You can try to resist the McFerrin, but it's pointless. And what's the harm? From the looks of it, he only intends to turn us into an army of harmless humming zombies. For now.
World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.
(via Buzzfeed)
This is totally friggin' awesome.Bobby McFerrin is nuts.
haha he is feeding of the fact that if you get enough people together they can usually guess at something and get it right wither its guessing the weight of an ox or the next note in a scale. Enough people will get the note right when he jumps to the new location while and the rest of the crowd picks up on the new note. eventually every one on the scale will be singing about the same tune. and you new the next note even when he didn't tell you because hes using a repeating patter of an up down scale in notes which is not unlike a numeric pattern of 1 2 3 4 5 6 so if i started at 1 jumped to 2 and said it was 2 then jumped to 3 you would automatically assume that spot was 3 even before i said it was, this is how people where able to first guess the sing the new tone with out being told as well due to the previous statment the crowd will get the right tone even with out being told. and that is why he can do that infrount of every crowd and you at home get to enjoy as well becasue of the crowds recording the ambiguity of the internet
This is called "stating the obvious" which takes the fun out it.
I heard a notion recently which implied that most people think they are smarter than they really are. I believe your rant is proof.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I think it is called "the Dunning-Kruger effect"
Sorry, forgot to attach my name to my first comment above
the point is that they are following the pentatonic scale. if you took an individual and did the same thing, most would get it right. assigning numbers like 1 2 3 to musical notes to belittle the demonstration is stupid because the fact that even someone with no musical training can adjust their pitch according to the pentatonic scale to take the next note up. there are all kinds of sounds and pitches that COULD represent "3" in the first sequence.
give the guy some fucking credit you downer
And it is a pentatonic progression that most people have already had so ingrained into their skulls that it really takes no effort on his part. If were to do a minor scale he might have a tougher time with it. Also it would require more jumping.
You would look like less of an idiot if you used punctuation.
That's not entirely true. The scale that the people are singing is the pentatonic scale. In other words notes: 1 2 3 5 6 of a scale.
Therefore it is not a simple numeric pattern, they skip numbers 4 and 7.
For example they might sing this pattern: 1 2 3 5 3 2 1 6 1 2 3
missing out both 4 and 7.
...no.
I think you missed the point.
He is demonstrating how the Western mind is used to the pentatonic scale, so when he gives a couple notes they assume the following one based on the pentatonic scale.
The fact that he told how it didn't matter where he did it, everyone got it, would imply that it's not just the Western mind ingrained with this.
Ha ha, yours is but a theory and weakly supported opinion as to how and why we saw the effect we saw with McFerrin and audience. You seem to forget that McFerrin starts it off and establishes the tone interval pattern himself. Once that pattern, simple as it was, was established, the numerous super computers in the audience seats could figure out the rest. You show a lack of thought in the number of misspellings you put forth. We all misspell and mistype, but you must have been texting at a bar fight or something. It's hard to take your theory seriously when you don't care enough to type it right. Gentlemen stay civil even when they disagree. A real man is a gentleman. Good luck.
Awesome show, a true artist, making music on the spot and getting everyone involved. How many people get to say "I jammed with Bobby McFerrin!"?? Inspirational work...
I have jammed with Bobby McFarren and you can too. He invited me (and 20 other people on stage to sing with him) See him live!!! He works with his audience and creates an environment were sharing and jamming together is the norm. He is a genius.
Fuck away
Fun,fun,fun,fun,fun,fun,fun!!!
I hope everyone who watches this sings along, and out loud. It's worth it!
I loved this video! It's amazing! Love the tune too!
WTH just happened here
It's just demonstrating the nature of a pentatonic scale, a specific pattern of notes within a key that will sound melodious however they are improvised within this pattern. They're the backbone of jazz and blues
Also most Eastern traditional music.
Uhhh no. A lot of eastern music even goes so far as to distinguish quarter-tones. They are much more complex than this pentatonic scale. Definitely the backbone of a lot of western things though.
Dont be hatin on the west cause your women love us.
It's a demonstration of expectations. He showed everyone the first two notes and gave them the ability to know what to do next without explanation. Pretty much the whole audience got it. He didn't need to go farther than those first three notes, but it was pretty damn cool to do an inmprov hum jam with a large amount of people. So all yo' people whining that this was a waste of time can go stick jelly up dey noses for not bein able to stop and enjoy the metaphorical roses. ♥
Don't worry..be happy
haha i sang out aloud and it worked... i love this man :D <3
thanks stumpleupon!
thanks... stumbleupon another great video for viewing
fucking awesome..love stumble
thx stmbleupon
♥ Stumble!
What is the point of this?
To show that he knows what you are gonna do depending on what happens right before you do it, most likely, psychology.
Human nature is really predictable. Great demonstration!
I don't know what just happened, but that was cool.
I was expecting to see something cool, but instead saw a bunch of bullshit.
That fucking sucked!
boy you sure are an idiot!
My god, man. YOU suck for thinking this sucks. Why do people like you have to exist? Do everyone else a favor and go kill yourself (I know....a bit harsh...but everyone else is thinking it. I'm just saying it.)........................................(pirates).....
and if it wasn't clear...I was saying this to the dumbass who thought this sucked...not the cool dude who replied to him.
....god, I love stumbleupon!!! I'll never see this board again!!!
yes you will sucker, youre watching if anybody will reply to what you just said because you think its worth replying to.
you worthless little bitch.
... you both have the most insightful discourse.
and i should like to point out the moronic irony in that last reply.
forgive me if that was you being intentionally ironic. that was not how it came across.
like the video. much less of a waste of time then reading (or for that matter, writing) in the comments section. Happy Easter everyone.
Pirates, dumb fuck
Here here i agree. I am certainley no psychologist or scientist but that was awesome what that guy did. very impressive
fagggg, this was amazing
Yeah i guess im not smart enough to see whats going on either but ive watched it numerous time and i wish i never wasted my time
STUBLEUPON, THANK U :)
Hahah stumble, that was random as all shit.
Hahah stumble, that was random as all shit.
lol, thankyou stumbleupon!!! epic as hell!
Human mind, you've amazed me again.
Yawn!! What lame excuse for entertainment. A total waste of time. Those that think this shit rocks....do yourself a favor, take LSD, find a nice park and go and lay on your back and watch the clouds. Now that is entertainment!
@Bored: If you're that bored, you stayed the whole time and posted a comment because...?
Dude, you're just like everyone else who uses SU....you find a board...post a comment, knowing that you'll never EVER have to deal with the responses, and then you move on....insecurity at it's finest. (me included...CUZ I'M DOING THE SAME THING!!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!....this video was amazing, btw.)
This ia=s all about the hive mind and how every member of a community knows what is expected....
If you are a doubter, you would not have commented.
@bore if you are serious you havent taken enough man
Just because you think you understand something more than everyone else
that just shows you dont understand it at all man
This is fucking stupid
And so are you. Seriously, man...Huff some Raid.
Bobby McFerrin is absolutely amazing! I saw him at Berklee College of Music and he impressed me so much. Can't wait to use this technique in my future classes!
Awesome, I dig you brother.
It's Fun!!
Amazing, thanks Stumble
i love stubleupon
honestly, i was disappointed in this. Ya its cool but they have three guys up there, where is any kind of discussion or analysis of it?
I don't know what so many of you are complaining about, this was a great experiment/performance/demonstration. Although, I do agree that some kind of discussion or analysis would have also been appropriate, given the setting.
For those looking for some discussion or analysis...I really hope that was a joke. There is a link given for the full video at the end. What you watched was a small clip of about 75 minutes of discussion on "Notes and Neurons". Below is the link...since you missed it the first time around...
http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/video/notes-neurons-full
Ha. Thank you! Yes, please pay attention before you dismiss. There was a link to the entire convention, and this snippet was pretty, pretty, pretty cool. Universal Language.
Wow so people who were raised in a certain culture respond similarly to a musical scale that is very common in said culture(not to mention not really a stretch to imagine even if you weren't familiar with it).
UNBELIEVABLE ... AMAZING.
WTH is so impressive, were you people unaware that us humans are capable of picking up simple patterns(i move to the left and go up a octave, i wonder what the sound should be when i move to the left again)
I mean if there would at least be some kind of proof for his last statement, that everyone responds the same to this then it would be kind of interesting. Try it with some tribe whose exposure to western culture is minimal, that might be worth watching, but this ... not so much.
Whats cool is that this is how the universe works. The pentatonic scale is so fundementaly apart of the universe that we recognize it instantly anywhere. If he did this experiment in an isolated village in africa it would have the same result. This is physics and mathmatics in music and psycology. Stop being cynical and enjoy the world. There are cool things going on everywhere that you will miss if you act like this.
oh and side note, that isn't an octave they're going up by.
agreed
pure genius
woah
It's Amazing video, Thankyou STUMBLEUPON.
amazing video, thankyou stumbleupon
What he does is awesome. Using the audience as a mean for music, beautiful. My favorite is Don't worry be Happy always.
STUMBLE IS AMAZING!!!I WOULDN'T HAVE FOUND HIS STUFF EVER WITHOUT STUMBLE!!GREAT!
ALL YOU FELLOW NEW TO THIS AND STILL AMAZED STUMBLERS OUT THERE..SPREAD THE WORD,AND STUMBLE CAREFULLY!:))
fake
FUCK U PUSSI U FUCKIN R FAKE LOL
Clearly you're both retarded
This was very funny and very well done. It was an experiment of human nature. The fact that everyone has some musical background and most of all can work in a group.
anyone who finds this uninteresting should consider him/herself a person of little or no mental capabilities or understanding.
Eu adorei isso!!!
Sinceramente fiz uma viagem, enquanto vc brincava com a plateia, cheguei a alcancar o cosmos.....
Me vi flutuando.
Valeu............ ba bah bah bahhhhh ba
It looks like a big piano!
I loved it it was AWSOME!!!
bobby mcferrin is a genius. he figured out that if he gave the audience 3 notes they could fill in the entire pentatonic scale.
awsom! kool! i luv it! an SO! true!
the dude so kool & right on!
I don't know what just happened, but that was cool
Bobby is a musical master. He can sing and hear notes that most cannot play. Then he is able to jump and sing at the same time. I'd pay a lot to be in any audience that Bobby McFerrin is in front of. The people that have something nasty to say are trolls and love to hate for the sake of it and will not be renting space in my head. I was watching Bobby singing with Chick Corea the other day on you tube. AWESOME stuff. Oh and thanks to the person that provided the link to the whole thing!
loved it ...awsome..made me laugh...thanks stumbleupon for taking me here
an example of a form of 'mass hysteria'!
It makes sense though, its so cool! I think this could also illustrate people's concept of space. Spacial Reasoning or something like that? The same idea I guess, that lets people know how far something is and how to judge it. Think about it, his movements were relative to the first pitches he gave. Its not like he jumped an inch and people sang a third. This would be a fun way to teach intervals to kids for music, or for non-musically inclined people, a fun way to prove that anyone knows SOMETHING about music.
the point of this is the connection between psychology, neuroscience and MUSIC! the spontaneous synchronization of populous. there is much to study here, i wish i could get in on this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FggQ2P_pZa8
Best video ever
The genius is not in the "group prediction" it's in the fact that the pentatonic scale seems to be innate to the human nature. Pretty much every world music form aside from Western Classical utilizes a pentatonic scale of some sort.
Fantástico esse vídeo, o Bob manda bem pra caramba!!
Boa escolha, parabens!!!
Abraço a todos
I've heard about this. never seen it in action before though. Awesome.
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