Bobby McFerrin, live and improvised
One voice. Four octaves. No script.
He walks out alone with a microphone and invents the concert on the spot. Then he hands the next part to you.7
Try this at home: tap the five dots, left to right.
At the World Science Festival in 2009 he taught a New York room this scale by jumping across the stage, and they sang a note he hadn’t shown them yet. “Every audience gets that,” he said.16,17 Watch him do it (3:04)
I just want my music to exist in the moment.
Bobby McFerrin, quoted in his official biography7
The program
Four sets and an encore.
Every video is an official or rights-holder upload unless it says otherwise. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
- Solo10 · 47 minOne man, one microphone. Bratislava 1986 to a Swiss church in 2014.
- Circlesongs9 · 1 h 22 minHe sings a part to the room. The room sings it back. Once, 60,000 voices.
- Duets16 · 3 h 25 minChick Corea, Jacob Collier, Esperanza Spalding, Thomas Quasthoff.
- Choir & baton11 · 1 h 6 minVOCAbuLarieS with three choirs. Mozart with an orchestra made of the audience.
- Encore: Try This at Home1 · 1 minThe DVD that started my obsession. Twenty copies, one holiday party.
Start with these three
Pentatonic · Kennedy Center · Spain · 3 videos · 19 min
Three minutes of science, seven of pure invention, nine of Spain with Chick Corea. Tap a track; the stage follows you down the page.
Quick answers
Questions.
Who is Bobby McFerrin?
An American singer, improviser, composer and conductor, born March 11, 1950, in New York. Ten GRAMMYs, a four-octave range, and a habit of making the whole concert up on the spot.10,7,12
What is a circlesong?
His name for music made up with the audience: he invents parts for people to sing, layers them with call and response, and solos over the top.7
What is Try This at Home?
A 42-minute DVD of an improvised solo concert with the audience, filmed at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, directed by Joe Brandmeier, released by EuroArts in 2005.19,20
Did Bobby McFerrin speak at Peabody?
Yes. He gave the address at the Peabody Conservatory diploma ceremony on May 23, 2002, in Friedberg Concert Hall, and received the George Peabody Medal. I was one of the graduates.1,3
Is this site official?
No. It is an independent fan site by me, Sean Fenlon, with no connection to Bobby McFerrin, his management or his labels. His official site is bobbymcferrin.com.