Behind the Scenes — Season 1, Episode 6: Music Melody with Allen Toussaint

Episode synopsis

Penn and Teller teach kids about melody; composer Allen Toussaint writes a song to demonstrate how repetition and variation are used in creating music. Also: singer Bobby McFerrin and saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom team up for a jam session.

About Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes was a 10-part television miniseries aimed towards 8- to 12-year-olds about various aspects of the arts, that was broadcast on PBS in 1992. The series was executive produced by Alice Stewart Trillin and Jane Garmey, produced and directed by Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, and hosted by Penn & Teller. It was developed to illuminate the creative process underlying the working of artists. The series was funded by The National Endowment for the Arts, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Bingham Trust and McDonald's.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Drawing Illusion of Depth with David Hockney
• E2Photography Framing with Carrie Mae Weems
• E3Music Playing Together with Joann Falletta
• E4Drawing Line with Wayne Thiebaud
• E5Theater Setting Scene with Julie Taymor
• E7Painting Color with Robert Gil de Montes
• E8Dance Pattern with David Parsons
• E9Music Rhythm with Max Roach
• E10Sculpture Balance with Nancy Graves