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“I said, ‘Really? You don’t practise any more?’ He said, ‘One day I just sort of realised I could play.’ I’m wondering if I’ll get to that level… we’re about to find out!” Pat Metheny just wants to understand music
In a Prog magazine interview, jazz guitar virtuoso Pat Metheny discussed why he had largely stopped practising guitar, and, following the 2023 release of his album Dream Box, explained why he was about to change that approach. The piece explores Metheny's decades-long career and his enduring quest to understand music at a deeper level, touching on an exchange in which a fellow musician told him he no longer needed to practise because he had simply "realised" he could play.
Metheny, born in Lee's Summit, Missouri, is one of the few jazz guitarists to achieve household-name status, with a body of work spanning fusion, Latin music, progressive jazz, synthesised music and film scoring. He originally played trumpet before persuading his parents to buy him a Gibson ES-140 guitar for his 12th birthday after being inspired by The Beatles on American television, and at 15 he won a scholarship to a prestigious US jazz camp.
In short
- Pat Metheny discusses practising less and his 2023 album Dream Box.
- He reflects on a peer who plays without regular practice.
- Career overview: trumpet-to-guitar switch, Beatles inspiration, jazz camp scholarship.
Explained simply
Pat Metheny is an American jazz guitarist whose career spans several styles, including jazz fusion, Latin music and film scoring. He first played trumpet, then took up guitar after seeing The Beatles on television; by 15, he had won a scholarship to a leading jazz camp.
Metheny became one of the best-known guitarists in jazz, making music with bands and collaborators across a career lasting decades. His work has ranged from acoustic jazz to music using synthesised sounds, and he has continued to explore how music works and what it can express.
Practising is a central part of learning an instrument, but musicians differ in how they approach it as their skills and careers develop. Metheny’s reflections on practice sit within his broader effort to understand music more deeply.