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Song Exploder

Hrishikesh Hirway TED Talk - What You Learn When You Listen Closely

Song Exploder

Hrishikesh Hirway

Music

4.86.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2021

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This summer, I gave a TED Talk at the TED Conference. My talk was about what you discover when you really listen. It was based on how making Song Exploder has changed the way I think about conversations and connecting with people. My talk came out today on the TED website and on the TED Talks Daily podcast, and the very nice folks at TED asked if I would also put the audio of the talk here, on Song Exploder. And I normally wouldn’t put this much of myself on here, but they asked, and like I said, they were very nice. I hope this isn’t too meta, to talk about the show, and what I get out of making it. But it also features some music, including beautiful cello played by Yo-Yo Ma, so there’s that to look forward to. Here it is, my TED Talk on what you learn when you listen closely.

To listen to my song with Yo-Yo Ma, visit https://ffm.to/betweenthereandhere.

For more, visit songexploder.net/ted.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. I'm Rishikesh Herway.

0:10.8

Earlier this year, I gave a talk at the annual TED conference.

0:14.6

My talk was about what you discover when you really listen, and it was based on how making Song Exploder has changed the way that I think about

0:22.8

conversations and connecting with people.

0:24.8

My talk came out today on the TED website and on the TED Talks Daily podcast.

0:30.5

And the very nice folks of TED asked if I would also put the audio here as a bonus episode.

0:36.5

I hope this isn't too meta to hear me discuss the show and what I get out of making it on the podcast itself.

0:43.3

But the talk also features some music, including some beautiful cello played by Yo-Yo Ma. So there's that to look forward to.

0:50.4

And there's also a pretty personal story of my own.

0:52.8

So here it is, my TED talk on what you learn when you listen closely.

0:58.9

Please welcome Rishikesh Herway.

1:04.9

I've been in love with music my whole life, both as a musician and as a listener.

1:10.8

But as a listener, sometimes songs feel a little like houses to me.

1:16.5

Houses that you can only see from the street.

1:18.5

You can stop and admire them from the outside.

1:22.0

You can say, wow, look, the architecture is amazing.

1:25.2

You might be able to get a little peak inside through one of the windows.

1:29.6

But it's this thing of beauty that you have to appreciate from a distance.

1:33.3

Because it's not yours.

1:34.7

And as a musician, when you put a song out into the world,

1:39.5

it can sometimes feel like you're trapped in the backyard of this house that you built.

1:43.8

There might be people looking at it,

...

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