Can you see how amazing it is what Bobby McFerrin is doing here? From his totally centered place in the middle of thousands of people, he is invites everybody to play with him. He doesn’t ask them if they can – he assumes they can – and of course they can! By sharing his own soulful music and using simple modelling and gestures, he invites everybody in with barely any words.
The only time he speaks is to say “don’t clap”. Clapping can put an audience into “automatic” mode, chanelling the energy away from the soul of the music and the voice. “Don’t clap”, in this case, means, “use your voice – feel it in your whole body – move your whole body”. He makes this a BIG experience for everybody – and he does so little. He is a master at helping people find their voice.
I watch him in awe.
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