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Inspiring

A bass player with a mop of curly black hair starts to play a gently thrumming back-beat.

A drummer joins in, playing a softly swishing rhythm on the snare.

Sitting backward on a piano bench, a man in jeans, a black sweater and trademark braids begins singing in the voice of the saxophone.

Such is the magic of Bobby McFerrin.

McFerrin came to the University this weekend to conduct three master classes and play two concerts.

Music performance faculty member John D'earth summed up the feelings of many of the participants during his introduction.

"This is a precious moment, and it will be gone," he said.

McFerrin is an internationally famed jazz singer whose improvisational skills have earned him numerous awards and accolades, including a gold album and 10 Grammys. He is popularly known for the 1988 song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

The evening began with an extended jam session designed to allow students to get up and practice their improvisational skills.

McFerrin opened by asking who wanted to go first. No one moved.

He then asked who wanted to go second.

Finally, he said, "Who's sixth? Let's start with the sixth performer."

Fourth-year College student Virginia Hill knew that was her cue.

The youngest of six children, Hill said that six is her number. So she made herself go up to the stage.

"I like being onstage, but it's the first step of getting there that's hard," Hill said.

She was soon followed by a number of performances by students and faculty, both vocal and instrumental.

Nodding his head in approval, McFerrin offered a few comments on performances when questioned, but stayed away from individual critiques.

Instead, McFerrin talked through the elements of vocal improvisation with his own laid-back style, while also allowing the students the chance to perform.

"The greatest teachers teach through examples and stories," Hill said. "I believe that everybody knows how to do everything. We just have to coax it out of each other."

Fourth-year Commerce student David Scupp, who plays trombone, said that his favorite piece of advice related to practice time.

After asking a trumpet player how much time he practiced every day, McFerrin questioned whether he had a minimum practice time.

McFerrin then suggested that everyone should practice 10 minutes a day.

"Then the 11th minute comes and you're still playing," McFerrin said.

Scupp felt that it was a sound piece of advice.

"You want to absorb everything you can from a guy like that," Scupp said. "He's gone as far as you can go."

And the advice didn't end there.

McFerrin believes that anyone can improvise and that there is no excuse not to try.

To illustrate his point, McFerrin described a child who was asked to sing a song about his father. He took on the persona of the child, and began to sing.

"Kids don't know anything about theory," McFerrin said. "They just start singing and they just keep going."

He went on to define improvisation in one word - movement.

"You play one note, then you play another," McFerrin said. "What could be simpler than that?"

Jazz vocal teacher Stephanie Nakasian agreed with that reasoning.

"That's the first thing I say to students," she said. "You already know how to sing."

Nakasian felt that McFerrin's joy and spirit came through in his teaching.

"It's very exciting to watch him," she said. "We become inspired, ready to try."

And try they did.

Frequently throughout the night, McFerrin brought both volunteers and the more unwilling on stage.

During the question and answer session, one student raised her hand to ask for tips on how to gain the confidence to take advantage of opportunities such as this one.

McFerrin answered by calling her to come up, leading to one of the most powerful performances of the evening.

"It was incredible how he offered her that space," Hill said. "It means so much to have people like him able to support you."

This spur-of-the-moment invitation was typical of McFerrin's style throughout the evening.

"He seems like somebody who owns himself," Hill said. "He can improvise life. It's inspiring."

McFerrin encouraged others to employ his spontaneous style on stage.

"If you don't want to sing something, sing something else," he said. "You get up on stage and all of a sudden you're faced with music. The last thing you want to be is an empty suitcase on stage. Bring some dirty laundry or something."

In between questions, McFerrin brought a number of small groups to the stage and put them through several exercises.

Fourth-year College student Ellen Kovacs, who with Hill was part of the first such group, said she felt challenged, yet valued the lesson.

"It was about learning to do a good solo in different lengths of time, and learning to play off of each other," Kovacs said. "It was pretty hard, but something I'd like to try with other people."

Hill agreed that the small groups were a good source of instruction.

"I wanted some of that one-on-one guidance," Hill said. "It was fun to listen to different kinds of exercises. They could be beneficial in some of our classes here."

One of McFerrin's suggestions for the University was to create a weekly opportunity similar to the beginning of the master class, where anyone could come and play.

"I'd like to create some kind of a musical time for people to work together," Kovacs agreed.

Nakasian said a proposal for a vocal improvisation workshop already has been discussed.

Hill, who is a music major and will give her final recital later this semester, said that being able to work with Bobby McFerrin is something that she never will forget.

"I was feeling strong and confident about my recital, and this gives me more to take in with me," Hill said. "I'm excited to be here at this time. The universe came together in a nice little spot for me"

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