revue from burlesque for the next thirty years. "The difference is movement. On Broadway, unadorned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/the-prosecutor-uttered-the-party-line-that-would-distinguish-revue/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [“Well, ha-jolly-ha to YOU, young Stiffie-- with knobs on!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/well-ha-jolly-ha-to-you-young-stiffie-with-knobs-on/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“As I’ve said before, “the Mod generation”, contrary to popular belief, was not born in even 1958, but in the 1920s after a steady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/as-i-ve-said-before-the-mod-generation-contrary-to-popular-belief-was/) [Ruadhán J. McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruadh-n-j-mcelroy/) > [The United States created the best popular songs that were ever written, and from the 1920s to the 1940s, it was a renaissance period.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bennett/the-united-states-created-the-best-popular-songs-that-were-ever/) [Tony Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bennett/) > [In the course of the 1920s and 1930s, great progress was made in the study of the intermediary reactions by which sugar is anaerobically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-adolf-krebs/in-the-course-of-the-1920s-and-1930s-great-progress-was-made-in-the/) [Hans Adolf Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-adolf-krebs/) > [Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/mother-s-interest-in-contemporary-american-artists-emerged-during-the/) [David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/) > [“In the 1920s, Jim Crow Mississippi was, in all facets of society, a kleptocracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/in-the-1920s-jim-crow-mississippi-was-in-all-facets-of-society-a/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“How paltry are the traces left behind by a life, even one concentrated around those supposed things of permanence called words. We spend our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnton/how-paltry-are-the-traces-left-behind-by-a-life-even-one-concentrated/) [john darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnton/) > [If I could have lived as an actress in any period, it would have been the 1920s - I would have loved to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/if-i-could-have-lived-as-an-actress-in-any-period-it-would-have-been/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [I've loved Alfred Cortot's playing from an early age, and I never tire of hearing his recordings, particularly Chopin and Schumann from the 1920s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-ve-loved-alfred-cortot-s-playing-from-an-early-age-and-i-never-tire/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [“The 1920s was a great time for reading altogether—very possibly the peak decade for reading in American life. Soon it would be overtaken by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-1920s-was-a-great-time-for-reading-altogether-very-possibly-the/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [France has had socialist presidents on and off since the 1920s, and it remains a free country. Socialists have ruled in many South American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-boot/france-has-had-socialist-presidents-on-and-off-since-the-1920s-and-it/) [Max Boot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-boot/) > [I'm obsessed with the 1920s, everything from the style to the lifestyle. It was a really cool era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-conrad/i-m-obsessed-with-the-1920s-everything-from-the-style-to-the/) [Lauren Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-conrad/) [Browse all 72 1920s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1920s-371/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lionel Hampton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1920s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ae/lionel-hampton-30369_1920s_i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theor_771667.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.” — Lionel Hampton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lionel Hampton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-hampton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I worked hard learning harmony and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-hampton/i-worked-hard-learning-harmony-and-theory-when-i-was-growing-up-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```