You know this song (but the orchestra doesn't) | Jacob Collier and VSO School of Music Orchestra

**Elise Hu** (0:04)
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu.

**Jacob Collier** (0:10)
What I'm about to do with the musicians on stage is to create a piece of music for which we have had no rehearsal, there was no sheet music, we have had no plan or prior discussion of any kind. So none of you know what's about to happen.
None of you have any idea what's about to happen.

**Elise Hu** (0:24)
That's Jacob Collier, seven-time Grammy winner, multi-instrumentalist and a hugely joyful force in music. Today, he's known for finding music in places most people wouldn't think to look and forgetting everyone who's in the room with him to participate in collective music making. What you just heard isn't a description of a concept, it's actually what happened live on the TED stage with the VSO School of Music Orchestra.
Collier is known for walking into a theater full of strangers and with a little conducting making them sound like they've always been part of the same choir. He's done it with audiences of thousands. He's done it in concert halls around the world, and somehow every time it works. This is one of those times.

**Jacob Collier** (1:04)
Are you ready? Are you ready?
It's the correct answer.

**Elise Hu** (1:13)
It's coming up right after a short break.

**Jacob Collier** (1:27)
What I'm about to do with the musicians on stage is to create a piece of music for which we have had no rehearsal, there was no sheet music, we have had no plan or prior discussion of any kind. So none of you know what's about to happen, none of you have any idea what's about to happen, and without further ado, let's begin. Are you ready? Are you ready?
It's the correct answer. Let's start with the violins. I'd like for you to play a D, that one up there. Perfect. Keep playing that. You can play an A next door. Could you play a G, that's the one, and a D? Perfecto. Gorgeous. Can you try tremolando? It's fun, isn't it? Back to arco. No, tremolando is better. Cool. Harp. Actually, no, before I get to you, violas. Violas. Could you play a G, and you play a D? Okay, stop playing for a second. This is the tempo. Everyone, you guys keep playing. This is the tempo. And we're going to go... You just can play every beat. So it's going to go...
Perfect. Beautiful. Okay, harp. G major into a glissando from the bottom to the top of the harp. And one, two. That's lovely. And again. Yeah, isn't that nice? One, two. Here.
Vibraphone. Could you put a note in the top of that? Try a G. What's the highest G on the vibraphone?
That's a good one. Can you play that and the G above it? Even louder. One, two. I love that.
You two stop for a second. Everyone else keep going. So cello and flute. Let's see. Could you play three notes and you play three notes? So your three notes are arco. It's going to be G, F sharp, E. Like that. Can you do that?
That's so lovely. And again.
Three. Go.
Try octave lower. Go.
That's lower. And again. Go.
Okay, you two stop. Everyone else keep going. You're going to be going for a while. I'm sorry. So that happens two times. Two times. And the second half of the verse, by the way, second half of the verse is bass, cello, clarinet. And the bass, you're going to play down the G major scale, starting on A. On the G string. Yeah, exactly. So you're going to go...
Keep going. D, C, B, A, and G. Okay, stop. That's wonderful. Superb. So all the way down.
Clarinet, can you do the same thing, but starting on C.
That make sense? Yeah? And I'd like you to play just...
Can I hear the note? Exactly, yeah. Okay. So you want to do... One, two, three, go.
That's lovely. That's not bad. Beautiful. Beautiful work. So... I mean, it's really good. Okay. Keep playing, keep playing. So when you land on that G, when they land on the G, then you two start again. So it kind of loops around, does that make sense? So, G, like that. And that whole thing happens twice. So let's try the whole thing, let's try the verse all the way through. We're gonna add some harp at the beginning. So play on my signal, and let's see if you can get the way through this. So, one, two.
And stop, okay. Give these musicians a round of applause, come on now. Yeah. Fantastic, fantastic. So that will be our verse. But every good song needs a chorus. So this will be our chorus. Brass, are you with me? Okay, sweet. We've got tuba, trumpets, trombone, horn. Have you got a snare drum? Yeah, you've got a snare drum and a kick drum and a cymbal. You're on double duty today. Okay, fantastic. So for the chorus, I want to start with trombone one, trumpet one, and horn. And you have three notes each, and you play those three notes twice each. So trombone, you go G, A, D, or in trombone that's...... Is that right? Did you hear it?