Smart Girl Dumb Questions How Does Music Work? with Gen Z Mozart Jacob Collier
Nov 18, 2025
In this lively discussion, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier dives into the essence of music and creativity. He explores the concept of rhythm as a relationship to time and explains how emotional expression can be conveyed through sound. Jacob shares his innovative method of turning audiences into choir-like instruments and reflects on the power of creative constraints in his work. He also discusses the potential impact of AI on music, advocating for emotional resonance over sterile precision. Plus, don’t miss his whimsical thoughts on the anatomy of the 'weenus'!
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Turning The Crowd Into An Instrument
- Jacob transforms audiences into a live musical instrument by conducting pitch and vowel changes with gestures.
- He describes the audience-choir as permission-based, letting musically-savvy attendees lead others to follow.
Use Constraints To Spark Creativity
- Use creative limitations (time and instrument) to force distinct ideas and focus your output.
- Finite constraints can act as a prism that produces surprising infinity within a limited palette.
Rhythm Is Embodied Timing
- Rhythm is our relationship to time and it originates in the body through walking, heartbeat, and movement.
- You create feel by dividing time into different beat groupings and subtle 'wiggles' rather than strict metronomic patterns.
