Evelyn Glennie - "Clapping Music"

[colourfulwithaU]

This seems like a good practice pad exercise. I'm going to practice this, then do it every day forever.

[HurtadoJames]

awesome!



[mattjostr]

Strange that the human brain must train itself and practice with these mathematical sound progressions for prominent social performance, rather than create them in real-time , but that's the challenge, beauty, and boundary of an artful, mortal, atomistic life...

[94XJ]

Amazing talent to separate the left and right hands as one maintains the beat and the other shifts. Thank you for uploading!

[iextreme1]

Music has no sound just your voice.

[FrankSimmonsJnr]

awesome, go Evelyn!

[f700r]

incredible.



[str3123]

amazing, ty!

[TwistingWays]

I got to see her when I went to All-Northwest Symphony Orchestra in Spokane. It was awesome!

[2009WOWZERS]

that's amazing how can 2 hands play all those parts!

[SecOfunk]

WACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joanestevao]

This women is just Fantastic...

[bramboyvisser1998]

she is amazing!!!!!!

[ummagummas08]

Is this in 5/4? Sounds like it with that metronome..

[bendaglish]

@ummagummas08 - Reich deliberately didn't put a time signature on the score, but it's written with 12 quavers to a bar, and the instructions talk about it being in 6/4, with a start count of six. Reich himself says he thinks of it in 3/2 but Evelyn's got a 12/8 thing going with that dotted-crotchet pulse, which makes it feel like a completely different piece. Marvellous, and dead hard.

[mafurock33]

There are very few people in this world who could pull off this piece so well as a soloist! And of course only Evelyn can do it in the way she can!

[swazbuzzler]

Interesting. I never thought of this as a solo piece. Still, though, the piece loses something in this format. One of the things about clapping is that no two claps, even by the same person, are exactly the same - it gives the piece a sort of bubbly quality that I think gets lost on the wood blocks.

[johnmckinlay67]

This ladys music comes straight from the soul. I was speaking to Chris Frantz (former drummer with Talking Heads, now Tom Tom Club ) about her work, and he also is a huge fan. Her music crosses great divides. Thank you for posting.

[packiechan88]

"Offensive or expletive ridden comments will be removed folks"

No way man fuck you!

[iVictahhhOriginals]

Needs moar cowbell. Aside from that, she's like another beethoven :o. Hearing through vibrations :o.

[swirls999]

How does she get her brain to do that?!

[johnmckinlay67]

I have always had the greatest respect for Evelyn. Amazing talent !

[RabbitDance]

she's deaf?? She can speak clearly...so I am confused

[ommaercool]

@RabbitDance There are many types of deafness. Actualy, it would be right to call it Hearing Impairment. Some can speak clearly, and actualy hear between some intervals of frequencies.

[callumpetergreen]

she lip reads mate

[rahuldcoolest1]

she is superb

[britandveg]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[trumpetermonkey]

wow...great music

[Mindenhova]

Ezért kár terhelni az internetet...

[sawsomethinginUReyes]

Vannak művészetek, melyeket nem fogsz megérteni :) Van ilyen ;)

[Mindenhova]

Ja bocs! Megint sokat pofáztam és kiderült mekkora noob vagyok:DDD sry

[keco07]

Mindenhova: igen az vagy. meg egy szarházi is.

[cajunstix]

whoa, this is hipnotic.

[whitecrow222]

i just put this on, did not tell my 2 year old it was called clapping music, but guess what? she started clapping right along to this! evelyn is wonderfully talented and a blessing to all who get to hear her...

[wbagis]

To all the comments about Evelyn not being deaf, they are all very untrue... however.. she is definitely not profoundly deaf, I should know as I have had the pleasure of working with her a few years back. When people say deaf, you automatically assume she cannot hear, at all, but she does have little hearing.

Im not doubting that she has a disability which makes the job of being a percussionist harder, but she does use the term cleverly to play on peoples perceptions.

[reforest4fertility]

Harder? How many, no matter how piss-poor, musicians have you heard who don't really listen, too easily go off on their own, like people who speak in monologues, rather than dialogue? Her disability has left her with proprioception, drawing her attention there. If we of better hearing would cultivate feeling-listening we'd be well rewarded, aside from increasing potential in musicianship. Lucky you to have worked with her. I believe people here think she isn't deaf, cuz she speaks so clearly.

[ummsalma1]

Funny then, the information she seems to give in open and honest terms on her website...

[jonnyeis]

when you have an experience like that considering it annoying and repetitive it serves you to take a look at more of steve reich's work, it is all about what's called phase shifts, taking a rhythm and shifting it, in this piece it is by one eight note until the piece has come full circle, you must try and fully understand what is happening to appreciate it, i can barely clap this with someone else rather than perform it by yourself!

[5FishBoy5]

@jonnyeis - very well, still not appreciating

[jonnyeis]

that's perfectly fine as it is your own feeling towards this piece however I still feel the same towards it when I hear it as a percussionist which will not be otherwise persuaded

[PB111627]

The woman is an inspiration!

[MathBaps]

you are the one lying, completely deaf people can feel vibrations and you just said that you cannot, you need to stop stalking Evelyn Glennie on every place on the internet, internet stalking is a crime you need to get a life.

[gustruj]

WTF.....

I'm really sorry: she is for sure a great percussionist and performer, but this is not Clapping Music at all! (her movements do seem to match the score, but the actual sound...). The pattern shifting is completely lost, and the high woodblock -keeping time- is as unnecessary as annoying as totally out of style. Pity!

[Whittydrummer]

What are you talking about, she is playing the piece as two performers would.

Her right hand is playing the primary pattern throughout the performance just as the first (clapping) performer is instructed. And with her left hand she is playing the permutations of that pattern as the second (clapping) performer would. while keeping dotted quarter note pulse in clave pedal. I don't know what you find wrong with this performance. Listen and you can hear the piece.

[onefunkymoped]

Please keep expletives and pointless commentry off this page. comments will be removed that are offensive or abusive.

[baseballjones18]

@onefunkymoped commentary idiot and fuck you

[gmcjetpilot]

Well she FEELS the music and she can hear loud sounds. She lost her hearing from age 8-12. There are all kinds of levels of deafness and she is considered profoundly deaf. Are you familiar with the deaf actress Marlee Matlin? She is totally deaf and was on the TV show "Dancing with the Stars". She felt the music. Evelyn Glennie has God given talent to feel music and determination, that is why she can play. Her whole message is handicaps should not keep one from enjoying playing music.

[pharrellfan]

i know. i thought she was from some movie i saw or something and then i guess she's not. is she or is she not.

[podum77]

where the fish lol

[dividesbyzero]

she's playing both parts. SHE'S FUCKING PLAYING BOTH PARTS!! that's insane!

[Crazyanna13]

I saw her last night playing :D Beautiful!

[smg125]

I like this because it is brilliant phase shifting

[DLoc0]

sounds cool for about 30 seconds and then is boring

[Katha090909]

exactly!!!

[schwambly]

It was one tune. Of course it all sounded "all the same" as you say. But it wasn't the same. It was related, and similar, and harmonious. NOT the same.

[xWings03x]

She is profoundly deaf, which means that she has some very limited hearing. She has been like this since she was twelve, which can tend to explain why she speaks very clearly.

[podum77]

She is not profoundly DEAF how stupid you are, No one deaf can do music things only one can do is the so called Evelyn Glennie, She was attend at Aberdeen deaf school her head teacher found she is not deaf and send her to hearing school her mother was embarrassed so she they escape to england trying to avoid embarrassment, Her head teacher was my head teacher

[podum77]

Evelyn Glennie acually not deaf

[sleepovermadness1998]

N wat do u know she is

[XylussN]

I love how she made her bracelet part of the piece

[rdangelo]

So just what are you "principal bass" of, anyway, Ms. Modest?

[miraan786]

What is this strange form of music..very nice.

are those cowbells? and what is this lady playing them with?

[XylussN]

Temple Blocks

[SugnuSOcia95]

beatiful song!!

[Anditoto]

wow she's so great!!

[xJonasBrothersFan10x]

Shes deaf you know shes amazing that she feels the vibrations am leaning about her in school.

[sleepovermadness1998]

AND ME IN THE SATS PAPER LST YEAR

[mrman890]

her teacher mr forbes was a very important part of her life and did you know she was deaf

[hminaya]

i met her last year,

amazingly sweet woman

[HolyMotherFlumper]

You seem to be somewhat ignorant.

[scottiehall]

Apparently you haven't read the journal articles about Evelyn's meeting with Steve Reich about this piece...

Nice try.

[rayisyourlover]

recreate it and make it your own!

[ckocher]

This is frustrating. The addition of an overriding pulse and thus the imposition of a downbeat through each phase is surely counter to the effect Reich intended. One 'player' (hand) becomes subservient to the other. Thumbs down, milady, especially for those of us wishing to explain and demonstrate the music of Steve Reich to the uninitiated. I'd eat my hat if he ever gives a more than polite endorsement of this treatment.

[viper914]

Outstanding!

[user2699]

This is Dame Evelyn's "arrangement" of Clapping Music. Mr. Reich always asks that the two parts sound as similar as possible in volume and timbre. Part of the aim of the piece was to eliminate the need to carry any instruments at all, and there is also the obvious reference to Flamenco (all of which is missed in an arrangement for instruments played with sticks). Clapping Music does not indicate one pattern "slowly drifting out of phase with another", unless it is performed poorly!

[DrLocust]

This is incredible. Very impressive to have the coordination to make the shifts. Clapping music starts out with a single pattern, clapped by 2 people, and one pattern slowly drifts out of phase with another. Might sound easy to play, but it's incredibly difficult.

[xenon1919]

isn't this a copyright vio?

[onefunkymoped]

No. I was the Show producer and her tech manager when these shots were taken, she pre-viewed this material. I have her full permission. Thx for watching out though.

[onefunkymoped]

Offensive or expletive ridden comments will be removed folks. Please demonstrate your intelligence and vocabulary on these forums. Old Saxon doesn't count. other comments are welcome.

[FreeWater9]

That sounds like an entirly differnt peice to me.

[Tenorbot]

Shes so amazing.

[rhythmicginger]

That wasn't Steve Reich's clapping music was it?

It just seemed to be the rhythm from clapping music with a three over the top and 4 on the clave. How queer.

Talented percussionist tho, she's great :)

[Juneshowers]

If I'm not mistaken, you're failing miserably and quite hilariously at making a joke... Evelyn Glennie isn't blind, she's deaf.

[xxxslayerxxx666]

@Juneshowers you are mistaken, and obviously deaf....this IS clapping music, it's just that since there is ONE little extra note added in it (and it's a 4/4 pulse, when clapping music is in 3/8) it causes a different perception of the piece.....i've played this hundreds of times, it is engrained in my mind, and i can play it over several ostinato's (i have videos of it too) so i know that this is correct!

[dirtyfuckinmexican]

Has anyone seen her documentary "Touch the Sound"? i really enjoy listening to evelyn glennie. She is a very learned; creative and beautiful individual...anyone who is really into evelyn glennie (if not already seen) should definately pick up a copy of touch the sound. When i saw that my perception of and perspective on sound was forever changed.

[ElsieVamp]

It was deffinatly the most amazing documentaries (and probably movies in general) I've ever seen.

[DaveH001]

If you watch the video of her talk at TED you will know why she plays any particular piece of music the way she does. She gave a vivid demonstration by playing the same piece as a "technician" and again as a "musician". In the music world technicians don't build brilliant careers as solo performers. Let's be thankful for this immensely talented MUSICIAN and really listen to her music.

[randomerrr]

I only watched this because we did it in a practise test

[rdangelo]

If she can talk like that, she obviously wasn't born deaf, and still may have some residual hearing.

[westchile]

you have to see "touch the sound" an impressive documentary able to answer your doubts about her hearing,

[boollett]

she went deaf at the age of 12

[rdangelo]

Aha. She never would be able to play like she does if she'd been born deaf. Unfortunately she'll also never be able to communicate musically in terms of listening for subtlety like a Trilok Gurtu, Ruth Underwood or other great percussionist.

[boollett]

you haven't heard her lecture on listening at TED?

[Alex6724]

She actualy only has a mild hearing Disorder. It is widely publicised that she is fully deaf,even though its actualy wrong, but it makes everyone a lot more impressed thinking that she is feeling the vibrations through her feet

[XtremeRockAddict]

the only reason i watched this is coz in our half term literacy test she was mentioned in our reading paper but i must admit she has remarkible story...

[ladybekkicarrot]

like this!

[percdann]

She has musical genius that far outweighs the importance of wether or not she can hear or not! I know it is a subject for mass speculation but its really unimportant, she never made a deal out of her hearing difficulties, she didnt have to due to the media portail.

[sophiass2002]

she is truly amazing because she is deaf,

and she uses her whole body to listen and feel the music.

[silenceofharmony]

i am so sad to miss her concerts

well do you know a web adress that shows her concert programme

[Britdrumphil]

I heard this lovely talented lassie is deaf??,surely that cannot be true!!

[waori]

yup it's true, she's amazing!

[rafjuden]

She's deaf sure but she can still hear a tiny tiny bit and she can feel too. Just put your hand near things that are making sound, you can feel it too. So if you're weak in one sense you can always try to augment it with the other, which she has had great success doing. She even tutors/teaches deaf people to play and make music.

[percdann]

The only thing that matters with this amazing human being is her entertaining. She creates music and sound, but more importantly she performs. She has had a huge profound impact on me since i saw her perform Veni Veni Emmanuel, and that effect is far in a way more important then her ability to here.

[axel210]

I tried playing the two different parts together like that... its really quite hard. Evelyn is amazing.

[onefunkymoped]

Offensive or pointless comments will be removed because they are offensive and pointless. Got it ?

[fatchan]

I saw Evelyn Glennie live at the Hexagon when I was 13 or 14 and she's a wonderful wonderful performer. She performed with Michaela Petri (sp?) I believe. After I met her and she gave me her autograph, very charming lady.

[johnnylifelive]

why is there that annoying triple time click in there? It ain't in the piece!

[CoollrThnU]

I don't think they're third notes.... I can't really tell, but I think that they might be either quarter notes or half notes; the piece is written in 6:4, after all, so that makes it a little confusing.... Whatever they are, I agree that they are a little bit annoying.

[ybakker]

They're 4 notes per measure, so i dunno what that makes lol... Umm, dotted quarter notes? Yup. Sounds kinda cool though. The 6:4 kind of sounds like it's in 3, so it's almost as if it's 4 against 3, which is pretty sweet.

[CoollrThnU]

Actually I was thinking and I think the piece was written in 6:4, but if they're playing it in 4:4 as triplet notes, then the click thing could be quarter notes or something like that.... I think.... God, that's confusing!

[mmckiver]

I have the score since I'm working on a drum set adaptation, and in Steve Reich's notes he says that a time signature is not given to avoid any accenting other than the downbeat given by the performer that isn't phasing. The piece could be interpreted most easily as 12/8 or 6/4. 12/8 is more accurate than in 4/4 with triplets.

[CoollrThnU]

Oh... our music says 6:4, and I don't think it says anything about there being no set signature... oh well. I do, however, agree that 12:8 would be a LOT easier than 4:4 triplet.

[mmckiver]

I've got the Universal Edition, and it has Reich's Directions for Performance from December 1972, where he says, "It is for this reason that a time signature of 6/4 or 12/8 is not given - to avoid metrical accents." :)

[CoollrThnU]

Nice... so these people just sort of ignore that little note and put annoying click accents in anyway?

[yeaitsthatgirl2006]

And its hard to believe that she's actually deaf...

[ireallylikeballs]

i don't like this

at all

[frekijsimpson]

I must be be high enough to get this.

[161803]

Reminds me a lot of "Griot" off of Hassell & Eno's "Fourth World" album.

[ZOB4]

Good performance, I don't like that it was changed from hands to wood/temple blocks, that's not what Reich intended for the piece. But I guess if you really want to perform it live as a solo work, this is the next best thing to do. I would have liked to have seen it done more like Gavin Harrison's Drum Music or Cymbal music from Rhythmic Horizons, which is a multi-frame video of him performing all of the parts in different takes, played back simultaneously.

[KeithMoongenius]

i agree i think they should of clapped it. In my music class we were asked to perform this in groups and it was really hard! Its a good vid tho

[louthewatcher]

You have to remember something though, the piece is written for two people and she is performing it as one. That means playing the first line steady with one hand and changing the other line with the other. Not so easy.

[CaseyCangelosi]

that is so damn cool!

[cpdavngr]

Awesome job! :D I can't wait to see the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble's performance of this piece this summer. :) Thanks for posting!

[kayleb15]

yeh i would of prefeard to watch one set but gotta say this is amazing it must be incredibly hard i even find it hard doing the rhythms on a score

[AASteveo]

why does it keep cutting back and forth between two different sets?

[nojem]

fantastic!