Creating Song in Logic | Jacob Collier | USC Performance Science Institute

Jacob Collier demonstrates in real time how he builds a song with layers with Logic software. Masterful.

[@nolan3431]

jacob: so we'll take the opposite of sad everyone; ah, happ- jacob: magic, of course

[@charlotteelenore1399]

i was just going to comment that😂

[@SantiagoMartinez-ix2fc]

Hahahahaha

[@a.jogonz]

8:03

[@EpiCuber7]

Thinking about this comment makes me feel magical when I am sad and that's something special

[@rafael7899]

@@EpiCuber7 As a mental health worker (and also someone trying to take care of my own) it was really unexpected to hear this from him too, and it's great how this can make sense. Depression is about taking our own thoughts as they were concrete solid, which makes us feel stucked in our own corner, as he also said any musician or creative being wouldn't like to be. I mean we all know there's too much bullshit we taught ourselves often like "oh, that's a sad thing, it's better not to think about it", because there are real life challenges that we just can't overcome by our own thoughts alone (such as a pandemic for example). Also there's all that stuff about mindset, which I think it's a very individualistic approach (in a bad sense) and often it's an overvaluated thing, for the same reasons above. But having said that, we can always think diferently if we like to, not getting used to criticize our own ideas, and there's really some magical about it - we may be feeling stucked right now but things can change and it's awesome when we allow ourselves to keep that in mind.

[@aldenwalker2336]

It’s like the man is speedrunning Logic Pro x

[@boazgalindo9045]

FRRRRRRRR

[@isaacruffini3083]

Ahahahaha

[@hezekiahdaggett2179]

Lol it’s cause he is

[@jas_bataille]

While narrating it perfectly

[@daddyvader1]

LMAOOO

[@deepakbhatti155]

Jacob always sounds like he just finished eating something delicious

[@Goscrew12]

You just nailed it with this comment.

[@ks7688]

WHY IS THIS SO ACCURATE

[@ks7688]

He sounds like a content Gordan Ramsey

[@jacksonlaframboise6257]

13:27. Ever tried gong before?

[@YulsBoyo]

And nutritious

[@kpdelaney6460]

This feels like a Bob Ross episode but with music instead of painting. Jacob Collier- The Joy of Logic

[@urbancickaya]

oh my god yes

[@jhoffa131]

😂😂😂

[@valik-stu]

Eh..) too expensive)

[@FedeCarranza]

shake the pyramid out of it....

[@smplsklldmusic]

More Davinci than Ross, no disrespect Bob

[@billklemm7284]

"Let's record a gong..." (leaves and gets gong).

[@stepankrikava5449]

13:00

[@FearghasG]

and mutes it with his mouth

[@vmdp8790]

@@FearghasG B I T E S T H E G O N G

[@alexgourdikian1741]

@@FearghasG don't forget trips on his way to get the gong ahhahaha

[@videostar75]

I was hoping for a bigger gong

[@_Looft]

“I found some chimes in my sample pack” *literally has chimes sitting next to him*

[@graywarden8340]

But goes out of his way to fetch the gong 💀

[@melaniejackson-cracchiolo356]

That is a bell tree.

[@knoel8329]

“This note here is sharp” It’s okay Jacob, I don’t think any of us noticed

[@TheLeapTV]

He is on different level. Excited to see him nominated for Album of the Year.

[@disuyetin]

Haha, but I noticed! Anyway, your comment is good

[@mikoajozerski6470]

Sharp notes should be placed a little higher. Jacob just sang too low and corrected it. ;-)

[@knoel8329]

@@mikoajozerski6470 I didn’t ask but okay

[@katharineshade9550]

Mikołaj Ożerski but would he do that when he's including any keyboard in it? I wonder whether he changes how he does these pitch adjustments depending on what instruments he's using.

[@Barncore]

My big takeaway from this is to not judge your ideas as they come out

[@Pedrodotm]

INDEED!

[@GJMcD]

Absolutely! 'No fear' creativity with humility and lots of fun.

[@zionherbert]

Exactly metoo

[@melaniejackson-cracchiolo356]

Wow. Ain’t that the truth.

[@joshduffy6769]

I have never learned more about music in my life than in this 18 minute video

[@TheLeapTV]

That means a lot! Glad you enjoyed the genius of Professor Collier.

[@sharingnotes8368]

“It’s not math. It’s music. It’s a language. It’s ever-changing and ever-spoken”.

[@darkcnotion]

Ugh 💖 thank you Jacob

[@GrumpyStormtrooper]

I never understood people that compared music only with math. Theory does have mathematical aspects, but playing and improvising music has very little to do with it. In this lens it's definitely more similar to language.

[@markrossi5703]

@@GrumpyStormtrooper, the structures are mathematically based, while the application of different mathematical combinations is what speaks, and what distinguishes a language, or a musical style, from another.

[@JustCatoo]

What Jacob told about the Opera is what I learned at theatre school. When you say something sad and then also act sad, that is called: red on red. (painting the red roses red). And red on red is flat. It pushes the emotion too much and gives nothing more than just sadness. But when you say your sad lines happy, or angry, or something else contrary to the sad emotion, it gives an edge. The viewer can feel that there is more to the scene than the happy emotion that is shown, because the actor is telling al these sad things. It makes you think: can't the actor show sad emotions? is he trying to pretend everything is fine? Is he fighting his emotions? what is going on? Rather than thinking: oh this is just a sad scene. I find it very interesting to see that Jacob is using this technique in music. I never realized that that was also possible!

[@gabrielmiller9517]

That's awesome. Reminds of how writers are taught not to 'paint red on red' with adverbs. E.g. he smiled happily vs. he smiled sadly.

[@giorgostzanakis7311]

That's a truly interesting insight, thanks for sharing

[@JustASnack]

Found this very fascinating. Is there a specific name for this technique or are there any sources which talk about it in depth? I'd love to read more about it.

[@gabrielmiller9517]

@@JustASnack As far as writing, we read about it in Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark

[@GlueC]

That's a neat concept. Thanks for sharing. :(

[@HalloMrFrog]

Some people play counter strike. Jacob plays Logic.

[@Projacked1]

hahaha

[@ulizarembach3747]

you made my day... :)

[@GuiR3X]

And kills it.

[@theq937]

I love how his instructions don’t make any sense, but at the same time they make total sense

[@Mynameisnumber5]

Not only is this dude one of the best musicians, he's probably one of the best teachers.

[@kjelldanao]

Oh to be inside, even at a tiny bit, of the mind of Jacob Collier

[@traduccionestrascendentes2771]

Most likely is like what Elon Musk described about his mind, a river of never ending ideas. And they are not lying

[@nomandad2000]

Absolute genius. Only negative critique I have for Jacob is that he can sometimes become a victim of his own creativity, in the sense that he doesn’t often utilize negative space in his music. Often I feel that he tends to drown in that giant smorgasbord of layers, but that’s how he rolls, and it’s been a very successful approach for him. There’s beauty in simplicity too, and I feel that he has slept on that concept a bit. Even this example here, “Hey Jude”. He said that if he were given the time, he would “add 500 layers” to it. I’m sure we would be in awe of it, and it would be amazing to hear a run or 2 of it. But in the end, I’m gonna go back to the original version and enjoy the simplicity and power of the original. One aspect that makes negative space so important in music is that it leaves the mind of the listener ample opportunity to fill in the gaps with its own musical musings, and it is almost like the listener is an active participant of the creation while listening to it, if that makes sense...An example is to listen to an old blues master working his magic on an old scratchy recording: one man, a couple of chords, and the truth...

[@mttlsa686]

wow, what a comment

[@davidsindelar6622]

wow, I mean.. you just described what I was feeling the whole time and wasn't much sure what it is...thx bruh :D

[@rmmaccount]

I completely agree with your comment. But the way I see it is that he has consciously taken this route of painting with all the colors and using all techniques, however if you give him some time, I’m convinced he will evolve to something else. He is only 26, and understands the power of the sound. The day that he decides and make a conscious choice to play with the silence, I will listen him even more carefully.

[@benmerrett144]

Wow. I agree, however Jacob has memerably stated in the past that "less is only more if you know what more is" and since Jacob knows literally everything, he can make that decision to step back from more to less.

[@PowerRedBullTypology]

I would say some people like simplicity and others like complexity. I think in mbti terms he is an ENFP and their minds are racing very fast and they are bored quickly. They lead with extroverted intuition, which is like instant, externally oriented pattern recognition. This helpts to quickly predict things. A way to feed that mind, is to give it something to digest. So complexity is more entertaining to these people than simplicity. (I think Ni, introverted intuition, likes simplicity) Also, I've never felt interested listening to some old bluesmaster with a couple of chords and the truth, as it would bores me to death in a moment.

[@UliLozano]

his biggest advantage is not even his vast musical knowledge and skill but rather the approach he has to freely explore possibilities. Fascinating guy.

[@giochambamusic]

Damn his voice is insane. He was flying through those vocal tracks

[@philippequesnel]

hehe came here to learn about Logic Pro .. and got as a nice bonus a superb reminder of how beautiful and rich being a human being can be ! thx Jacob

[@JumpStop1]

Seriously! I didn't expect to learn why we feel what we feel haha

[@anthonycuomo1178]

"We're in B flat"...nails pitch without playing one note.

[@TrevWings]

Perfect pitch be like that

[@tatttan28]

He can match pitch to microtones lol

[@bradyreid1924]

Jonathan Arana tones*

[@tatttan28]

@@bradyreid1924 Thanks :3

[@uraharamitchell7250]

It's possible, but believe you me, being pitch perfect has MANY downsides. I'm talking from experience.

[@julianlidberg7590]

No one: Absolutely no one: Me snooring at night: 12:46

[@chriscorbo7707]

Love the sampled wind chimes even though there’s wind chimes right behind him 😂

[@dangus5459]

That would take him an extra 30 seconds tho! 😂

[@aidano7704]

biggest takeaway: "i like to think 'what wouldn't i do here?' and then I like to do that thing" philosophies for life

[@tonylancer7367]

Please don't watch this at 1.75x speed, Jacob goes from genius to alien, completely insane, especially when he is comping vocals.

[@themenwriteinthesugar7643]

thanks i will now watch it at 1.75x speed

[@bodevp]

implying he's not an alien at 1x speed anyway

[@TDCflyer]

You know what? That's what Freddie Mercury was doing back in the days, but he only had "normal" studio equipment tape machines which took ages to rewind and find particular points, so he would layer track upon track for days and weeks....and in the end it became "Bohemian Rhapsody"!

[@owenreel3916]

"lets add some magic" * * Opens Kontakt * * Yup pretty much hahah

[@WyattWinters]

gonna cost you your soul

[@Gabrielnsl]

OH MY GOODNESS I AM LAUGHING SO MUCH WITH JACOB LITERALLY SMASHING HIS KEYBOARD i love u jacob collier.

[@kebibebii]

Baby raging but still musically magical

[@tbaret15]

10:54 - Jacob dropping some heavy, much-needed philosophy on us.

[@schoggi555]

14:25 omg i wasnt prepared for this XD

[@realraven2000]

this was rather charming, again. He really helped me co-writing my last album, and be as crazy as possible and thereby opening new doors.

[@st1821]

Wow. 18 minutes went by so fast. This person is amazing.

[@archiep3578]

6:36 is just insane

[@DaMorg3]

I love how at 7:05, even Jacob is like, *Pffff!* _Yeah that’s a bit much_

[@kennethweber2193]

Jacob's vocal background and tonal awareness really snuck into focus at 5:44 identifying the flat layer

[@ronaldent5781]

Dear Jacob, I want to tell you that you are so incredibly inspiring to me. Musically I move towards you at kindergarten level, but I don't care at all. Your videos motivate me so much to shamelessly do my own thing at my own level. So thank you for your enormous inspiration and the wonderful colour and energy you give to the world. 💛🙏

[@_keano]

"I think you can still see my face" Said the 4 pixels of Jacob Collier in the top right

[@FlamingGuitar123]

Creativity has no limits except for the ones we define. This is the lesson I'm taking from this video, and I hope to apply it to my art too :)

[@legatrix]

This is fantastic. The best thing about it for me is seeing little things like fades on all the vocals and cutting silence immediately.

[@McCuban]

Amazing. It reaffirms my belief that our own musical path influences our output. But, what is more important is the candy box that lies inside and our interpretation of those influences. Jacob = Genius (and a fricking speed demon on Logic)

[@bhaveshtochabbra6853]

This is wisdom for music producer like me. A free masterclass on creating Harmony and stuff. Thank you.

[@thesethreekings]

Jacob knows more shortcuts than a London cabbie. Fast work :/

[@bethringsmuthstolpman404]

The part about inverting the creative choice in sung music is something my voice teacher (a professor) has me do quite frequently. It's a good little trick!

[@Ennuae]

Such an interesting concept. I never thought about it. Just hearing and seeing Jacob do his thing is so refreshing . Thank you Jacob

[@yergeauf]

Generous and inspiring. Thank you Jacob.

[@waynemiller6070]

I've learned so much about workflow from Jacob. Much appreciation.

[@HilaryBurtMusic]

Love Jacob!! Great to see him working in Logic!

[@zachsandquist4234]

13:25 "How can I mute the gong differently? I usually do it with my hand, now I'll do it with my mouth!"

[@Reactor10k]

Thanks Jacob... I really appreciate your perspective about all of this 😊

[@CameronMLeet]

The most informational video a young composer, inspired by Jacob Collier, can watch.

[@oldgittarist]

Fascinating - I wouldn't have expected less!

[@peacexlopez3950]

Jacob:"what the opposite of sad?" Me: "Happy !" Jacob: "magic" Me:....?

[@freshmindnow]

He definitely has Fresh Mind! For sure. The concept of trying out a bad idea, something that makes you feel bad and then thinking through it is fantastic!

[@mikkojensen]

He makes it look astonishingly easy

[@TheSoundConnoisseur]

This left me MIND BLOWN

[@ScottSmithMusic]

Fantastic opening of oneself! Right on, Jacob! So refreshing! First time seeing you. Thank you.

[@MartIn-bn7yy]

Incredible ! What an amazing guy !

[@elovesmika]

All I can say Jacob is THANK YOU & WOW!!! Fantastic stuff!!!

[@PhrygianPhrog]

Brilliant guy. In touch with his emotions. I don't have a lot of positivity most of the time. My sense of wonder is smothered by depression and worry. But listening to Collier right now rekindles the wonder within me.

[@TavaresBJr]

God bless you

[@davidmccallum4794]

That was pretty cool. Forces you to open your mind. Thanks I enjoyed that.

[@sickWILLYmusic]

You’re not just a musical genius but a young man with worldly wisdom way beyond your years. You are also an excellent communicator and teacher. Thank you for your time and effort. I truly love and appreciate what you do, and who you are.

[@thyagadimithri9957]

Is it wierd I'm taking life lessons from this ? ❤

[@bonuebonue]

Jacob, you are a freaking GENIUS!!!! I hope (i am sure) that the world of music will give you all the satisfaction that you earn! Thank you for the inspiring and stunning videos!

[@darrenirwin]

Everytime I see/ here anything from Jacob, my mind is blown.

[@edzielinski]

Thanks Jacob! Thanks for posting to this channel.

[@soba_fm]

I spent an hour watching this video just to resonate and respond to every point he made and I feel like I’m more in touch with myself because of it.

[@ADGEMUSIC]

How could this guy/video not inspire? Absolutely brilliant

[@themenwriteinthesugar7643]

this had no right being this funny

[@AritraDaddy]

That banging the keys moment got me

[@StefWize]

Bro you a legend ! Much love and respect

[@blazesnyderparkour2400]

love this guy

[@musokid89]

man I NEED to master keyboard shortcuts! I wish I could work this fast and efficiently in Logic! Jacob is amazing at everything ❤️

[@andreaslowing631]

Nice breakdown of a very nice way of working with music :)

[@Projacked1]

best production tutorial of the year by far....wow I love the speed of your workflow

[@uraharamitchell7250]

I blinked, and by that time he'd already completed half of the project. By the time I finished yawning and stretching out, I looked at the screen again and he'd completed an album.

[@Cadiljon]

this is an awesome lesson

[@adsensedd]

I look forward to his book on creativity, it will be wonderful.

[@anibalmontero3842]

Muchas gracias por compartir este video fantástico de Jacob!

[@stakoosky]

I'm trying to fast forward but he's doing it for me!...excellent work Jacob...

[@whoziee]

Just brilliant!

[@oknotyet9630]

Thanks Jacob you are wise and talented and this helped me

[@untightde]

Dude, this is so freakin inspiring!

[@michaelwright6077]

This is very beautiful and insightful, for me on a level with the searingly truthful usefulness of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Thank you, Jacob Collier.

[@shanehagan]

jacob is so awesome

[@MojocasterOo]

"I hope that kind of answered the question" It certainly answered a few good questions I never thought about asking

[@cpiii6265]

Geez... he's just SO good.

[@wilderstyle]

Brilliant Insight!

[@ekhawk7240]

man Jacob is the most energetic musician I've ever seen

[@caigecrampshee3709]

Ive never worked with a singer who could comp harmonies so damn quick. Impressive!

[@moresnqp]

wow, this is an amazing video

[@arnaubosch]

Incredible! Inside a genius mind.

[@Luksenburg00]

What a workflow

[@ACelebrationofLIFEMendoza]

Inspired by Your music, God bless

[@cole6122]

This guy is a master of explaining things without actually explaining anything at all

[@LeadGuitarWorkshop]

This was great, thank you!

[@Ukulelelovers]

That was super cool!

[@samscott54]

so enjoyable ..... and fun to try

[@TavaresBJr]

Amazing!

[@uraharamitchell7250]

This man can do in 30 SECONDS what it would take us mere mortals thirty HOURS to accomplish. I guess that's why he has FOUR Grammies.

[@melaniejackson-cracchiolo356]

Five now .

[@apollolovely8396]

Truly enlightening

[@BryceDoesLife]

that was amazing

[@clavis_voveo]

What a GENIOUS!

[@mortalflower1]

Mind blown!