I asked Julian Lage a question

[@guitar9310]

Just such a good explanation. He speaks to people in such an artful way. He can talk to anyone at any level. It's so beautiful

[@mtown1994]

“I’m no good at patterns” *plays gorgeous 12 bar blues intro out of nowhere*

[@ftx_arduous]

*shrug delay pedal*

[@richie.messina]

the bob ross of guitar

[@shrestho_]

He's great but I don't think so.

[@frankhumphries1927]

Good lord, that was so good.

[@jomiran1000]

Julian is one of my favorite humans.

[@dr05guitar]

That was actually helpful, I feel like I get into playing the same stuff all the time... good question! Loved hearing his take on this.

[@ericpressler]

Thanks for posting this - that was a great question, and it was fascinating to hear his answer.

[@BCahillJazzGuitar]

Wish there were more questions like yours during the masterclass of his I attended. Thank you for posting!!

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

The irony is that Julian’s playing is very pattered and he does indeed gravitate towards certain shapes on the guitar. But what separates from Julian from most other guitar players is that he’s pulling from a wider vocabulary. If it seems like he’s playing stuff that’s new or different, it’s likely because he has so much under his tool belt that he can just play freely.

[@bubsadoozy]

Absolutely. There are "Lage'isms" that you can hear in a lot of his live performances. It's also the application of the vocabulary -- he is able to change the harmonic context of a lot of things that he frequently grabs.

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

Everything is like this, in point of fact. It's how the police find online anonymous commenters across platforms- vocabulary and diction. It's the exact same part of your brain choosing licks and patterns you play on an instrument

[@archstanton3763]

That was a great question ! He really made it seem all so easy and on top of that his playing was smooth. Fantastic.

[@nogoogleplus]

Awesome question, and awesome answer…thanks so much for sharing this!

[@JeremyAndersonBoise]

Fantastic question

[@doctorauxiliary]

this is just brilliant!! I love this dude & his musics so much!! I actually got turned on to him through nels cline. they formed a mindmeld duo that is just... wow!!

[@TwangThang57]

So cool!!

[@JojoFryrocks]

Fascinating

[@neilmarsh7437]

Such an inspiring musical master

[@dstraussv]

Thanks for sharing it, Nic

[@stevenbeecheymusic]

Great stuff!

[@LukeTheringMusic]

🤌🤌🤌

[@dnee18]

That’s amazing to hear that he’s never transcribed any solos

[@Sam-hh3ry]

He probably picked up all the vocabulary he needed just from listening

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

Too many people say that jazz is learnt by repeating vocab. "Licks. You gotta transcribe licks!!!"... It's one method, but it's not the method used by those who innovated.

[@jamiejones7104]

⁠​⁠@@whatilearnttoday5295what do you think he did instead?

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

@@jamiejones7104 Listened deeply to all things. Listening to himself as he played. Investigated and explored sounds from his memory without explicitly setting out to duplicate one lick or another. Instead duplicating the feel and harmony. Which leads to a more innate and complete understanding of what makes a "lick" or "a sound". It's the difference between Rote Learning and simply having fun, exploring and experiencing things.

[@henryivie-gardner7607]

It’s actually not true though bc you listen to different interviews and you would hear that he used to transcribe Jim Hall a ton when he was a kid ! Not sure what he’s referring to in this video