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"Sergio Feferovich: The Music of Ideas"
Ideas worth spreading.
When is an idea worth spreading?
Is an idea good by itself?
Can an inappropriate context ruin an idea?
A simple idea in a very motivating context, can work out?
I have a piano here.
And in music there are ideas.
For example, if I play this:
(♪♪♪)
I can already see some ladies in the audience sighting because it's a marvelous idea.
Who is not familiar with "Fur Elise" by Beethoven?
Now, this idea needs a context.
Context, in the piano,
in this case is performed by the left hand.
The left hand accompanies and goes:
(♪♪♪)
Perfect. I already have an idea, I have the context.
I just have to join them
for it to be:
(♪♪♪)
There is something wrong.
You might have noticed that this:
(♪♪♪)
cannot be Beethoven.
What is wrong is that the melody, the idea:
(♪♪♪)
is in a tonality,
but the context is in another.
(♪♪♪)
In everyday life is very common.
You feel you have an idea, but that the context is
in another tonality.
If I played the context instead of this way:
(♪♪♪)
this other way:
(♪♪♪)
and put it in the same frequency, in the same tonality as the idea:
(♪♪♪)
then things seem to start working out.
But this example
is quite easy if the idea is as brilliant
as this one by Beethoven.
But fancy a boy who comes and tells me:
"Hi Fefe"
- they call me Fefe, don't know why, but-
"Hi Fefe, I'd like to be a composer
and I composed my first piece, listen,
here is the idea I have:
(♪♪♪)"
And I tell him: "Yes, yes, boy very nice..."
It reminds me of a story about a father
who makes his son take violin lessons
and goes to a friend and says: "John, see how my son plays the violin"
And his son plays...
quite awful.
and he asks: "What do you think about his execution?"
"Well, execution might be a bit exaggerated,
a couple of slaps should be enough."
(Laughter)
Anyway, it was not the case.
(Applause)
Leaving slapping aside,
I wanted to tell,
this idea: (♪♪♪)
One feels like saying: "Well, boy, try another thing".
But if that boy happened to be Frederique Chopin
Polish composer from the XIX century,
he could had written:
(♪♪♪)
And with this simple idea worth a slap
he made a prelude.
Prelude in E Minor, a marvelous piece played in all piano concerts.
So we saw the two examples.
What would happen if I say...?
I have an idea,
I'm going to be a composer, mi idea is as follows:
(♪)
Ha! What do you think? (laughter)
I hear laughter. Beware of laughter because it may be disrespectful.
Because this (♪)
this idea, it can be repeated
(♪♪)
Ha. It begins to get another...
I may even alter its rhythm.
- rhythm is the duration of musical notes -
I can play:
(♪ ♪♪)
That, if I were Tom Jobim for example,
Brazilian composer, I can play
(♪♪♪)
This is "One Note Samba".
You must have guessed why the title.
(Laughter) Now,
this "One Note Samba"
makes the most of
the idea of an idea
- excuse the redundancy -
reduced to the expression of a single note.
But regarding the reduction of ideas,
there is an example almost paradigmatic.
The most interesting example
on shortening of an idea,
created by John Cage,
composer of a piece for piano
called:
"4 minutes 33 seconds"
and in this case, to properly honor the piece,
if you allow me I am going to use the music sheet
and I'm going to perform only a fragment,
because let's say, time is, you know...
(Laughter)
Anyway, we may continue, but with this...
(Applause)
There's a version more intense, may be,
but less interesting for orchestra, you may listen to it if you wish.
(Laughter)
And further talking on ideas in music,
I ponder
until when an idea
is ours? It's completely ours.
And since when the idea
begins to be shared?
There is an aria by Mozart
from the opera Don Giovanni
- Don Giovanni, Don Juan -
the story about a man who wishes to find all women in one
therefore
he seduces one, and then another, and another, and he always
remains unsatisfied.
The aria is called "Là ci darem la mano"
where Don Giovanni sings to one of his lovers
"come, I will give you my hand"
"we'll go far away"
"etc... you are going to accept."
the aria goes like this:
(♪♪♪)
Là ci darem la mano,
Là mi dirai di sì:
Vedi, non è lontano...
The Kingdom of UpsideDown (T.N.: famous local children's song)
(Laughter)
It's quite similar!
(Applause)
Now,
this example is ambiguous,
because we ponder, this idea
Existed before? Is it new?
But there is a composer
of whom clearly
we can say
that he finds things before they get lost.
An euphemism to say that he steals.
A composer,
a popular composer, let's say
who run out of inspiration.
He had not had much inspiration in his previous work
but in this case
he wanted to be inspired, so he looked in his old phonograph
in his old vinyl records.
To the youngest I will tell you,
back when, it wasn't a stick, it wasn't a CD, it was a vinyl, right?
And this vinyl
he played it to see if he got inspired, it was a tango vinyl:
(♪♪♪)
It was broken, not useful. So he threw it away.
He looked for another one,
and he read the cover:
"Muzio Clementi"
"Sonatina in G Major"
Who's going to know Muzio Clementi?
Well, Muzio Clementi was a composer
fabulous, much less famous
than what his genius would have deserved.
He was Beethoven's professor among others.
And, in the sonata's third movement
- that this composer resorted to for inspiration -
he wrote this:
(♪♪♪)
And the composer said:
"I don't like it much, something is wrong."
"And what is this little button?"
There was a button with:
three numbers
33,
45 and 78.
(Laughter)
78... - it was on 78 -
he said: "This must be wrong, I'll put it in 45"
(♪♪♪)
No, I don't like it this way either.
Let's see what happens with 33:
(♪♪♪)
I have a hit!
And who's going to report me?
(Applause)
Muzio Clementi died more than 200 years ago, 300 years ago.
Who's going to remember? Who's going to recognize it?
Except for some moron going to TED
investigating these things.
(Laughter)
Now, a production never without precedent,
the sonatina does not end there, uh?
It goes on.
(♪♪♪)
So I am going to play the next hit.
It goes:
"When I'm feeling happy
when I'm feeling honey
All I have to do
is steal another tune".
(Laughter)
And there it is, already with that
we publish it and we get rich.
Now,
once I heard,
going back to ideas again, which was the original topic,
I heard Alejandro Dolina say:
genius is not the one who invented the telephone.
Genius is the one who invented the second one.
Because, really, with just one telephone...
it has no...
(Laughter)
And regarding ideas
it happens the same.
Some composers have genius ideas,
but genius composers
are the ones who find
the second telephone for each idea.
And in that sense,
one of my favorites and one of the greatest
is no doubt Mozart.
Who we listened to before in...
- uhm, "listened" -
who we quoted before
in "Là ci darem la mano".
He composed a Sonata in C Major
a piano sonata,
which may very well be an idea about telling a story.
And this idea, and that is why it's related, begins like this:
It begins when we are born
(♪♪♪) and we go to school, to kindergarten
we play
with other kids
with our friends
we grow up
we finish primal school
primary school I mean
and suddenly
(♪♪♪) she appears
Ahhh...
When I met my wife I told her:
- no sooner I met her than I started playing the piano and I said -
"Do you fancy music?"
She said: "Yes, but don't bother, keep on playing."
(Laughter)
She appears
(♪♪♪)
Everything is alright... "Shall we go out?"..."Yes!"
"To have a coffee.. to have a great time together"
At that time we are always very happy, and at this moment we must say:
"So, do you like me being a musician?"
"Yes!"
"Do you like me being bohemian? That I am not interested in material stuff?..." "I love i---"
"OK, put it on paper".
(Laughter)
Because I want to have a record,
because this has...
(♪♪♪)
is about to end.
"How lovely, and if we move in together?"
"and if we get married, shall we?"
"Let's pick a date..."
(♪♪♪)
And it begins: Marriage.
Oh! (laughter)
But it's Mozart, uh?
It's Mozart.
(Applause)
Mozart begins
(♪♪♪)
Children.
Work.
The house.
(♪♪♪)
And most importantly: is this the life I want?
(♪♪♪)
and the thing one desires is to go back to the beginning
being a child
(♪♪♪)
Ahhh, we are there...
This is like the beginning, but the beginning was:
(♪♪♪)
And now it is like this:
(♪♪♪)
It is not the same, it is the same, but it is not the same.
Now we are a bit overweight,
we have less hair...
- The other day my son stood up, I was sitting. And he told me:
"Dad, I can see your floor from here" -
(Laughter)
And I replied: "True, because we are in the recapituation".
(♪♪♪)
But you are able to enjoy anyway, aren't you?
And you look for, children grew up,
reencounter
with that person,
who you knew...
(♪♪♪)
and it feels that you reencounter her.
Aahh!
But, how was it before?
(♪♪♪)
And now is:
(♪♪♪)
It's fine, it is alike.
(Laughter)
What are you going to do!
I am more fat as well...
(Laughter)
We play... "Shall we go out?..." "No, let's stay home"
(Laughter)
"'Dr. House' is not that bad"
(Laughter)
"And honestly, Utilisima (T.N.: show for house wives)
gives great recipes..."
(Laughter)
You like that with meat with grilled potatoes
And so it ends...
(Applause)
Now, regarding ideas in music, chain of ideas,
And now that we are familiar with each other, and nobody is going to know about this
I suggest that we, all together,
create a hit.
Let's do a piece
that will sell
and we then share royalties, nobody is going to know anyway.
But in order to make a hit,
we need an idea,
and an idea may have three notes.
Music notes are seven, right?
C, D, E, F, G, A, B.
There are variations: flat, sharp... But it doesn't matter.
Let's create a three-sound idea all together.
For example, from this sector:
C, D, E, F, G, A, B... pick a note.
F.
Perfect. F.
F.
Fa! (T.N.: expression like 'wow') What a great idea.
Because, what is people going to say? "Fa, dude, Fa!"
F.
And you over there, a second note?
Well, let's say... B.
Flat? plain? sharp?
Like this?
Flat. B flat.
It's already making sense, uh?
And that sector, another note?
E.
Sharp, flat, plain?
Flat.
Ah! We already have the idea.
And in order for it to sell, 'cause the only thing we are interested
in this case, it is to make a hit, to sell it.
Make a lot of money. So let's play something popular. For example,
A Bolero. What do you think?
(♪♪♪)
Ah, wait a minute - I keep chasing the camera men -
You know what happens?
If it's going to be a bolero, how is going to lack lyrics?
Lyrics, say, is part of the bolero,
at least this idea has to have some lyrics.
Which word shall we...? Let's see...
No. You know what? There's something I have learned over the years after much studying...
If the music note, the idea, has three notes,
lyrics have to have three syllables.
If you say: "TEDxRíodelaPlata"
There is no way... I do not know if anybody....Let's see, Max:
Do you come up with a word?
MG: What?
SF: Do you come up with a word for a bolero?
We are creating a hit here.
MG: But you were the one with...?
SF: I was the one with the piano, yes.
Something to create a hit.
Three notes, one word.
It's a bolero.
MG: "Ambition"
SF: There it is! ambition.
Ambition of loving you, ambition of having you, ambition of whatever!
So, let's do something. You remember the idea, don't you?
Let's see how we do singing.
I'll ask you to say "ambition" while singing these three notes. And...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
(Laughter)
We have a bit of a difficulty. Let's see...
Breath deeply, shall we try again?. Let's see...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
again, let's go...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
Great! Now I'm going going to fill in the rest,
in the middle, but when that part comes
we sing it, we sing it loudly. Ready?
Let's see... We start with "ambition". Let's see, and...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
Wait, wait, wait.
I guessed you were eager.
Now, let's go...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
Louder. Let's see...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
And...!
♪♪Ambition♪♪
And for it to be a real hit,
it has to end in an ovation...
Otherwise, people are going to think...
because we are recording live, so afterwards you can buy it,
you get it digital.
So, this sector:
We are going to practice a so called rehearsal of the applause- ovation.
It goes like this:
(applause)
Let's see, all this sector
(applause)
You do it like that.
You begin to sing
but as they make the applause louder
you stop singing,
and start applauding more.
So as to end this TEDxRíodelaPlata full of energy.
Let's see how it turns out, shall we?
You all begin singing, right?
As I give you the sign, we begin the applause-ovation.
We are being recorded, please, keep it serious.
Three, and...
♪♪Ambition♪♪
♪♪Ambition♪♪
♪♪Ambition♪♪ (applause begins)
♪♪Ambition♪♪ (applause continues and gets louder)
♪♪Ambition♪♪ (applause continues and gets louder)
(Applause)