--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute…" description: "\"Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.\" — Pat Metheny" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/pat-metheny-8589_absolutes_smokin-at-the-half-note-is-the-absolute_2434925.jpg" --- # Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest… ![“Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.” quote by Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/pat-metheny-8589_absolutes_smokin-at-the-half-note-is-the-absolute_2434925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/pat-metheny-8589_absolutes_smokin-at-the-half-note-is-the-absolute_2434925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/pat-metheny-8589_absolutes_smokin-at-the-half-note-is-the-absolute_2434925.jpg) > “Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.” [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great music can inspire mastery and deepen one’s connection to an art form. **In simple terms:** Music fuels skill and passion. Key Takeaway Listen deeply, practice earnestly. Themes music learning inspiration Mood enthusiastic reflective Type motivational educational When to use this quote - learning an instrument - teaching music - creative motivation - performance preparation Key Concepts jazz guitar technique artistic influence Questions to Reflect On - How does this album shape your playing? - What specific techniques can you adopt? A Different Perspective Listening alone doesn’t guarantee skill; practice is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Albums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/albums/) [Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) ## Related quotes > [At some point, I'd like to make a record that's more of a self-serving guitar album, because I really love to play. 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They continue to search in ways other musicians do not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-elling/i-m-thrilled-when-i-hear-the-greatest-jazz-musicians-they-continue-to/) [Kurt Elling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-elling/) > [Around middle school I studied jazz guitar and ended up playing in a jazz band for a bit. But, after high school, I haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tucker/around-middle-school-i-studied-jazz-guitar-and-ended-up-playing-in-a/) [Mike Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tucker/) > [I love Ray Charles. He can still teach everybody a lot about how to make great music. Not necessarily how to make hits, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-ertegun/i-love-ray-charles-he-can-still-teach-everybody-a-lot-about-how-to/) [Ahmet Ertegun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-ertegun/) > [Dizzy, Duke and Charlie Parker were the greatest jazz legends of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milt-jackson/dizzy-duke-and-charlie-parker-were-the-greatest-jazz-legends-of-all/) Milt Jackson > [I always hated jazz guitar. I loved jazz saxophone but I hated jazz guitar. If I would buy an organ trio record I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/i-always-hated-jazz-guitar-i-loved-jazz-saxophone-but-i-hated-jazz/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [People ask me to describe how I play, and the most obvious answer is that I'm a jazz influenced guitar player. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-carlton/people-ask-me-to-describe-how-i-play-and-the-most-obvious-answer-is/) [Larry Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-carlton/) > [My short answer would be that there is no greatest jazz musician of the century. Jazz, like any valid art form, finds its greatness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennie-wallace/my-short-answer-would-be-that-there-is-no-greatest-jazz-musician-of/) Bennie Wallace > [... I would urge a young player to listen to Charlie Christians' sense of time ... I'll never forget listening to my father (Bucky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pizzarelli/i-would-urge-a-young-player-to-listen-to-charlie-christians-sense-of/) John Pizzarelli > [I really love Dinah Washington and anything live from her - she had some of the greatest jazz musicians in the whole world, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hart/i-really-love-dinah-washington-and-anything-live-from-her-she-had/) [Beth Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hart/) > [The Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame will provide a center where the lives and the artistry of the greatest jazz musicians will be celebrated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-ertegun/the-ertegun-jazz-hall-of-fame-will-provide-a-center-where-the-lives/) [Ahmet Ertegun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-ertegun/) > [People need to realize that even the greatest jazz musicians, when they listen to jazz, they're not like, analyzing it and deconstructing it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/people-need-to-realize-that-even-the-greatest-jazz-musicians-when/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) ## More by 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 the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-think-i-represent-a-more-left-wing-view-of-what-jazz-is/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-realized-that-equipment-really-had-little-to-do-with-why-i-sound/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Learning to play is mostly about learning to hear, and learning to really listen deeply to sound in a musical way is a lifetime's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/learning-to-play-is-mostly-about-learning-to-hear-and-learning-to/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [If we are going to list guitar influences, the biggest one by far is Wes Montgomery. Also, Gary Burton was obviously huge for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/if-we-are-going-to-list-guitar-influences-the-biggest-one-by-far-is/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [The best musicians are not the best players, they're the best listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/the-best-musicians-are-not-the-best-players-they-re-the-best-listeners/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Sometimes I try to lose my identity, and I can't get rid of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/sometimes-i-try-to-lose-my-identity-and-i-can-t-get-rid-of-it/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Music is what you notice when it's no longer in your presence...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/music-is-what-you-notice-when-it-s-no-longer-in-your-presence/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [To me, there are lots of different stories to tell and you usually find the best way to tell the one you are telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/to-me-there-are-lots-of-different-stories-to-tell-and-you-usually/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [If you plan on continuing a tradition, it might be a good idea to find out just what tradition it is that you intend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/if-you-plan-on-continuing-a-tradition-it-might-be-a-good-idea-to-find/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Its more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/its-more-about-conception-and-touch-and-spirit-and-soul-than-whether/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [From 1962 to 1965, the guitar became this icon of youth culture, thanks mostly to the Beatles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/from-1962-to-1965-the-guitar-became-this-icon-of-youth-culture-thanks/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Somehow, trumpet is the reference point for me - it was actually my first instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/somehow-trumpet-is-the-reference-point-for-me-it-was-actually-my/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Jazz demands that you bring to it things that are valuable to you, that are personal to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-demands-that-you-bring-to-it-things-that-are-valuable-to-you/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) [Explore all 79 Pat Metheny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. But to one who has discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huangbo-xiyun/the-nature-of-the-absolute-is-neither-perceptible-nor-imperceptible/) [Huangbo Xiyun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huangbo-xiyun/) > [Joining a company is an act that calls for absolute loyalty in big matters and little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/joining-a-company-is-an-act-that-calls-for-absolute-loyalty-in-big/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,016 Absolutes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. 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