Bobby McFerrin uses music to teach, to entertain, and to enlighten. In this short video, we see him use music to create a social currency exchange. His audiences immediately get the transaction. Bobby moves, they sing. Value provided for action: entertainment and satisfaction of curiosity. The pentatonic scale is the market that gives the transaction coherence. When Bobby moves counter to the market by moving incorrectly, the market responds by quickly splitting into camps that “move” with his right or left leg. Then the market laughs – because the unexpected (and perhaps previously impossible) transaction has manifested.
Bobby further pushes the metaphor by moving to ranges difficult for the market to tolerate. Moving too low for some and then too high for others – demonstrating that the social market has a comfort-zone for transactions. Some traders can go low, others can go high, but few can do both.
The market is also self-compensating, and the audience as a group is able to tune itself through mass movement. People with a good sense of pitch quickly set a standard for the market, and those with less developed or controlled pitch either follow suit or are drowned out.
Most amusing though, is that when Bobby sits down, it’s apparent his personal social currency is elevated in the secondary market of Neuropsychologists sitting behind him.
Thanks to Giyen Kim for making us aware of this video
