[applause]
Alright, so
[applause]
OK, so I want you to know we have not rehearsed anything here,
okay? This is all going to be new.
The orchestra, actually, has no idea what Ben's going to do. In fact,
Ben doesn't know what he's going to do because he's going to
ask *you* what to do.
So a couple of things.
I would like, from the audience, a key that Ben can work in.
[audience shouts out suggestions]
Whoa, that's a lot of keys.
I think I heard an A-minor in there.
Okay? Okay. A minor.
Now could somebody give me a tempo?
Do you want here ballad, or do you want to hear something more upbeat?
[audience: "upbeat"]
Pretty universal. Okay.
Now does anybody have a program booklet
that has an interesting sentence in it?
And because I can't decipher 50 sentences coming at once,
I'm gonna have some volunteers from the front here
call out a sentence to me that's interesting.
[audience calls out]
I'm sorry, one more time?
"These new spaces are all designed to be flexible."
Yeah, yes. [audience laughter]
So, Ben is going to improvise, in A minor, an upbeat song
on "these new places are designed to be flexible."
[applause]
It has to be something completely new, right?
[plays first 4 notes from Beethoven's 9th] [laughter]
OK
A minor.
[music]
♫ These new spaces are all ... ♫
♫ designed ... ♫ [audience laughing]
♫ to be flexible. ♫
[laughter]
♫ These new spaces are all all designed ... ♫
♫ to be flexible, flexible, flexible, flexible. ♫
Okay let's see, now let's see...
[applause]
Cellos, let's try, um, Arco go, um...
[plays piano]
[cellos play, correspondingly]
Yeah and then just one on the second one. [makes rhythm sounds]
Great. Now let's move that down, then the same,
the same thing and we can go to F so, so
that's, that's the A minor, that's... and that's with a 9 on it so
[makes rhythm sounds]
and that's an F, a concert F. The C, G
[makes rhythm sounds]
2 there
[makes rhythm sounds]
and then a low C
[plays key] [sings "C"]
[sings & plays "E"]
So whole cycles.
[music]
Okay great, now let's see, uh,
[music]
Let's do one size fits all sort of thing for the, uh, uh, the winds, reeds
let's just take, like, flutes, oboes, and bassoon, clarinets, and just, it just
it this can be in whatever octave spread you want, and we're gonna go...
[music]
No, no, let's just make it a harmony we go
[music]
I'm taking them out. Just, clarinets, two clarinets go E, concert E, and G go...
[music]
Let me hear that and make sure I don't suck.
[laughter]
[music]
That's it.
[music]
OK, now let me hear that with the cellos for a moment... 3, 4...
[music]
Okay that, so when we go to that E we're gonna do that.
So the first, the first one is uh,
Sorry, this takes a second to create a whole song for you.
[laughter]
And I'm gonna take something back about the cellos, let's just do that
one cycle on each one.
[rhythmic sounds: bum, bum, bum, bum] then F
[rhythmic sounds: bum, bum, bum, bum] [music]
And then, uh
[music]
Then the clarinets
[music]
Yeah, so let's try that. Two, three, four...
[music]
Ok this last one of the cycles goes
[music]
So move that, ah, G up anyone has the G moving up to G sharp
[music]
Okay great. Now, uh, uh,
[music]
Okay, uh, violins, first violins let's go, uh, A
[music]
Great and then the second violins go up...
[music]
Uh, so you'll go to E. Eeee...B
[music]
OK, you're going...
[music]
Great, let's hear it all together, make sure it's not crazy.
two, three, four
[music]
OK, great. Thank you, now, uh..
I'll give the, uh, the viola a little timing shizzle here, just go... one,
[music]
Great, perfect, and then, and then double-basses
you know what you must do...
[music] [applause]
OK, let's start it from the top.
Now if there's anyone who would...
like, a drum set, you know what to do...
[laughter]
Um, and, uh, then I'd say, uh, you know
if there's a trumpet player that wants to take
a solo after the first course when I run out of ideas
then you can just take that there.
OK, so let's, uh, and then, you can bring anyone in and out that you want to
but I think I'm probably almost over my time when—I had to
write a song in ten minutes so...
Let's just start in, or close to it. One, two, three, four...
[music]
♫ For more than 45 years the JFK Center for the Performing Arts ♫
♫ has served as a living memorial ♫
♫ to President Kennedy by bringing an unparalleled diversity to our arts ♫
♫ Our nation's capital... ♫
♫ And serving a critical role as a leading provider of the arts education ♫
♫ mission across the USA ♫
♫ and around the world ♫
[music]
♫ These new spaces... ♫
[laughter]
♫ are all designed to be flexible ♫
♫ These new spaces are all designed ♫
♫ Let's milk it, make it a little bit louder now. ♫
♫ Mezzo forte! ♫
♫ Forte! ♫
♫ Double forte! ♫
♫ Tempo forte! ♫
♫ Fortissimo! Fivetissimo! ♫
[music]
Let's take it out now, you ready? Way down here...
[music]
[applause]
Thank you very much.
[applause]
Um, so for those of you that are obviously liking Ben Folds' work...
[laughter]
>> Available in the lobby!
He will be the next artistic advisor for the National Symphony Orchestra.
[applause]
Mr. Ben Folds.
[applause]