{"id":148210,"date":"2025-07-16T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=148210"},"modified":"2025-07-16T13:52:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T20:52:19","slug":"5-minute-lesson-julian-lage-teaches-how-to-add-dimension-to-your-playing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/5-minute-lesson-julian-lage-teaches-how-to-add-dimension-to-your-playing\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Minute Lesson: Julian Lage Teaches How to Add Dimension to Your Playing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Acoustic Guitar 5 Minute Lesson Julian Lage Teaches You To Play With Dimension Guitar Lesson Video\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V1-89g7DTjs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Even a simple melodic strand can carry surprising depth\u2014especially in the hands of jazz great Julian Lage. In this short lesson, Lage shares a technique that helps turn a straightforward solo into something more layered and expressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using \u201cIsland Blues,\u201d a 12-bar tune by saxophonist Charles Lloyd (<strong>Example 1<\/strong>, 1:03), Lage begins by pointing out how much can be gained by simply adding a bass note beneath the melody. \u201cIt immediately gets you into a more orchestrational way of playing,\u201d he says, referencing players like Jim Hall, Chet Atkins, and Ralph Towner, all masters at creating the illusion of multiple voices on the guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1007\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?resize=1290%2C1007&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?resize=500%2C390&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?resize=1024%2C799&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?resize=768%2C600&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex1.jpg?resize=300%2C234&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, Lage demonstrates a phrasing move he often uses: rather than playing notes in a detached way (<strong>Example 2<\/strong>, 2:38), he sustains one note while continuing to play others around it. As shown in <strong>Example 3<\/strong>, 2:58), try it with the A major scale\u2014let the A at the end of the first bar ring while you descend through the notes that follow. What you\u2019ve done is introduce motion and contrast within a single gesture\u2014something Lage develops more fully in a chorus of \u201cIsland Blues\u201d (<strong>Example 4<\/strong>, 3:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1290\" height=\"1406\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=1290%2C1406&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?w=1761&amp;ssl=1 1761w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=458%2C500&amp;ssl=1 458w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=939%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 939w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C838&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=275%2C300&amp;ssl=1 275w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lage-ex2-4-scaled.jpg?resize=1408%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1408w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1290px) 100vw, 1290px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Dynamics make all the difference. If you play everything at equal volume, the held note may get lost. But if you let that note ring while softening what follows, it creates a kind of dialogue\u2014an idea stated, then echoed or answered. \u201cIt\u2019s a simple move,\u201d Lage says, \u201cbut it unlocks something. You learn how to keep one idea going while introducing another. It\u2019s a kind of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about Julian Lage, and for transcriptions of his work, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/collections\/back-issues\/products\/no-304-april-2018\">April 2018<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/collections\/back-issues\/products\/no-341-july-august-2023\">July\/August 2023 issues.<\/a> Be sure to check out his latest album, the Grammy-nominated <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3GOU63b\">Speak to Me<\/a><\/em> (Blue Note Records).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Julian Lage shows how to turn a single melodic line into a layered, expressive statement\u2014with just one subtle move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":148212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Julian Lage shows how to turn a single melodic line into a layered, expressive statement\u2014with just one subtle move.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1663],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1541],"class_list":["post-148210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fundamental-techniques"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/JulianLage_182sq_byAlysseGafkjen.jpg?fit=900%2C541&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1541,"user_id":24,"is_guest":0,"slug":"adam-perlmutterstringletter-com","display_name":"Adam Perlmutter","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Adam-Perlmutter.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Adam-Perlmutter.jpg"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Perlmutter","first_name":"Adam","job_title":"","description":"Adam Perlmutter holds a bachelor of music degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory. He is the editor of <i>Acoustic Guitar<\/i>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148210"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148220,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148210\/revisions\/148220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148210"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=148210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}