"I look at it as, 'OK, even if I don't want to do it, I need to do it'": Even Herbie Hancock doesn't like piano practice, but he's found a way of convincing himself to do it

Hate practising? Wondering why you never finish any new music? Spending too much time on social media? Well that’s at three things you’ve got in common with Herbie Hancock.

The jazz fusion/electro hip-hop keyboard legend just broke cover in a new interview and revealed his state of play and fond memories in advance of his joining Polar Music’s much-prized laureates next month.

So why hasn’t Hancock produced any new material since 2010’s The Imagine Project duets album? Blame YouTube.

"I fall into rabbit holes on YouTube. A lot of them,” he admitted to the BBC. “New music writing software, things about health, tech things… I get victimised by it, so to speak, but that's life.”

And, of course, Hancock has always been on top of his tech game. Having risen to prominence as a jazz keyboard player extraordinaire through the '60s and '70s, it was his pioneering synth work - which began on the album Head Hunters - which eventually resulted in his mainstream breakout hit Rockit, the electro-pioneering instrumental that sounded like it had been beamed from the future, back into 1983.

Herbie Hancock - Rockit (Official Video) - YouTube

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But it was playing alongside jazz legend Miles Davis where Hancock first learnt his trade.

"I was always frightened playing with Miles," Hancock reveals. "It was very intimidating. I always wanted to be at my best, because I admired him so much. He was such a big part in my own development as a musician.

"It was fear on one hand. On the other hand, it was exciting. And when things were at their best, it was really inspiring. When we were all in sync, that made life worth living."

But Davis was to give Hancock some important career advice. "If all you see are dudes in the audience, that means your music is dead,” he advised.

"He used more expletives than I just did," Hancock laughs. "But you get the idea.”

"I've been known to cry…"

And get ready for your Hancock commonality number three: you’ve both been driven to tears when trying to make music recently, though perhaps not in the same way.

"If I've solved some kind of problem that I've had with the tune and made some kind of discovery that surpassed my expectations, I've been known to cry, to have tears coming down my face.

"It's difficult to explain, but trying to make something work out, where there's no easy answer. Where, 'this is not supposed to work', but 'how can I make it work?’. There may be something that I want to connect, but all the ways I know of connecting them are not the solution. And I have to find some other means.

"And sometimes that can come from looking at it in a different way. And not necessarily through music."

And, of course, practice makes perfect.

“I don't like practising…” Hancock admits. "I didn't today. And I probably won't… But you know, I look at it as, 'OK, even if I don't want to do it, I need to do it.' I don't always win that battle, but I've gotten to this point. So I guess I didn't lose a lot of battles."

In fact, Hancock’s upbeat world view and continued embrace of all things tech only gives him optimism for the future.

"I have this feeling that AI is going to help us all understand and get closer to becoming more ethically responsible people that are helping each other, instead of hurting or killing each other. Helping the planet instead of killing the planet with environmental issues.

"When I'm using ChatGPT or Siri on my iPhone, I always say thank you and they usually say, 'You're welcome.' I try to treat AI like it's human and it actually manifests itself in an extremely positive way and that makes me feel better."

Looks like despite now being 84 - just like his mastery of the robots in his Rockit video - Herbie still has a way with machines.

Hancock will be presented with the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm, Sweden on 27 May 2025 and embarks on a European tour this summer, including three dates at London's Barbican.