For my Business Storytelling and Brand Development class at Full Sail University, they wanted us to find an inspirational speaker. The criteria were that we had to use a speech from TED.com in the “best of the web” section. After looking through four or five videos, ranging in time from three minutes to an hour, I found the speaker I truly believed had a way of connecting with their audience. There are many reasons why I believed this speaker was the best, but the most important was that they did it within three minutes.
Musician Bobby McFerrin steps in front of the stage and instructs the crowd to mouth a musical note when he steps on a specific location. He then steps to the audience’s right and instructs them to mouth the next note in the pentatonic scale. He begins jumping around the stage, producing music from the crowd’s vocals, while adding variations with his own. After producing the song with the audience, Bobby sits down and explains that no matter where he does the example, the audience gets it. The crowd did not miss a single note.
Musician Bobby McFerrin steps in front of the stage and instructs the crowd to mouth a musical note when he steps on a specific location. He then steps to the audience’s right and instructs them to mouth the next note in the pentatonic scale. He begins jumping around the stage, producing music from the crowd’s vocals, while adding variations with his own. After producing the song with the audience, Bobby sits down and explains that no matter where he does the example, the audience gets it. The crowd did not miss a single note.
There are a couple reasons that this performance stuck with me. First, the audience automatically caught onto what Bobby was presenting. The minds automatically clicked and conformed to the rules. Second, everyone was able to understand the notes and vocalize them without mistakes. The human mind is wired in such a way that we understand the pentatonic scale internally, almost as if it were an innate ability.
This speech was important to me because it proves the universal language of our planet is music. It doesn’t matter who you are, what culture you come from, or how deep your involvement with music is. When presented with the pentatonic scale, you will understand. I appreciate Bobby McFerrin’s presentation because it showed that you could connect with anyone through music. This means, regardless of threats to the music industry, music will always be within us and important enough to be a part of diverse cultures forever.
To see the video on TED.com and check out other excellent presentations, click here.
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