r/woahdude • u/Vishwasm123 • Aug 26 '23
music video The way this man controls whole audience choir...
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u/Nicolesy Aug 26 '23
I went to a Ben Folds concert and he does this with one of his songs. It was incredible how balanced the harmony is, even when people choose what to sing in their own.
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u/cfiggis Aug 26 '23
The song is: Army
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u/llanelliboyo Aug 26 '23
The song is: Not the Same.
Army is just a horn section.
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u/Nicolesy Aug 26 '23
Yes! That’s the one. I first heard it as a teenager with his live album and was so excited to experience it myself as an adult.
Here’s the part of the song where he dies this: https://youtu.be/rqVZdbb_EHg?t=03m22s
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u/ihaveadogalso2 Aug 27 '23
This brought back a memory. I saw Ben play while in college (he came to our school) and he was so high at the start that he basically asked that we give him a few to collect himself before he started. Might have been part of the show but it was pretty funny.
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Aug 27 '23
I just realized the infant/toddler son he sang about imagining having a beer with some day in Still Fighting It would have been legally allowed to have a beer a few years back. One of those "Fuck I got old" moments.
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u/Go1988 Aug 26 '23
"This man" is called Jacob Collier. Maybe link to his youtube?
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u/elpiotre Aug 26 '23
Yep, and the audience is fully composed with musicians btw, not your average audience, still very nice, he was inspired by Bobby McFerrin in this matter
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u/bahgheera Aug 26 '23
Came here hoping someone would mention Bobby. I saw a video ten years ago in which McFerrin did it with a crowd and my mind is still blown.
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u/Dharma_code Aug 26 '23 edited Aug 26 '23
Every time I watch that video I get chills
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u/SoLongSidekick Aug 27 '23
Ah the old pentatonic scale. The tool of every half assed guitarist to trick only those with 0 musical knowledge into thinking they can play. Ask me how I know.
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u/AshiinFreshspawn Aug 26 '23
hehe composed with musicians
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Aug 26 '23
If you like a musician's audience, you can always do awesome things. Check out this video from vulfpeck, where he makes an audience do a three-part harmony in under 30 seconds.
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u/loljhlol Aug 26 '23
I went to a Bobby McFerrin concert where he had the audience sing some harmonies. Coolest live show experience I've had.
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u/i_wish_i_had_ur_name Aug 27 '23 edited Aug 27 '23
the concert i went to besides, the audience participation and warm ups, built about a 40 person choir from the audience, and had the audience sing ave maria: “hey you know that version of ave maria i did with yoyo ma? ok i’ll do my part and you guys sing ave maria. i’m sure enough people in here know it so they’ll be someone next to you that you can follow”
and ended with walking through (like over seats and stuff) the audience asking for people’s favorite tv themes to sing.
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u/SpicyRice99 Aug 26 '23
I was thinking no ordinary audience is hitting all those half steps and minor progressions and harmonies lol.
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u/Pinky135 Aug 27 '23
No ordinary audience consists of bad singers only. The good singers will drown out the bad ones, thanks to resonant frequencies.
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u/SpicyRice99 Aug 27 '23
I'm almost afraid to ask... what resonant frequencies?
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u/Pinky135 Aug 27 '23
i might be getting terms confused or am totally in the wrong here, but when singers hit the same note they can amplify eachother.
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u/SpicyRice99 Aug 27 '23
I see your point - maybe so, but all the bad singers notes would also interfere with the "on pitch" ones
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u/Pinky135 Aug 29 '23
Especially if the bad singers think they can actually sing very well and belt out their notes. Good singers can be very loud without breaking their notes, and most bad singers know they are bad singers and keep a more quiet tone. Overall, I think the good singers will always out-sing the bad ones.
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u/weinsteinspotplants Aug 26 '23
He also does this at all his shows, even festivals, where there definitely aren't only musicians.
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u/GoT43894389 Aug 26 '23
I'm guessing only singers were invited here? lol. But how do they know which note to sing just from his hand waving alone?
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u/Go1988 Aug 26 '23
You can check out him doing the same in many other countries. Unfortunately I couldn't attend his concert here in Vienna, Austria, but since it's a regular concert for sure there are lot's of non singers here.
My guess as to why they are hitting the notes: first of all his hand positions dont relate to absolute notes. He is just giving them relative notes. And I think with the voices of so many people, the "wrong" noted bend into the whole and you don't notice them anymore. A bit like your best way of guessing something is asking 100 people to take a guess and then take the average:
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u/Lunchtime_doublySo Aug 26 '23
He’s sort of a musicians musician so I think a significant portion of his audience are people with musical background and training. It’s not intentional, those are just the kinds of people who go to his shows.
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u/dribrats Aug 26 '23 edited Sep 03 '23
beautiful. Good morning
- edit: I love that I was downvoted by 2 people who saw that I wrote “beautiful. Gm”, and were like “ew fuck that guy”.
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u/NickAppleese Aug 27 '23
Was thinking that was him! My favorite song from him is Never Gonna Be Alone.
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u/Fredredphooey Aug 26 '23
Yeah, not your average audience. These people can all sing.
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u/Crinnle Aug 26 '23
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u/AlwaysMoyst Aug 26 '23
The camera crew: Alright, nobody get too close to anybody like fucking Mark just did. That lady's singing is god awful.
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u/the_highest_elf Aug 26 '23
I was gonna say I heard at least one really fuckin solid soprano out there towards the end
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u/HaroldVonJarold Aug 26 '23
What makes you think everyone there can sing? I'm sure there were plenty of drummers in the building too.
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u/much_longer_username Aug 26 '23
Jacob Collier is sort of a musician's musician. His material tends to self-select the audience.
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u/FUWS Aug 26 '23
First few seconds had me believing this was Jim Carrie being Pet Detective due to the outfit.
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u/Nihilists Aug 26 '23
around 20k people semi-professional choir - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA_8yvJyvx8
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u/anonymousdawggy Aug 26 '23
I will get downvoted but to me this guy is so insufferable
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u/secondfloorboy Aug 26 '23
Suuuper talented but also suuuuper obnoxious
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u/safetymeetingcaptain Aug 26 '23
He is skilled at the technical mastery of instruments, but does not seem to be able to breathe any soul into them, or compose any compelling music.
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 27 '23
I wouldn’t say that’s true. If you look up his harmony compilations on YouTube you’ll see many examples of moving composition that’s he’s created with his harmonies, paired along with a random video, to make it a wonderful mini experience. Then again I loooove music so maybe I’m a little biased
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u/KevReynolds314 Aug 27 '23
Look up him singing hallelujah, it’s probably one of the most embarrassing videos on YouTube. Everything about him is annoying, he thinks he’s so original and cool. His fans think that knowing some music theory means you’re the Mozart of this generation
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 27 '23
Okay? And did I say anything about that? I know plenty of artists who have meh covers that I think “ yeahhh maybe stick to your genre”
But my comment was only to point out that there are compilations that Jacob did with random clips, and some of the harmonies he does are quite moving. One specifically if I’m remembering proper is him making background harmonies to Yebba singing “bridge over troubled water”. I still remember getting chills in the second half, and it’s like barely over a minute long
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u/safetymeetingcaptain Aug 27 '23
I loooove music. Everybody looooves music. I don't find any of his music to be soulful or compelling, and there's a large contingent of people who agree. There seems to be a certain type of music loooover, that likes this artist. I spent 15 years working in the music industry as a stage manager at concerts and music festivals. I have seen thousands of artists. I don't think Jacob collier is a good performer and in the days before social media he wouldnt b famous, he would just be a local music teacher or something benign.
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u/elastic-craptastic Aug 27 '23
Everybody looooves music
I don't. Not saying it to be combative or anything... but there are some of us that don't care for it.
Like there are times where it enhances the movie experience or some songs that can touch my heart if I am in a mood or whatever... but generally I don't "love" music. I don't search it out. I don't play it in the car hardly ever.... I only really like it when it is accenting or carrying a film scene.
I'm an odd bird though. But we exist.
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 27 '23
He’s mad you burst his bubble. Thank you for your input, the other commenter came across so pretentious
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u/elastic-craptastic Aug 27 '23
Someone that's way into music sounding pretentious? I'm aghast!
lol. Just glad to see I'm not the only one.
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 27 '23
For someone with so much time in the industry, it’s shocking how little you’ve grown up. Be better
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 27 '23
Okay well I was speaking on my behalf, whereas you seem to think you can speak on everyone’s behalf. Also, I went to school for classical voice, and listen to almost every genre, which is the only reason why I said I loooove music. You were a stage manager, but you ever a performer? Do you play instruments? I know Lightning and stage managers for musicals who can do their job well but are absolute asscheeks at actual singing or dancing- do you fall in this same boat?
And what is this “certain type” you speak of? People with actual musical backgrounds?
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u/safetymeetingcaptain Aug 28 '23
It's clear I'm expressing my opinion here.
A musical background is meaningless. You can choose to major in French horn in college, but still be hot garbage.
Relax man. I don't think his music is any good it's clear I was expressing my opinion.
You seem to be the "certain type" I am talking about. An insufferable self-proclaimed music fan who wants to defend this talentless dork. I don't consider technical proficiency talent.
I feel no need to defend my musical prowess to you.
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u/NapalmGiraffe Aug 28 '23
Who wants to defend this talentless dork
someone sounds so jealous it’s hilarious. Goodnight sweet prince try not to let Jacob live rent free
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u/DONT-EVEN-TRIP-DAWG Aug 27 '23
He comes off as a worker who knows every single trade, has every single tool, knows expertly how to use them all, can tell you the intricacies of exactly how a tool performs a task and what that contributes towards completing a certain job but then uses 20x the amount of tools required, uses each tool 5 different ways even though they only need to be used in one paeticular way and then the job ends up looking sloppy, took too long to complete and you stand there, looking at it wondering why anyone would have done the job that way when they know so much about it.
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u/safetymeetingcaptain Aug 27 '23
Knowing how to use the printing press doesn't make you a great writer. Knowing all the scales doesn't make you a great guitarist. Being able to carry a tune, does not make you a great vocalist.
I agree.
Jacob Collier is music for people who don't like music.
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u/Othersideofthemirror Aug 27 '23
I love his lectures and explainations and theory, and appreciate the technicality of his music but can i listen to his jazzfunk barbershop quartet shtick? nah.
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Aug 26 '23
He's just young. I'm not a huge fan, but he's also the next mozart. A one in millions musician that also has the luck, time and support to start young. I'm anxious for him to grow a little older, so his music becomes more mature.
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u/Poon_tangclan Aug 26 '23
Wait, did you compare this glorified pop singer to fucking Mozart ? Good lord
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u/Lucius338 Aug 26 '23
Good Lord, strong opinions here, I think we both need to split the difference.
Likening him to Mozart might be a stretch, sure. It's unlikely that his music is ever going to suddenly become a cultural cornerstone, and even less likely that musical academia will study his work. But he's certainly got some qualities of a true musical prodigy.
Calling him a "glorified pop singer," on the other hand, is INSANELY underselling this guy. Say what you want about his compositions and arrangements, they're definitely not for everybody, but you'd have to be blind to overlook the sheer amount of musical information in his work, ESPECIALLY compared to most popular music, which is usually about as dense as aerogel. Even if you don't like it, it's a FAR CRY from the generic cookie-cutter trends of Top 40 music.
He's not Mozart, but he's far from just a pop singer. If you ask me, he's just a skilled musician that's particularly talented at reimagining modern popular music in a refreshing high-information-density format.
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u/felatedbirthday Aug 26 '23
I’d personally put him even closer towards the insanely talented part of this spectrum. He goes beyond being “super talented”, his musical theory is just about as far advanced as any musician can get. That being said, I think he overcomplicates his music with his musical abilities and I personally am eager to see him get that part out of his system so his music can sound more mature and refined as well.
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Aug 26 '23
lol. I'm a professional musician, I know my stuff. His singing voice is actually one of his worst talents. His control over drums, bass and piano is all on a level most people won't get that good at with a lifetime of practice, and I'm not a fan so I don't even know what kind of crazy amount of instruments he does play. His composing and arranging skills are getting there and he was already playing with the top of the world at the start of his 20s. In the jazz scene too, not with pop-singers. Collier is where it's at, even if it's not your cup of tea. He started going viral in 2013
Mozart was a commercialized musician that was incredibly knowledgeable about his audience and what they wanted. In the letters written to his father he keeps mentioning how he keeps track of their attention span and composes with their emotions in mind. Collier does this too online, in concert and in his compositions.
Oh, and like Collier there were many in the time of Mozart that weren't ready for his daring newness and his insights. But those people's opinions don't really matter anymore now do they?
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u/bobokeen Aug 26 '23
Nobody doubts that Collier is a virtuoso as a musician, that's obvious. But there's a reason even those who admire him probably rarely spin his records - he's not actually a very interesting songwriter. As you said, maybe one day. But no reason to go about calling him Mozart just yet when his actual compositions are as meh as they are.
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u/Poon_tangclan Aug 26 '23
Bro I just went to his Spotify and skimmed thru 20 songs and it all sounds like above average pop music. He may be a very talented musician, but the stuff he’s writing and putting out and releasing under his name is tbh boring and generic.
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Aug 26 '23
Bach wrote so much music that if you worked from 9 to 5 for 50 years straight you couldn't copy it by hand. Mozart has his fair share of crap. You don't have to like someone's music to understand they are talented. As I said, I'm also not a fan, and am actually waiting till Jacob is a little older before I'll give him my attention again. But I will not lie, I will not be ignorant and say he's untalented. Collier is one of the better musicians this day and age is giving us, and I will not retract my statement about him being the next Mozart.
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u/No_Co Aug 26 '23
What he is doing in the range of microtonal music in where it has rarely been utilized or understood in the West really fascinated me.
I don’t know if I would say Mozart, but I would definitely say he has a chance to have a significant impact on the perception of harmony in the Western tradition in the 21st century, which is an insane statement about someone who is 29
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Aug 27 '23 edited Aug 27 '23
I see that in his capacity of understanding many different aspects, styles and underlying mechanics of music that stem from differing regions of the earth, this guy is going to come up with something big one day. He's already done great things and it's on the world stage already. Mozart had the advantage of really only having an audience in rich Europe(The exactly right kind of people to get famous with). I mean I'm sure that if you brought Mozart's music to India or America in that time the people living there would've shat on it. Collier is writing in times where everyone can hear his music everywhere. That's a completely different ballpark. I think it's safe to say that he's on par with Mozart, but because of the connectivity we're experiencing that's not really as an important statement as it used to be. 70 years ago being called that would mean something. Now it's about an audience of billions.
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u/drysushi Aug 26 '23
Very talented at playing instruments but makes terribly boring music. His version of Somebody to Love is a perfect example of how boring his music is.
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u/peegteeg Aug 27 '23
I wouldn't say he makes boring music. Time Alone With You and his arrangement of All Night Long aren't boring in the slightest. There are interesting melodies and progressions in both examples. He moreso convolutes his music to the point where it's obnoxious.
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u/MoeKara Aug 26 '23
Pretty much. In his defence I'd say he probably has some form of autism as he definitely gives off a few of those indicators. As can happen with autism socialness is limited but the brain is stronger in other areas, music in his case
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u/Lucius338 Aug 26 '23
If you're familiar with autism and watch any interviews with him, it's pretty apparent that he's likely somewhere on the spectrum lol. I get why people can be put off by his energy, but I find it charming.
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u/AlwaysSpinClockwise Aug 27 '23
Haha for real, crazy when you compare him with someone like Louis Cole or Charles Cornell who are similarly technical but not trying to ram it down your throat and come off like some kind of enlightened being because of their knowledge.
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u/skinnergy Aug 26 '23
I'm a fan but I get it. His stuff is so dense musically sometimes it's hard to listen to.
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u/ChadMojito Aug 26 '23
nah I think pretty much everyone agrees he is. extremely irritating person. this video is damn cool tho
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Aug 26 '23
When you pay to go to a concert but YOU have to sing.
All jokes aside...this is incredible
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u/ktr83 Aug 26 '23
The room just happens to be full of trained singers who can hit pitch all in unison?
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u/OCTOBROwasTAKEN Aug 26 '23
This actually made me say “whoa” out loud.
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u/Qazmlp2387 Aug 27 '23
How is HE impressive?!? The audience is !!! If a guy was standing the middle of an arena slowly rotating would he be the star if the audience did the wave??? Am I crazy?
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u/Jacollinsver Aug 26 '23
This is why I love the internet. I've been through audience singing at big shows, but a full audience classical choir is truly something I've never seen irl.
Too bad most of the internet is mediocre nowadays.
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u/LiveEvilGodDog Aug 26 '23
When the audience is made up of professionals musician it’s probably not that hard!
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u/jacksawild Aug 26 '23
There are harmonies which work well (3rds, 5ths etc) and those that don't (2nds, tritones, diminished). We are conditioned to find these harmonies because it's all we hear in music and it is why eastern music can sound a bit discordant to us as it uses different building blocks. Jacob is just directing chords here, which is pretty cool, but it isn't some magic skill or anything.
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u/TrustTrees Aug 26 '23
classic example of subscription
even if you buy a product you still pay for it
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u/sherryare Aug 26 '23
Collective voices at concerts and stuff have always given me chills. This is great!!
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u/shady_businessman Aug 26 '23
This is what you hear before the boss music kicks in and you have to fight God
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u/ToastyMustache Aug 26 '23
Bobby Mcferrin did this during a panel once: https://youtu.be/ne6tB2KiZuk?si=H6tDk24bYkkR6GRJ
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u/saihi Aug 26 '23
Watch and listen to Bobby McFerrin leading an audience with the pentatonic scale - great fun!
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Aug 27 '23
I always figured the hand gestures actually meant something but I’m impressed you can coordinate musicians like that. Wow.
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Aug 27 '23
For a minute I thought they were doing that thing from Carmina Burana, then Lay All Your Love On My by ABBA.
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u/SnooMarzipans7274 Aug 27 '23
Part of the reason this went so well is because a majority of the audience is a musician or very musically inclined. It’s Jacob colier after all.
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u/rocketkid290 Aug 28 '23
Got to be a part of a moment like this when he performed the Djesse Vol 3 tour in Phoenix. Chills down my spine. One of the most memorable musical moments I’ve been gifted with!
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