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Hey, so I have a quick question — did you know that you’re a genius? The answers there may be varied, maybe some of you are geniuses for real and you know it and love to brag about it, so to be more specific, did you know you were a MUSICAL genius? That just from listening to music, you’ve developed musical instincts that you’re probably not even cognizant of and that the sum of all of those acquired musical instincts makes you a REAL GENIUS?! ACCORDING TO ME?! It’s true! In the (great) video that follows the jump, Bobby McFerrin demonstrates, at the 2009 World Science Festival, how ingrained the pentatonic scale is in everyone’s mind by jumping around and having the audience sing notes. To be fair, I’m not an explanation genius. But you’ll see. The pentatonic scale is a 5-note scale, usually composed of the root, second, third, fifth, and sixth notes of a diatonic scale, and it’s used in basically every popular song there is. That sentence is the result of three years of doing VERY poorly in Music Theory classes in college, so you’re welcome, and there’s a chance it’s 100% wrong. (It’s not though.) (I don’t think.) (MR. ABRUZZO?) (That was my teacher’s name.)
Ahhh! Wasn’t that great? The first time everybody got it? That was so great! DID YOU GET IT? I’m sure you did. If I can be candid for a moment (just this ONE moment), I’ve never hated any class more than I hated my Music Theory classes. It was like they turned the thing I liked into math and then told it to me in a different language while I was asleep. But I bet if Bobby McFerrin were the one to introduce me to Music Theory it would’ve been an enlightening ride full of joyful demonstrations that taught me that I already had the building blocks necessary for comprehension, and all I had to do was think of the theory in realistic terms to succeed. OR it would still have been too hard and the worst. WHO KNOWS? (Via ViralViral.)
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I once worked with a guy who made pretty decent music, and he tried SO HARD to convince me that Bobby McFerrin is this great musical genius, and there’s a lot more to him than just being the Don’t Worry Be Happy guy. I never would believe him because, come on, he’s the Don’t Worry Be Happy guy!
Seriously, I tried so hard, but no matter where he jumped on stage my brain just played “Don’t Worry Be Happy”.
It’s sad that we live in the world when Bobby McFerrin is known as “The Don’t Worry Be Happy Guy” instead of “The guy who can replicate entire Miles Davis and John Coltrane solos, using his voice, and doing a particularly good impression of both their respective idiosyncratic tones, from memory, while replicating a bass line also using his voice AT THE SAME TIME“
I’ve heard of that performance, he’s the “The Don’t Worry Be Happy Guy” right?
Dude doesn’t look happy at all. Almost worried.
Don’t worry, Dr. Feelgood, he’s happy.
And he can do all that while also not worrying and being happy?! Amazing!
Luckily my parents are a coupla NERDS, so I was aware of Bobby McFerrin pre-Don’t Worry Be Happy and he is seriously the greatest. Just actually a genius. I feel bad for him about Don’t Worry Be Happy, even though I actually don’t mind that song (granted, I probably haven’t heard it in 10 years).
I saw Bobby McFerrin do a rendition of the entirety of the Wizard of Oz during the intermission of the Philharmonic in the Park in Central Park in the 1990′s. It was insanely genius. In the space of like five minutes, he did incredible soundscape of the movie, seemly simultaneously playing different parts, and also giving a new interpretation and insight. Totally upstaged the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, even with the fireworks at the end of the William Tell Overture.
Coincidentally, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” was a question on Jeopardy last night (the fist acapella song to win a Grammy, I think) which was on in the police station where I was filling out a police report for my son’s lost trumpet ($800!).
How did it get lost? That may be covered under your homeowners insurance. A lot of people don’t know that!
Yeah, that’s why I was filling out the police report, for the insurance company. Plus it’s just fun hanging out in the precinct on 126th St. watching Jeopardy! with the report ladies, who could not have been nicer.
If you ever have an opportunity to see him do anything live ever, and doing anything I highly advise you pay whatever you have to do that. Unless you hate 100% satisfying enjoyment.
I wonder if he and Michael Winslow have making cool noises contests
Alternate video title: “Don’t Worry Be Hoppy.”
Yeah I’ve seen this before. It’s cute but he definitely cheats — he feeds the audience the scale in the little improv he’s doing. Kind of a “Clever Hans” effect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans
What it does demonstrate is that you retain the scale you are hearing.
Also, I’ll add that people singing in groups have a kind of mind-meld that makes them smarter than people singing alone. If it were just you and Bobby McFerrin alone in a room you might very well sing all kinds of “wrong” things in response to his hopping. Or maybe you’d just cut to the chase and slap him.
Stop Fake And Gaying this thread!
That reminds me, singing in falsetto has also been proven to change your sexual orientation, a phenomenon known as the Jimmy Somerville effect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clever_Hans
shit, I mean http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Somerville
Hmm, if I were in that audience, I definitely would be the outlier baahing the wrong note every time. Many embarassing instances of this from childhood music classes onwards. No rhythm sticks for you. Clap less loudly. How about you just hum? If there is such a thing as dyslexic for music and rhythm, I have it.
I suppose I am quite impressed that he manages to get the audience to retain the scale, but perhaps anyone in the whole world can manage that feat of memory. Except the sad rag-tag band of tune-illiterates.
Get yer GOTDAMN science outta my happiness!
He doesn’t look like a Hans.
RIP Bobby. Hopefully you all think twice next time before mocking the dead.
http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mcferrin.asp
Bobby McFerrin is the most underrated human alive.