“The range of music I’ve had to play in the last year is so vast”: How Sophie Giuliani went from ballet dancer to Olivia Rodrigo’s guitarist – and what she learned from John Mayer
The Australian six-stringer is now an LA session native with a roll call of credits including Rodrigo, Empress Of and Mayer Hawthorne, and she runs her own masterclass out of Pickup Music
Australian-born and Los Angeles-based Sophie Giuliani is a 23-year-old session guitarist of high order, having played with Olivia Rodrigo, Empress Of and Mayer Hawthorne among others, and she recently took to the Coachella stage with R&B pop artist Thuy.
She is also a popular online guitar tutor (check out her Pickup Music masterclass). But her route to guitar playing took some surprising turns.
“My interest in music came from ballet,” Sophie explains. “I hated it and was more interested in the music being played, so then I did a hip-hop class. But once I started playing guitar I knew it was something I really wanted to do.”
Coming To America
Olivia Rodrigo - get him back! in the Live Lounge - YouTube
Sophie didn’t hang about – by the time high school hit in Victoria, Australia, she was already thinking ahead. “By 14 or 15, I was looking into schools in the US,” she says.
“With social media these days, there was already a community of players and I was watching people who study at Berklee and Musicians Institute, so I already had the dream of coming to America, that idea was circulating. And then I watched the whole John Mayer thing and saw that he went to Berklee…”
She stops and laughs: “It was only for [a few] months, so maybe you can’t count that. But all the way through high school I was trying to get as good as possible to make an opportunity.”
Olivia Rodrigo - get him back! (Live From The Today Show / 2023) - YouTube
This drive has seen Sophie good with her now being established in LA, and her musical journey matches miles travelled.
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“The first guitarist I knew was Slash,” she says, “but then someone gifted me the Crossroads video in 2011, and that’s when I discovered how much of a blues guitarist John Mayer was and I was just like, ‘What is happening?’ That opened up so much for me; it opened my mind to Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King and all the Kings.
“But I grew up listening to Van Halen, Clapton and Def Leppard – and Prince is one of my all time favourite guitarists. And then in my teens I went down the jazz rabbit hole, although I’m nowhere close to being a jazz player!”
Sophie is predominantly a session guitarist, a demanding practice that requires a broad spectrum of musical knowledge.
“The range of music I’ve had to play in the last year is so vast,” she says. “As a session musician, [listening has] helped me a lot getting gigs in different styles. And I think each phase has helped me really home in on whatever the artist is needing. For me, it helps me understand a vision and it’s easy when somebody makes a reference and you’ve gone down that road before and you can hear what they’re asking.
“A lot of the time, communication in music is referencing artists and music of a certain time,” she explains. “If someone asks you to give them Prince comping on little voicings, if you haven’t listened, how can you know what they’re talking about?”
Stage Management
Guitar Highlights Live in LA • Hawthorne Rides Again Tour. Sophie Giuliani - YouTube
By its nature, the role of session musician is seen from a different angle – a support act to the main character on stage or in the studio.
“I don’t like being centre stage,” Sophie admits. “I enjoy being behind; I’m a bit of a wallflower and I feel comfortable being on stage, playing someone’s music and being excited about bringing that artist’s project to life. I love being part of a team and I’d feel a little afraid if the focus was all on me!”
“I’d love to sit in and watch the players in Nashville do their thing,” she continues. “I’ve seen people get jealous of others who are better than them, but I want to play with the best people. I want to learn!”
Go-to gear: The Korean guitar that suits Sophie to a T
Sophie’s number one electric guitar is a T-style from a lesser known brand. “My go-to is the Willows Spinster,” she tells us. “They’re a really small brand from South Korea and I was super shocked when they reached out; it’s the most incredible guitar. As soon as I opened the case I could see the attention to detail with the frets and the paint. It’s my most versatile guitar: it has two Kloppmann humbuckers that are split, with a six-way switching system.”
Elsewhere, you’ll often see Sophie rocking a Gibson Custom Shop 1964 ES-335 Reissue and PRS Silver Sky, with the pedal-loving Two-Rock Traditional Clean amplifier and a selection of stompboxes: Vemuram Jan Ray and Cornerstone Gladio overdrives, Walrus Audio’s Julianna chorus/vibrato and Mako Series D1 delay, plus the Origin Effects Cali76 compressor pedal.
Glenn Kimpton is a freelance writer based in the west of England. His interest in English folk music came through players like Chris Wood and Martin Carthy, who also steered him towards alternate guitar tunings. From there, the solo acoustic instrumental genre, sometimes called American Primitive, became more important, with guitarists like Jack Rose, Glenn Jones and Robbie Basho eventually giving way to more contemporary players like William Tyler and Nick Jonah Davis. Most recently, Glenn has focused on a more improvised and experimental side to solo acoustic playing, both through his writing and his own music, with players like Bill Orcutt and Tashi Dorji being particularly significant.
