Sesame Street - A jazzy triangle meets a square

[hollyverus]

Thank you so much for uploading this. I first saw this around the late seventies, when I was a preschooler. I've been searching for this here for a long time. Just like you, this has been embedded in my memory mainly because of the music---the bass line, the "colors," etc. I also specially remember that laugh coming from the triangle, which back then I thought was "weird." Again, my thanks and greetings from the Philippines!

[gjc82071]

The birth of CGI! This is the 1st use of CGI on TV/Film. I can't believe nobody has mentioned it.

[tw69hands2]

RIGHT ON!



[DaveWollenberg]

Allen Swift did both the triangle's and square's voices.

[gjc82071]

@DaveWollenberg Actually, it's Mason Adams.

[LiteracyLabyrinth]

I will never forget this music - excellent classic clip.

[toonguy06]

the tune at the end of this cartoon is RICE by HERB ALPERT!

[toastichedu]

@toonguy06 No such song by Herb Alpert exists. There is one called RISE but its not the same song.

[fridahernandezsolis]

This animation its my favorite !!!! I Love jazz because this thank you sesame street

[mr2del]

2:06, The triangle got owned, but good!

[VIEWTUBE00000]

My all time favorite SS clip! After the early 70's, it seems this clip was hardly ever used in later episodes and now its back at last!

[TnseWlms]

Actually it is an unfair to compare a triangle with a square- a triangle is a general shape and a square is a narrow restrictive type of quadrilateral. A quadrilateral (or even a rectangle) has as much freedom as the triangle; and an equilateral triangle would have no more freedom than the square.

[Tigerboy83]

True, but the intended audience is too young to know what equilateral means, yet can easily know what a square is.

[TheGreatWishyWoz]

@TnseWlms

Actually the rhombus would have the most freedom, but, as Tigerboy83 said, the intended audience wouldn't know what in the wacky world of science a rhombus (or any shape other than a square, triangle, or circle, for that matter) could be.

[TnseWlms]

A rhombus's four sides must be equal length (but the angles don't have to be right). A quadrilateral (any four sided figure) would have more freedom than a rhombus, a rectangle or a square because its four sides can each have any length and the angles don't have to be right. True this is all beyond the scope of SS, but I felt this sketch implies that all 3-sided figures are freer than 4-sided ones.

[charlestonchewy]

A square is also a rhombus. Like you said, all four sides are equal. Also their diagonal lines form perpendicular bisectors at the center.

[mstatz]

I saw a commercial Sunday afternoon with this music in the background (1st music played). That is the 1ST time in my life I heard any of the music in this cartoon outside this cartoon!

[grandpipco]

I know I've seen a similar video for Take Five that also had a dancing circle. This is definitely a treat, does anyone remember the Take Five version. I saw it on CHCH TV from Hamilton Ontario on a kids TV show in the 60's, that had Bill Lawrence who became the weather man , an old man and Penny, a puppet. ???

[Tarabos1]

Nice to see this again after 35 years (!) That must be the reason why I prefer rather listen to Jazz than to Pop music...The triangle swings in 6/8 (3/4) (freedom) the square 4/4 beat is (mostly) boring and clumsy...Sesame Street....wonderful infotainment for kids and adults!!

[BenPanced]

I've always loved the music used for the square!

[s29382820]

lol

[drbj]

I love this! I'm 44 and have thought of this segment many times in the last 20+ years. Thanks for putting it up!

[kartanoman]

This is my all-time favorite SS segment (I'm 40) and, back when I was five or six, would go crazy with excitement whenever it played. I used to dance all around my TV room to the music and my parents surely thought I was nuts. I hadn't seen it for over 25 years until Noggin broadcasted it as part of SS Unpaved many years ago. Thanks so much for posting it!

[wyecee]

What about a circle?

[jfreyla]

Oh this blows my mind. For some reason this particular SS animation made me feel so uncomfortable. I probably identified with being a square so watching that triangle dance was too much! Wacky! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[jonnytbirdzback]

It would have been cool to see this from an 80s episode of Sesame Street.

[happy7117]

He is a great Square Dancer!

[soilsminor]

I love the subtle nuances a child wouldn't catch, like the time signature for the triangle being 3/4 time and the time signature for the square being in 4/4. I know I just liked how "cool" the triangle was when I was a kid. And that everybody wasn't the same.

[bogeyboy1313]

The opening number is now being used in a Crown Royal commercial...the one with the billiard player.

[sed1228]

Hey gang!

Got a clue in regards to the opening song in this SS segment. I was watching a Crown Royal commercial ("Billiards"), during the 24 Hours of Daytona auto race this past weekend, and the whole commercial used the very same song. I couldn't get the name of the song, but I hope this helps. In fact, the commercial was the thing that reminded me of this SS clip and brought me here! This is the first time I've seen this since somewhere between '74-'75ish. Thanks for the clip!

[mstatz]

This segment consists of three different musical pieces, the middle one being played twice. I've never heard ANY of them EVER anywhere or any time in my life except in this cartoon!

[PandaMishima]

I might have heard the last bit, where the triangle is dancing home, in a commercial or two, when I was a kid in the late '60s, but can't recall anything definite. Be fun to track down.

[CanadaFamilyMan]

When the 3angle bragged "I have THREE sides", the square should've interrupted with "I have MORE than you!"

[bogeyboy1313]

The square reminds me of Barney Rubble.

[bogeyboy1313]

I meant the TRIANGELE, duh.

[LonelyVagabond]

That triangle used to scare the crap out of me also.

[danawadd]

Wow... this stuff is bringing back serious childhood memories... thanks!

[muzzher]

Love this clip -- I remember another SS triangle animation that was set to the jazz tune "Take 5." Anyone remember that? Would love to see it!

[33chiliken]

I remember that one. Two men in the park are trying to listen to their radios. One of them is listening to Take 5. I would like to see that one too.

[colleen4ever]

In addition to teaching shapes, this also has a good message about liking vvho you are and hovv no one is the same.

[decolady2]

wasn't there a similar cartoon @ one point in time??

i believe in was in the TOM n JERRY family of cartoons.

where a straight line wants to hook up with a circle and he's told he's too plain. then he learns how to curve and turns her on....

[zxq757]

It's called "The Dot and the Line" from 1965. Produced by Chuck Jones

[decolady2]

Mason Adams!!!

love that guy's voice.

[DiAnno13]

Sadly, they would meet their end at the hands of a vivious circle.

[d72jjpilc]

I remember this - especially the last part when the triangle leaves. The music was happy, but had a 'sad touch' to it as well that still brings a tear or two to me today thirty-some years later. Mstatz, keep bringing back those memories!

[CanadaFamilyMan]

So right. Always liked the very end, the 3-angle turns into a tiny dot, & the sudden ending of the music also. I wonder if there's some symbolism in the ending? For example, 3-angle says "not a bad guy... for a SQUARE!"... I'm not sure he learned the lesson!

[broughham]

very funny toonguy and no there's no such song lol.

[LuvvyDuck]

I thought for a long time some of that music was "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck, but now I see it only sounded similar. But thanks for putting this up! Brings back some nice childhood memories. ^___^

[toonguy06]

the tune at the end of this segment is called "rice" by herb alpert... it was from 1973....I think

[mstatz]

This cartoon was first aired in 1969 along with the music to it.

[thekingof8]

This was in the original pilot. I don't know why, but this sketch reminds me of Chuck Jones' short, "The Dot and The Line."

[milan5389]

it reminded me of that too

[thekingof8]

Come to think of it, according to a filmography I saw somewhere, his production company produced some shorts for the first couple of seasons. Maybe he did make this.

[rdangelo]

If it's not Brubeck, I'd bet it may have been written by Neil Hefti, who did the Batman and Odd Couple themes, among many others.

[karaloyal]

Is that Dave Brubeck playing? I always assumed as much (my parents were into jazz)

[heftosprod]

Did you happen to find out? I always thought it was Brubeck as well. Id really like to know what album it's from. Very inspirational piece for me from well over thrity years ago.

[karaloyal]

I still don't know... yes it stuck with me, too.

[heftosprod]

I've sent an email to the childrens television workshop archive to see if anyone there can help. funny how those

[BenDavis19]

Another possible choice might be Dave Pike. He was a West Coast bandleader and played vibes (audible in the music). It sounds a lot like the opening to the 1978 movie "California Suite."

[acvflickr]

Definitely sounds a lot like Miles Davis's "All Blues" with a splash of "Take 5". It may not be by either Davis or Brubeck but it still sets my foot a tappin' just like 'em.

[chemicalcarlos]

I love this piece, especially the music for the durned square! It's so calculatedly clunky!

[patybear]

I can't believe I can still remember this clip and its music at almost the age of 43!THANK-YOU!

 patybear

[DiAnno13]

The triangle and the square later became business partners. Ironically, the triangle garnered a reputation as a square dealer, while the square was convicted for taking part in a pyramid scheme.

[mstatz]

Hey...that's clever! lol

[ProfessorIgor]

oh AWESOME !! I totally remembered this, and I haven't seen this in a long, LONNNG time (like over 30 years). It's unreal how well little kids remember things. My 5 year old reminds me of this, because I'll bet that's how old I was when I last saw this. I am 38 now... God the old SS was great.

[mstatz]

I'm the guy who posted this and I'm 38 too. I recorded this in 1986 but the moment it came on, memories went back to when I was in kindergarten and watching this segment. The music is what I remembered the most. Very nostalgic!

[wattamack4]

Hmmmm...Is it just the quality of this video or was the backround supposed to be yellow and not green and the shapes blue and not red?

[ISNorden]

I'd guess it was video quality, since the sound is the same as in my copy of Episode 83; it's unlikely that they'd remake the same cartoon just to change its colors.

[joshuaelliott]

I seem to remember another shape getting involved, and there not being a separate narrator...

[jenkinscrowe]

You might be thinking of Chuck Jones' "The Dot and the Line"...?

[kll510]

Nice way to teach tolerace, shape and thinking for yourself. Nobody likes shapism. LOL This is yet another one of my SS favs.

[MontyDave]

I swear I've heard the opening music elsewhere, outside this SS sequence. Anyone know who composed the first tune that the triangle dances to?

[MVillani1985]

Haven't seen this in years, but now I just remembered seeing it after about 16-17 years.

[henrybird]

watching this jogged my memory! I remember seeing this when I was a boy! Nice joke about the square dancing, by the way!

[glowworm2]

I love the music. The square dancing is hysterical. absolutely amazing.

[glowworm2]

I love the music-the square dancing was hysterical.This is awesome!

[Juliefan21]

That was taken from episode 83. Right or wrong?

[ISNorden]

I've seen it on that episode, but don't know if #83 was the first time it aired.

[mstatz]

Where did you get Sesame Street episode # 83 and when did you watch it? Do you still have it now?

[ISNorden]

I downloaded a copy from a file-sharing service on the Net; the episode was edited for Noggin, so I can't post any of it here (unless my media-editor friends help). Still, I can convert my copy to an .mp4 and send you a link to download it from; would that be OK?

[mstatz]

That would be great!

[Juliefan21]

ISNorden has episode #83.

[DiAnno13]

There's no way the triangle could have beaten him at square dancing.