Jazz improvisation on a 5 octave Array mbira

[stanmoremusic]

So dreamy <3

[patrickhadley]

prices and tons of info at thearraymbira dot c

[talktimeabbyrachel]

this sounds really pretty!

[HANDSnSTICKS]

is there a ballpark price ?

[patrickhadley]

@HANDSnSTICKS please check our site at thearraymbira dot c

[jamesbolusi123]

this is annoying!!!!!!



[GNRJaffa]

The start reminds me of the sims :P

[rcnacura]

This reminds me of Bjork so much! You should work with her, I'm sure she'd get a kick out of this, sounds amazing!

[patrickhadley]

@rcnacura yeah, she's on our list of amazing artists to contact, hope we can get one to her soon!

[MrDvs9000]

I always loved the sound of these little instruments but this blow me away !

dear santa...

[MrDvs9000]

By little instruments I actually ment thumb piano's or kalimba's this is new to me, still waaaauw ^^

[sasvite]

without thinking twice i suscribe to you buddy!

[swagg1up]

how difficult is it to learn how to play this instrument?

[patrickhadley]

@swagg1up a beginner can make good sounding music right away because of the Array System of note arrangement which stacks the octave notes together in a column and then arranges the octave columns in a series of fifths. Experienced musicians can learn very quickly and advance rapidly.

[swagg1up]

@patrickhadley seems like i have to invest in one soon!

[SharmaYelverton]

That's amazing. How are the notes arranged on it?

[patrickhadley]

@SharmaYelverton columns of octaves in a series of fifths

[randomboostsuperguy]

this is way relaxing bro thx

[SuperJesuslover666]

i can do that hold me beer

[onionbuskut]

SO LEGIT my favorite instrument by far

[m4moth]

Thats a sweet sound.

[09customcarfan09]

sounds super awesome

[Jojos18]

Please make more videos. I love the sound of this wonderful instrument. :)

[HitomiCOD2]

"Björk" would love this Instrument. She's a famous Islandic artist! And shes awesome

[iRawrZ3R0]

I love the sound its verry relaxing i would love to have one and learn how to play!

[123456haha]

Out od reach from Children younger than 12 years

[Daaannns]

reminds me of machinarium

[DeFaulty101]

It looks painful to play.

[patrickhadley]

@DeFaulty101 it's not at all painful but it does help to have a slightly long fingernail

[FliptopTwister]

this instrument sounds so sweet

[chocanoman]

this reminds me of avatar the last airbender anyone

[coolcatjas]

Amazing.

[FPSCclanleader]

I am curious if there are any repeated notes throughout the instrument like on a guitar or is every key different?

[patrickhadley]

@FPSCclanleader all 12 notes of the scale and how ever many octaves there are on the particular instrument are repeated 2.5 times so each hand can access the same notes allowing for complex playing that is not obtainable on a keyboard and the note arrangement which layed out in a series of fofths allows for exact uniformity ion the way chords are played, for more info check the site thearraymbira and look at the"array system" page

[kiyoko0369]

Vsauce.

[nostalgicbeatle]

...Want. This is too beautiful for words.

[babahihibaba]

thanks to your awesome playing im going to be late for something.

[benw0602]

this is so relaxing :D

[elchucapablas]

Does it mess up ur fingers?

[T3AI2S]

vsauce sent me

[ImaJosha]

someone should play this instrument in a smooth jazz band or something.

[LXBD]

This sounds great. I love it!

[LegoLikeDaBlocks24]

vsauce?

[datcheater]

Minecraft music

[resevilMGS]

Sound like Final Fantasy 

[MrGavinmak]

So relaxing.

[xpointkiller]

love it

[GoldenChildBH]

Mesmerizing.

[Musicmonk84]

I wanna play!

[Supermagma17]

I have a small handheld version of this. Awesome

[PaulMrThe]

Dubstep the shit out of this, any one?

[NovaDUBSTEP]

@PaulMrThe thats a possibility

[sheen49]

Vsauce2 Army approaching

[AriocKaichi]

You should try to make one tuned to A=432hz :)

[patrickhadley]

@AriocKaichi we could easily do that but then you couldn't play it with other instruments in 440hz

[AriocKaichi]

@patrickhadley Yeah i know its just the idea of everyone else in a band type situation would also play with instruments tuned to a432...it just sounds like no other!

[hikuro14]

Amazing instrument.

[noobsmoke261]

I don't even know what the fuck that is but I want it and I need to learn how to play it now.

[musicuseit]

Where can one obtain one of these beautiful instruments!??

[patrickhadley]

@musicuseit the web site is thearraymbira dot c o m

[majlo0ana]

please ,how is this tuner ?

[nicolas2903]

YOU CAN GET HURT WITH THAT SHIT

[yisoonshin12]

This is the best instrument I've ever heard! Awesome music

[springerspencer]

Lovely....

[FlyingHorseKnuckles]

Beautiful in every respect: composition, performance, and visuals. What an impressive instrument. I've never seen one like this before. Thanks for posting! ~Jon

[SkipperXIII]

SO RELAXING! I am downloading the Virtual instrument of this as we speak ;)

[gabcc54]

@SkipperXIII where are you donwnloading it? i need to find one as well

[patrickhadley]

@gabcc54 sonic couture made the virtual program

[patrickhadley]

@SkipperXIII the virtual instrument is great but nothing like the real deal

[hephapful]

exelente



[89chrisypooh]

I really enjoyed the performance, i never would of thought that an instrument like that could play such beautiful notes.

[artepoesiaymusica]

¡Que emotivo es hallar personas de tanto talento que andan por el mundo, y más aún cuando son tan generosos con su trabajo! Muchas gracias. Esto es muy bello y emociona grandemente. Eduardo Heras desde Argentina. ¡Viva la unidad en la diversidad!

[remco366]

looks like some kind of torture device!

[posarandposer]

What's the highest amount of octaves you can find on a mbira?

[patrickhadley]

@posarandposer we're working on a six octave which is probably the largest ever made

[KreatorOfDeath1985]

@patrickhadley

You should go through all the notes s we can hear them!

[patrickhadley]

@posarandposer as far as I know the Array mbira has the largest amount of octaves, up to 5 with a 6 octave model in the works

[CameronSento]

Is this an acoustic or electronic Mbira, im looking to buy one and i need to know if there is a sound difference between them at all.

[TheRealDutchOwner]

@CameronSento, Well, there is a line-out at the back.

[patrickhadley]

@CameronSento  all of our instruments have built in pickups and sound almost the same

[patrickhadley]

@CameronSento the instrument in the video is a 5 octave hollow body acoustic with built in pick-ups. The solid body sounds the same when plugged in but has a lot less volume when not amplfied but enough to play / practice, also the solid body models are much less prone to any kind of feedback problems when played loud in a live situation

[DarkDemonWolf76]

damn that looks sharp and painful o.O

[StrayFire]

how much does your instrument cost?

[patrickhadley]

@StrayFire $1500 to $2500 depending on size and features

[Crackaguitarplayer]

this instrument makes me so happy inside

[slinky1killed1bill]

Sounds great! But it looks like it'd hurt if you slammed your hand on it by mistake xD

[patrickhadley]

@slinky1killed1bill yeah, you gotta be careful about that...

[DJsqueely]

hahahha random bear in the corner!! :D

[patrickhadley]

@DJsqueely wow! someone finally noticed the bear. That bear has traveled all over the world with me, in backpacks and on bikes and kayaks, to Japan and Bali and all over the Sierras, even the Grand Canyon!

[scuba2nd]

@patrickhadley lol, I've watched this video like 5 times and have yet to notice the bear. Well, Actually, i probably didn't notice the bear because I listen to the video.

[patrickhadley]

@DJsqueely good ol bear....he's been all over the world!

[1texaseagle]

Wow. Incredible :)

[StarBlues101]

One Cool Sounding Instrument! 

[aliyenen]

this is just pure talent, he just shows you can make music from all most anything

[nemesisquintero]

I have never seen this instrument before

[rillloudmother]

@nemesisquintero it's also called a thumb piano, or kalimba.

[TheModCon]

@rillloudmother I've had the pleasure of playing a few, so much fun!!! None this big though xD

[rillloudmother]

@TheModCon I have a 1.5 octave one.

[manoogie]

This is just beautiful sounding

[Knukleheada]

i get the strangest kinda feeling listening to this. and i love it in the strangest way. this is really inspiring.

[awfulguitarplucker]

a tonebar-only, hand-plucked, Fender Rhodes practically! awesome! 

[nichiryas]

when i close my eyes and focus on the sound, it feels like my soul is 'drained' away. i dont know 'drain' is the right word but i mean like flying/ambient. i wish Mr. Patrickhadley make more of these video.

[Axiom410]

i wish my life sounded like this...

[BBT609]

Dude. I love listening to this

[KecoughtanRAM]

put this on an elevator. that'd make me go top to bottom all day.

[denisemarshallart]

beautiful sound! Amazing! What a wonderful life to play music using an instrument you created yourself!

The Mary Poppins fan from Sonoma

[Flounderhouse]

how did you get this stereo spread? some of the notes appear to be panned hard left, others right. Was is recorded twice?

[patrickhadley]

@Flounderhouse all Array mbiras have a custom made 2 channel stereo pick up system . The playing field is split in half so the R and L sides have their own pickup and output which can be mixed into a mono signal or panned all the way R and L. This recording was made by routing the 2 output jacks directly to the stereo mic input on the video camera. No mics or signal processing were used.

[02028431]

oh my

[vantherandomone]

This is so beautiful...definately one of my favorite videos of all time! ^^

[jfingaz123]

About how large is the entire instrument?

[patrickhadley]

@jfingaz123  the 5 octave model measures 20" x 31" x7" and has 150 tines (keys)

[beekbreak]

wauw ,speechless,have now played it for many times,jazzimpro

[XXbeatcatXX]

cosmic and beautiful sound... makes me soul happy

[tanvo93]

this intrument has a beautiful sound..i could only imagine how awsome it would be to jam with someone who was happened to playing one of those

[makipri]

How on Earth could anyone dislike this..

[patrickhadley]

@makipri I guess you can't please all the people all of the time...

[nambinhvu]

@patrickhadley You can never please everyone, it's physically impossible. There's no such thing as something universally liked. Think about it, not everyone likes to eat, not everyone likes to sleep, not everyone likes to live. Thinking everyone will like something is just setting yourself up for a fall.

[patrickhadley]

@nambinhvu I couldn't agree more!

[hagsmunamadurinn]

@makipri I think those few dislikes would count for those times the dislike button is hit on accidentally.

[shocktk]

@makipri Hmmm... well, those metal bits are awfully sharp. Erm... that's about the only reason, I think. Maybe the people that disliked it are balding individuals who sense that the Array Mbira looks like a comb of some sort, and feel hair envy.

[patrickhadley]

@shocktk That's hilarious!

[shocktk]

@patrickhadley It is a beautiful sound this makes though. I'm not gifted with a large enough bank account to actually buy one of these but I HAVE, on the other hand, purchased the wonderful SonicCouture version of this instrument based entirely on this video. It's an absolutely gorgeous sound I can't get enough of to be honest.

[patrickhadley]

@shocktk the sonicCiuture version is the next best thing, no doubt... they did a great job with it. I have it too but rarely use it because the real deal provides so many possibilities not possible through the sampled version and because of the limitations of the keyboard but I'm happy a lot of people get to enjoy it through that medium.

[sh3n3ng]

@makipri dislike button is too close to like button...

[IETCHX69]

@makipri teenagers

[brunodinis8]

espectacular adorei

[joaoazeredo]

Maravilhoso

[uberstellz]

my cat doing the same

[indiepoetic]

how much did this cost???? who taught u how to play???

[patrickhadley]

@indiepoetic this 5 octave model sells for about $2100, there are other models for less. the web site is thearraymbira I am self taught and transferred some of my knowledge and experience from guitar and keyboards.

[scoontar]

Has a Lyle Mays Feel to it.  LOve it. Been listening to it daily for the past 2 weeks.

Thanks Patrick

[patrickhadley]

@scoontar Thank you very much!

[RoxInSocks]

i am always amazed every time i see an instrument i have never seen before. its beautiful

[nillychoirpop]

talk about some cat hands

[moarananindeua]

muita luz!



[Omathousand]

oh my god...heaven to my ears!

[murphysway5]

Just beautiful !!!

[MuseDuCafe]

Whie man builds fabulous five-octave range Mbira, then sleeps ~ plays banal white man jazz on fabulous expanded instrument - Wahh;-(

[jplanejazz]

This is amazing! Thank you for uploading this!

[AtomScarecrows]

Really Awesome

[pearljamania]

Awesome

[D332Fr3sh]

I like this!

[Abdullu]

Wow, an Mbira with with built-in stereo widener

[patrickhadley]

@Abdullu it's actually true 2 channel stereo, the playing feild is split in half so there's a R channel and a L channel, the 2 seperate outputs can be panned in the mix any way you like...

[tetilt]

What is used to make the tines?

[patrickhadley]

@tetilt the tines are made from high carbon spring steel

[YurtleTheTurtle]

Interested in getting hold of one of these at some point...

Im curious, How are the keys layed out note/scale/interval wise?  It dosnt look chromatic like a piano

[patrickhadley]

@YurtleTheTurtle the octaves are stacked in columns and the columns are layed out in fifths. For a lot more info check thearraymbira . com

[YurtleTheTurtle]

@patrickhadley @patrickhadley So you can never hit a bum note? amazing

What it the lowest (hz&note wise) these things can be built to go?

Aint going to shit you, im at least a year away from affording one of these but it is now above getting a hang drum on my todo list

Oh & do you have any albums?

[patrickhadley]

@YurtleTheTurtle on a 5 octave model the lowest note is C1 which is 32.7032 hz. We made one an octave lower as a special request a few years ago but I don't recommend it as being very useful.

you can download my album "the Array Mbira" on cdbaby.com every song has some A.M. on it and a variety of other instrumentts like the Japanese koto, Balinese gamelan, synth textures and so on...

[JLMoriart]

@YurtleTheTurtle Google "Wicki-Hayden Layout"

[notritenow53]

Thanks !! I'm gassed! I'm already talking to my piano and guitars, telling them that there will be a new member in the family soon. (trying to keep the jealousy to a minimum !)

[wertyui25]

thats what i call jazz!

[notritenow53]

I ordered one this morning. I didn't consider the electronics I see in this video. Is it possible to retro fit them in the eventuality that I do want to run it through an amp or effects box?

[patrickhadley]

@notritenow53 all our instruments come with our custom made 2 channel stereo pickup system unless oyu specifically don 't want it. Thanks for your order!

[Backpagetear]

even pat metheny aint got shit on this. and hes mah dog.

[patrickhadley]

@Backpagetear  you guys are too kind...thanks!

[krazjazzfan]

sounds a bit like Pat Metheny

[Twiggy286]

Wow o_O

[trancelize]

I wanna know name of this song

[senselocke]

Wow, that was really something. I've never even heard of this instrument before, it has such an eerie sound, and this piece perfectly suits it. I'm not a fan of jazz, so I was actually drawn by the odd instrument. That being said, this is simply amazing.

Do you have CD's for sale anywhere?

[MrFakeland]

he has magical fingers =D

[mehungery]

soooooo soothing ;)

[Wiemmii]

I really want to get one of these and learn how to play :) it just sounds so beautiful!

[MeowMix140]

This is probably one of the more interesting musical instruments I've stumbled upon (not through that website though). This, the theremin, and the contra-bass saxophone are at the top.

[MrFakeland]

soooooooooo beautiful

[patrickhadley]

Wow! that's the best compliment I've ever received! Thank you. I have a CD available on CD Baby "the array mbira" by PH and friends, there's a very similar song on the album abut it has some piano added to it.

[JJBerthume]

I'm speechless. This is undoubtedly the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard in my life.

Can I please have the sound file just for listening purposes.

[travisfan2]

Amazing! Your tune is so easy on the ears, I love it!

I got hooked up on mbira the day our prof. brought it in class a few years ago and played some tunes from Latin America. The only time I had heard mbira before was from the musicians in the subway; although I didn't know the name of the instrument then.

[BeatNick13]

wow, that sounds amazing. I would be ecstatic to have one. I bet they're super expensive

[clemenza1234]

I've seen this video around 20 times, and I keep coming back........excellent tune.

[KevinKayotic]

makes me want to lhang out with the zora tribe

[KevinKayotic]

O.O i love this

[bogtheforest]

Really cool sounding. Sounds like you recorded it well.

[SheebaTonkaMan]

Absolutely breathtaking. The tone is otherwordly

[clemenza1234]

......that doesn't look very easy <_<