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So we can modify the original statement to include instruments that can play slide and play quarter notes, like a cello.

That said, I don't see how your comment adds anything to the point the author was trying to make.

It is also a very Western-centric view, limited to western scales and tunings.

maybe the author thinks that songs possessed of this musical substance thing must only use discrete notes.

Without agreeing with the author's, your point about being limited to "discrete notes" strikes me as a non-sequitur. As if music had more "substance" the more notes it contained?

There are musical phrases where a smooth glissando is essential to how it sounds. And honestly sometimes the timbre of the specific instrument too. The piano rendition may not get across the feeling the original music creates.