Enjoyable read that definitely touches on something real. I was struck by the anecdote that Herbie Hancock tells in the linked video though. He misheard some a

Enjoyable read that definitely touches on something real. I was struck by the anecdote that Herbie Hancock tells in the linked video though. He misheard some advice from someone he respected, took it to heart and it changed the way he played. I notice that this seems to work in opposition to the idea of a vocab point where high level practitioners are talking about real concrete experiences they are having that the lay man can't understand until they level up. The way I think it worked in this case, is that as you go up the ladder of skill, you start seeing and thinking in more abstract, metaphorical terms. For a beginning student, you're focused on the mechanics, for the master, you're focused on what it means and how it relates to the human experience. This means that a master can apply an a metaphor that the beginner can't even understand. Indeed, Herbie Hancock can apply a metaphor that nobody else could even imagine had any relevance at all. Perhaps rather than 'vocab point' we should talk about 'metaphor point'.