Bobby McFerrin and the power of the pentatonic

The mind works in mysterious ways. Some of these mysteries are being explored by scientists in clean, well-lit laboratories. Other explorers take to the stage.

Bobby McFerrin became famous for his unique singing style and body percussion in the early ‘80s. He is known for his improvisational technique, and for getting the audience to join him in song. "There is something almost superhuman about the range and technique of Bobby McFerrin,” says Newsweek. “He sounds, by turns, like a blackbird, a Martian, an operatic soprano, a small child, and a bebop trumpet.”

As he led audience after audience through the creative process, he started to notice something. People all over the world showed an intuitive grasp of the pentatonic scale. Give them a note or two and they will intuitively hit the next higher or lower tone on the scale when asked.

At the World Science Festival in 2009, Bobby gave a demonstration of this phenomenon as part of a discussion on expectations. Even though his dreadlocks are now highlighted by gray grace notes, Bobby remains spry and trim. Bouncing gently at the center of the stage, he sang the audience a note and encouraged them to sing along. He then hopped slightly to his right, singing the next lower note. The audience picked it up quickly and sang along as he added a third and then bounced between the three, playing the audience like a clavier.

Then he suddenly bounced one note higher, without warning or preparation. The entire audience sang the note that corresponded to his new position. They all new what the note was, they all understood it relative to his position on stage. He went on to compose a little ditty, using the audience as his instrument, playing them by bouncing up and down the edge of the stage.

The experience brought home two things for me. First, music really is a truly universal language, a reality that everyone can share. Cultural and intellectual filters alter how we perceive and experience music, but they cannot shake the primordial connection between rhythm, notes and our brains. Second, I was inspired by Bobby’s innate creativity. He is self-taught and simply does what his heart tells him to do. And his heart is never wrong.