Andrew Bird with Yo Yo Ma

[dolphindanny98]

You'd have to be a real musical genius to be able to just jump into the music like that, and be able to make it sound as if every note you are producing, though it is not actually written in the sheets, is a part of the music and was in the original composition.

[violinjuggler]

You know, everyone associates improvising with jazz and folk and all of that, but I found that improvising to stuff like this is just about the most relaxing/fun thing there is.

[Chr1sDeb0]

I showed this to my father, and he wept manly tears.

[jzarow99]

A master peace?

[dolphindanny98]

HOW ARE THEY SO TALENTED?

[Sovay83]

Haven't seen this in a while. It's so nice :)

[maronic16]

i love the fact that andrew whistles all the time, i bet he's a super happy person at home just whistling to everything

[tcmartin4]

I'm convinced that these two know something most of humanity doesn't. Whatever it is, it's nice to see that they're sharing it with each other.

[cmilam89]

@tcmartin4 Yea right.

[Brant92M]

@tcmartin4 It's called 'music'.

When you can sit down and create something beautiful like this, it's such an incredible feeling.

That's what these two know, the joy of making music.

So, for the love of god, give your kid an instrument, and support the arts in your local schools. Humanity needs more of these people.

[harrisqazi]

Andrew Bird is such an amazing creature.

[auderree]

holy fucking wow

[dwardthemoose]

hahah andrew bird didn't finish on a conventional cadence so yo yo ma tried to resolve it for him when they were whistling

[dolphindanny98]

@dwardthemoose yeah, i just noticed that. andrew bird's tune didn't resolve itself (surprisingly), and it sort of fell, but yo yo ma did a good job completing the cadence.

[IsraelBelo911]

@dwardthemoose a real musician doesn't need to do a conventional cadence! But oh god, it feels so good when you hear the resolution!!! Hahaha, anyway AWESOME!

[DravenX53]

is he trying to upstage Yo Yo Ma? I love the Birdman, but... douche move.

[hulagirl93]

@DravenX53 No no ... can you not see the joint admiration of pure love in both of these wonderful musicians playing their instruments? Respect.

[myRincon]

what...what...whats happening..to my...body...ohhhh ggawwwwdddd

[silvermoon76]

Every time I hear this my head explodes.

[TheSkiller71]

Not my musical taste, but I enjoyed it very much. He'll be in my town performing this month. Wish I could make the venue.

[LaughingOutKraut]

At first I thought this said "Yo Ma Ma".

[BMacW650]

@LaughingOutKraut Haha, I thought it said YoYo Ma playing Angry Birds

[syahirahsazali]

@LaughingOutKraut Hahaha I was about to say the exact same thing.

[grapplingtech77]

Andrew birds musical ability alone can make a person believe there is a God... 

[Twoandtwois5]

@grapplingtech77 his whistling alone makes me believe hes a god

[TheGeetarDog]

@grapplingtech77 Jesus, that's so true.

[martinmfuchs]

Wow, they just met?!?!?!

[WhoaBroLowBlow]

MTV should put this in Jersey Shore's time slot.

[illusion887]

wow, if only I had a shred of talent that these guys have!

[KevinVang1000]

Dang! WOW!



[tiffylis]

Too short! We need a whole album. >:3

[phubans]

@tiffylis haha somebody did this at my highschool but instead of playing stringed instruments they shot up the school.

[tiffylis]

@phubans ROFL XDDDDDDDD

[leoarroyo1]

Andrew Bird just owned yo ma ma

[DanLightning]

I want MORE!!

[Evildog6543]

as epic as Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee

[Snakmachine]

this is ASTOUNDING! my new favorite thing, 100%!!!

[totallyrhombus64]

welcome to my wildest dreams.

[ehhorvath13]

the improv is great and they're both fantastic musicians, I won't discount that. But Dona Nobis Pacem? Not exactly the hardest song.

[dudeawesome321]

@ehhorvath13 sometimes the simple stuff is the most beautiful

plus, it's harder to play long notes and keep them steady than to play a run where the tone of each individual note isn't as noticeable

[decupero]

Belíssimo momento. Dois grandes músicos.

[bigjcinsky]

If Yo Yo ma asked me to improv with him, i'd shit my pants so fast with anxiety.

[zrouth]

this was about 58 minutes too short

[TheToastyWaffles]

Wow.....

[overether]

Orgasmic.

[ZomBiezley]

andrew bird and yo yo ma appeared on mtv? I'm shitting a brick right now at that.

[DiscoCisco83]

o ma gos it andrew bird...... who's the other guy lol

[totallyrhombus64]

@DiscoCisco83 I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

[ZachMaximus]

I have never experienced as much heartache as i did when that ended.

REPLAY.

[davidoffbeat]

@ZachMaximus I know, I wish it was longer!

[Alio15]

Oh my god.

[damefranz]

Andrew Bird just moved up about 10 knotches in my music belt. Amen.

[kearneyin2034]

I'LL BET DEAN HAS A CHUB WHEN HE READS THIS

[viewerlikeyouare]

With improv like this, every imperfection is delicious.

But then again... what imperfection?

[DaveyShouldDie]

I read the the title of the video "Andrew Bird with Yo Mama"

i'm not even mad, i'm impressed

[aha45]

haha, Yo Yo's face at 1:10: "Damn Bird, that's good"

[evemmaret]

This was on MTV.....?

[Chillicat26]

best thing on mtv ever? um YEAH. lol

[Icix1]

that was badass

[Lukamusic81]

two of my faves!

[silvermoon76]

Wow. Wow.

[JusticeConstantine]

I love how Yo Yo Ma resolved Andrew Bird's whistling suspension in the final cadence.

-Justice Constantine

[4StringsSeth]

Yo Yo Ma looks so pleased when Andrew starts plucking and whistling.

[Dstampede114]

U mad? Dis chinese nigga and pecker wood aint even dat good.

[Dstampede114]

Yo these niggaz are gay.....gimme dat nigga lil wayne or whiz ya feel me nigga

[NewDjango]

@Dstampede114 Yeah, these guys using musical instruments to make music are gay. Go get Lil wayne and Wiz Khalifa, take em home and rid the world of all three of you. You are the reason we are dying as a species.

I don't even want to talk about your ridiculously terrible grammar, but I'm going to. You can't even spell Nigga's correctly and it isn't even a word.

Please go and leave real music to real people, you fake ghetto suburbanite.

[lizethsarabia]

Andrew bird makes my heart melt.

[smithsisdeadx]

Holy shit.

[lachaloncharon]

Awww...I love both guys!



[goodresonance]

fake

[xcislife94]

wow just gained a lot of respect for mtv

[wapenstilstandsonder]

my dislexia made me read "Andrew Bird with Yo' Ma Ma"

[Vanhaley]

Wooooow!

[pianoaficionado29]

Gah, this made my day! So much love for Andrew Bird. :) He can hang with Yo Yo Ma! While improvising! That's so win.

[xmpd123]

since when does MTV play music, let alone Andrew Bird?

[Zurajit88]

@xmpd123 probably was some kind of special or something that they did, because MTV hasn't played music since I was a kid

[musiclife2222]

@xmpd123 Amen to that!

[yankees1234577]

I love how you can't even watch a video of Andrew Bird and Yo Yo Ma playing beautiful string awesomeness without there being tension in the comments section.

[bananaliver]

Where did these days of MTV go. Oh well, that's what youtube is for. :] Fantastic stuff.

[americandropout]

Dona Nobis!

[TheBitchfist]

fuckin yo yo ma... 

[aeauriga]

At 1:10 you can see he actually impresses Yo Yo Ma. Incredible.

[hobbitstalker]

5 people are deaf

[DeeDeeFierro]

Why only 2:20.... WHYYYYY ??? 

[Jayjumpscrazily]

@DeeDeeFierro

If you notice, it was on MTV. 2:20 is the longest MTV can pretend to give a damn about good music

[bladeddread]

@Jayjumpscrazily I was about to say the same god damn thing. but you beat me to it. good job!!!!! btw its fucking true

[MsYouareWRONG]

Wait, they played something good on MTV? What?

[cyrussandersful]

What! MTV Actually Playing Music and It's Good!!!!!!!! *GROUND CRACKS OPEN* * LIGHTNING STRIKES* Oh no their disturbing THE BALANCE!!!!!!!! LOL

[PrestonDowMusic]

god this is cool. I honestly don't believe that this was on Mtv. literally. I don't think this was on mtv. I think the logo was put there as a joke, seriously.

also, I recognize what yo yo is playing, it's called "dona nobis pachem" I might have spelled it wrong since it's in latin. you guys should check it out, it's great

[ZomBiezley]

I'm surprised this was on mtv. they seem to care more about paying teenagers to get pregnant and rappers to boucne bootys on screen more than ACTUAL music.

[Shoovit]

bird just feels the music. mmf

[baantalingngam]

Very simple chord sequence. Andrew Bird is no genius. Countless improvising violinists could have done that, only better

[RegisPhilbinPeePee]

@baantalingngam

True, but name another popular musician who can do this.

And name another violinist who can whistle like a fiend and write songs that make you smile.

[TheP00peater]

@baantalingngam i completely agree. hes a mediocre violinist with superb whistling skills, that is all...

[rockon6191]

@TheP00peater Andrew Bird's been mastering the violin and the intricacies of classical music since the age of four, using one of the most rigorous and intensive training processes in any art form. Now I ask you, p00peater, what qualifies you to judge a master?

[mr4748a]

The whistling along with the pizzocato was impressive, but i'd like to see him arco and whistle. :D

[Sovay83]

andrew bird <3

[requiemofspirits]

Donaa.. Noobisss Pacem Pacem.. ♪♪♪♪

[TheOB212]

and that bastard even has the audacity to whistle

[pogoboy5]

I would actually watch MTV if they had more stuff like this...

[tenatopps]

Monsieur Bird, you make me so infinitely happy I don't know how I ever have time to PMS.

[aha45]

I like how at 1:10 Yo Yo smiles like "damn Bird, that's good"

[penniecore]

you gotta love the end, when even yo yo ma tries to whistle, lovely!

[letto2103]

WOW!

(anything else will not do justice)

[bobdoe91]

5 people are deaf.

[KnightInPlaid92]

That was fantastic. I love Andrew Bird and his music. And more than that, I love the way he dresses.

[dnl783]

My heart is so happy right now.

[classicalalways]

A mediocre job of improvisation - great jazz players can do stunts like this in their sleep. Meanwhile, Ma continues his efforts down the Mark O'Oconnor, folk music, and any other type of music he can get his hands on.

[kingxofxsuede]

@classicalalways Many "great jazz players" you are referring to rarely ever got on stage to perform and improvise over a song they had never heard. Thats what makes this so amazing. Yes, it's rudimentary harmony and is simple enough. But the fact that he heard that little diddy Ma was playing for the first time and could play a pretty decorated melody over it and impressive.

[Chanbang18]

I have seen this at least a dozen times and it never ceases to amaze me that he made that up on the spot.... I also love how he can take any piece of music and turn it into an andrew bird song even if you could only hear the audio and didn't know who was playing you would figure it out quick, The whistling is a dead give away though

[TrophyBass12]

Seriously, though... what WAS this doing on MTV? Good for them, I suppose :P

[Jesseqisbetterthanyo]

That was cool. Would've been cooler if they had moved past western consonance.

[goodgrief78]

@Jesseqisbetterthanyo FINALLY! Someone saying what I know we were all thinking. Except that none of us were thinking that at all.

[sunsru03]

how brilliant!!!

[SnowRose94]

this is amazing! i was like chin on ground when i actually saw this video... lol Yo-yo Ma is such a dad type of person. lol :))

[antigravity000]

@ percussionwithfire hahah! I'd have to agree on that one. Why do I lack an Andrew Bird in my life...

[smartfkr]

shit, my ears just cremed themselves... haha. yo yo ma and andrew bird... thats fucking ridiculous... in the same room? shiiii.

[sybo59]

Holy shit, where did all these goosebumps come from?

[SanyaMae]

I am in love with Andrew Bird. He is so, so incredible.

[kleinball]

love how Bird doesn't resolve the phrase by staying on the seventh at 1:15

[percussionwithfire]

@fisheloph andrew bird doesnt feel pressure. pressure feels andrew bird, and relaxes.

[justa16thnote]

Andrew bird is too good for MTv, Fuse, VH1, all of those crap channels. Heneeds his own channel that plays his own music.

[soledadnonchalant]

Simply Wonderful..

[spooninspoon]

andrew bird is too good for the popular music scene

[Gecka12]

@spooninspoon

hipster homo

just because something is well known, doesn't mean it's bad. obscurity does not = quality

[spooninspoon]

@Gecka12 hipster homo???... lol i love getting insults from people I don't know know although calling someone out who isn't a homosexual?... thats kinda sad you homophobe! who thinks he or she is relevant by bashing someone on youtube... goodluck with that hope your ego was properly stroked... ps your taste in music probably blows

[Gecka12]

@spooninspoon

No such thing as bad taste, people listen to what speaks to them. Granted not everything that is said is intelligent (see bieber, hannah montana, etc)

Also stop focusing on the particulars of an insult over the internet, you might break a blood vessel.

I sincerely want Andrew Bird to hit huge success with an album, so he can be rewarded properly with monetary gain

So stfu already and ride my cock

And before you keep to your "you listen to bad music" argument

triphop motherfucker

[p0ooo0p]

@Gecka12 I'd be willing to bet that Andrew Bird doesn't equate "huge success" with monetary gain.

[yudystephanie]

This is just too awesome. I wish more people knew who Yo Yo Ma and Andrew Bird are.

[kaylashalaylaaaaa]

andrew is overwhelmingly attractive in so many ways.

and yo yo ma seems so sweet.

[jeffey0217]

well andrew birds part is improv lol

[jeffey0217]

this isnt improv its a cover of world peace cannon

[doggieGZ]

this is what they SHOULD be showing on MTV damnit

[tomgreen98155]

oh shit. i got some major shivers watching this one

[letternumber9]

they are both cute as buttons!

[TheWelby73]

That brought tears to my eyes. I am an aficionado of all things improv, and that was two geniuses at work.

[SkiethxEpitaph]

a glimpse of genius in motion

[TheyMakeMeHappy]

And his singing is just as amazing! <3

[Roboprop]

I'm speechless!

[mineralandrollcello]

This is so happy I was laughing.

[3Storm]

WoW

[LiamusShakirus]

impressive whistling! lol

[dancetoska]

I bet Andrew has perfect pitch. That bastard :)

[yuppy64]

@dancetoska 

[44steel1]

that was awsome

[DecantuMusic]

Thank you so much for posting this...it´s a privilege to see things like that nowadays..

[r92cab]

haha i thought it said andrew bird with yo ma ma hahahaha

[resol31]

Dona Nobis Pacem - Let There Be Peace On Earth

[TrophyBass12]

He even had the balls to whistle!

[nacho3rdbowler]

@TrophyBass12 he always has the balls to whistle.

[TrophyBass12]

so sexy

[holyjeebusforsale]

dude, they film all aspects of music, but only air what's trendy.. If there's a classical movement again, you can be sure they're covered... 

[KUCEVICHXELA]

This is just simply amazing.

[alexflum]

chills..

[mgmuscari]

andrew bird is completely unique in the music world in that he is probably the only person to ever accomplish using whistling as an accompanying instrument, let alone the only person to do it so masterfully.

seeing him live is always a pleasure as it's always mesmerizing in a completely different way. awesome.

[ThisCitysInPanic]

This just made my entire week. I died a little while watching this and then he started whistling. and BAM fatality maybe?

[109Chrome109]

Imagine that! Being asked to imrpovise with Yo Yo Fucking ma!

[EvieDawn]

AH MY TWO FAVORITE MEN. Beautiful.

[DINOLEGZ]

revolutionary

[bruceniemchick]

Awesome!

[cheeserinoo]

I like how Andrew's name comes before Yo-Yo Ma's.

[grimjack28]

@cheeserinoo Ziegfield Zebregski probably never gets that.

[kupokuposama]

Andrew Bird has a-fricken-mazing knowledge of his instrument :O To know what note to whistle to match improve must be really hard, and to do both simultaneously is incredible...That was awesome.

[sweden92]

yo mama!

[kowpuddin]

seriously? of all things yo yo ma chose ave maria? this is andrew bird, i'd give him something a little more interesting..

[Jinpagee]

@kowpuddin Not Ave Maria ... it's Dona Nobis Pacem. Sometimes the simple stuff is just as exquisite as the more complicated works, and can be harder to make really happen flawlessly.

[snow1081]

OMG how awesome was that performance??? Love the whistling

[friendlycarrot139]

It was already perfect, and then...he brings in the whistling. I nearly died. His whistling is possibly the most pleasant sound in the world. :D

[XxComancheKingxX]

I got chills too!!

[peace4allyo]

Did anyoe else get chills?

[YvesIsaki]

*chokes a little on water* what?! Oh my gosh!

[ZenSporty]

when our heart bird sings, the strings of our soul is revealed...as in this case forever and always.....thank you andrew and yo yo

[Dolahov]

Literally teared up. Fantastic

[ProfessorCrow]

The power of the string.

[geek183]

that was off the charts dowg. some thing so spare of the moment, so nice. pure skills

[mrtuckercalhoun]

it's funny when two musicians just enjoy each others company and talent......then we listeners chalk it up to something magical.

Oh my god.