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Jacob Collier on the joy of music and improvisation | ReThinking with Adam Grant

TED Podcasts

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‪@jacobcollier‬ is a Grammy-winning musician, an exceptional teacher and communicator, and a rousing innovator onstage. Jacob joins Adam in front of a live audience at TED to give an interactive performance and share his perspective on audience participation, his insights on communication, and his unconventional approach to making music that defies genre. They also discuss Jacob’s strategy for dealing with hecklers, his “harmonically irresponsible” covers of popular songs, and the innate human desire to wiggle.

Host & Guest
Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/)
Guest: Jacob Collier (Instagram: @jacobcollier | YouTube: @JacobCollier | Website: https://www.jacobcollier.com/)

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20 Comments

@deffer1856 9 months ago

He’s like a future that forgot to wait and just showed up early, grinning and already playing! 😁 🎶 ✨

@catatonicbug7522 11 months ago

The beauty of Jacob Collier is that he speaks English as a second language. His first language, and the way he communicates most effectively, is through music. This so so rare, yet sparks a universal curiosity in the rest of us who only learned the basic structures of music later in life.

@illuminatrixer1 11 months ago

I love Jacob’s simple, understandable way of explaining how music works on a deeper level without needing to know any music theory terms beforehand

@elisabethpearl9790 11 months ago

Jacob has a key role in the awakening of remembrance in humanity. There's so much joy in him. Unlimited blessings to everyone ❤

@Mommaslew 7 months ago

He is almost unbearably modest. What a cool human. ❤

@ArtLaboratoryBerlin 11 months ago (edited)

"Everyone in the world is a musician." - Finally, I am hearing this again! Yes, I absolutely agree with this approach.

@songstermusic1 9 months ago

He puts into words what I have always felt with music. Jacob is a beautiful human with wonderful introspective thoughts.

@youssefsmaali3044 11 months ago

Understanding music to this level is one of the ways to find peace in this cruel weird world

@fiddlestix3025 11 months ago

Oh man, I took so many things out of this conversation… the gnarliness of things, the fluffiness, the irresponsible ways of harmonizing 😝, the ok-ness of fuffing about, the creating of the right kind of internal weather conditions when playing or performing music, the ‘wriggly’ versus the ‘straight-lined, grid based’ principles, that question about where to find it, apart with little kids and babies, and the brilliant answer, -the supple vs. brittle exploration, his definition of how to best move people…..

If ever someone thought about absolutely everything in life, and then is able to put it into words so eloquently, it’s Jacob.

For me one of the best takeaways (and note to self) from this convo is:
Take your Jacob-tinted glasses wherever you go, look at the world with this sense of awe, freshness and appreciativeness.
Be that supple dude too.
That dude who can appreciate even the heckler in the audience, firstly give him his moment in the light, and then give him permission to come onboard with all the rest of the other dudes.
Be the person forever seeking out the wriggly lines in things ~~~~~~~~~~ 🌀🪱🌀🐉🌀
Jacob and friend on stage, thanks for an AWESOME interview 🙏

@NotesofImpact 11 months ago

I'm in my 50's and I've always been a WIGGLER, but it wasn't accepted ... still isn't. But now I have a mobile music nonprofit (I brought Jacob a "sunflower violin" in Nashville) & Jacob constantly inspires me to be authentic, wiggle, & go for my ideas without fear of judgement. THANK YOU! I am also bringing people/ communities together by singing, playing color-coded handbells, & trying instruments they've never played. I'm now training staff for children's advocacy orgs, healthcare, first responders, homeless, children, etc. MUSIC FOR MENTAL HEALTH! Love it & have big plans!!!😂🎶

@josh_7569 11 months ago

Jacob is a blessing for us all!

@tomkane5173 3 months ago

The way Jacob tears apart known works in order to subvert it but still keep it recognisable and at the same time show his skill and virtuosity is reminiscent of Picasso's early paintings with classic but subverted visual motifs before he went totally...Picasso! You have to show the world your skills using language they already understand before you can show them something totally new.

@gregonline6506 11 months ago

why can I listen to Jacob for hours? wiggling around with sounds and thoughts and all kind of visual surprises? is it love is it love is it love that I m feelin?

@lunameriweather7693 11 months ago

7:32 going further into this because I’m one of those “shy but observant” people, when I went to see Jacob last year I didn’t really sing much but I always let my ears lead the way so to speak, in that I like listening to the harmonies and especially with the audience choir, it was so fascinating being in the center of so many musical people and it honestly felt like a second home being among the harmonies, thank you for sharing this.

@PulkitGoyalMusic 11 months ago

I think music and improv is overjoyed by Jacob Collier ❤

@seventonight 10 months ago

there is something really primal about the audience choir stuff like a deeply encoded language beyond our conscious thought

@rockymountaindiva 10 months ago

It's impossible to listen to Jacob without smiling loudly.

@evgenykonolev6108 11 months ago

I think we need to praise the host as well for letting such an Interesting discussion happen. Thanks for the question about joy as well as for all other. Good work. Thank you!