Notes and neurons

Early this year I posted about a Bobby McFerrin concert at Orchestra Hall - in the last few paragraphs, I was marveling at the fact that McFerrin got the audience to sing along on a pentatonic scale without a word of explanation or even teaching all the notes in the scale. Which turns out to be a conscious tactic on his part, as we see below:

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Again, I marvel; understanding of the organization of pitches in the pentatonic scale seems instinctive. McFerrin provides the context of the scale through his "descant" above the audience. The audience understands the tonal context both unconsciously and automatically. Another clear-cut example of how our brains are hard-wired for music.