Originally published 2016-04-16.
‘No matter who you are, or where you go in life, at some point you’re going to need somebody… to stand by you’. Playing For Change is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music. The idea for this project came from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” -Victor Hugo
How “Stand By Me” came together
Playing for Change was founded in 2002 by Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke. The project took its direction when Johnson, walking in Santa Monica, California, heard the street musician Roger Ridley singing “Stand By Me”; Ridley died in 2005. The team recorded musicians outdoors in more than 50 countries, and their version of the song combines performances by 18 street musicians, including a South African choir. By 2012 it had been viewed more than 40 million times on YouTube. The Playing for Change Foundation, a non-profit set up in 2007, has supported 15 music-school programmes in 11 developing countries, among them three in Nepal and others in South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Rwanda, Thailand, Brazil, Bangladesh, Morocco, Argentina and Mexico.
Sources: Wikipedia: Playing for Change
One arrangement, many musical voices
Playing for Change describes this recording as a Song Around the World, assembled from performances filmed in different places. That production choice is part of the meaning: the musicians contribute to a shared arrangement while keeping their own surroundings and musical personalities visible. Listen for how each new voice changes the texture without taking away the familiar shape of the song. The collaboration makes room for difference inside something recognisable.
A closer way to listen
Try a second viewing with attention on accompaniment rather than the lead vocal. Notice an instrument entering, a change in phrasing or the way a performer leaves space for another part. This makes the video more than a sequence of moving portraits. It becomes an invitation to hear cooperation in practical terms: listening, timing and contribution. The original performers and production team deserve to remain attached to that achievement whenever the recording is shared.
Sources and context: Playing For Change: Stand By Me
COMMENTS