Jacob Collier is one of the most inventive musical minds of our generation. He often employs complex musical-theory principles such as microtonal voice-leading and negative harmony to craft sonic masterpieces. All theory aside, he’s also one of the most magical, dynamic performers of our time.
He proved that on December 9, 2024, at London’s O2 Arena, the final stop of his world tour, when he and Coldplay’s Chris Martin turned an arena of 15,000 into an intimate choir on “Fix You.”
The stadium sing-along created a special moment. “Fix You” is a song that naturally brings people together. First released in 2005 on “X & Y,” it has become one of Coldplay’s most beloved anthems. Martin originally wrote it to help his then-partner cope with the loss of her father, but it has since become a modern hymn for grief, hope, and healing.
Collier, who is often energetic and running across the stage, sat at his keyboard and dimmed the lights, bringing the audience to a hush. He set the tone for what was about to happen with a twinkling intro on the keys before entering with the first verse in a slightly rubato manner. Collier’s own interpretation of the melody is staggering for its phrasing and dynamics, drawing the listener in with a whisper before soaring into a belt.
He invites the crowd to sing the chorus with him, and even here Collier is interacting with the crowd, singing a third above the melody to create harmony. It’s then that Martin surprises everyone by walking on stage and joining Collier on the bench. Martin jokingly calls himself the “worst musician in the room,” then curses as he realizes Collier modulated up a half-step from Eb to the key of E.
After he sings the second verse and chorus, the real magic begins. Collier steps away from the piano to direct the “audience choir.” Rather than treating the captive audience as background noise to his duet with Martin, he assigns notes to different sections of the crowd, ultimately creating a chord. He then uses simple gestures – raising his hand to raise the pitch or lowering it to slide the harmony down – to create chord changes.
Although Collier attracts heady music lovers to his concerts, the crowd is largely untrained. He gives them a practice run, guiding them between an E chord and an F#min11 chord before Martin sings the bridge. He brings the experience to a climax as Martin sings the final chorus, pushing the harmony higher and higher to build momentum.
For musicians, this performance is a masterclass in connecting theory and emotion. The members of the crowd may know nothing about voice leading or upper extensions, but they feel the way a guided chord progression can lift a familiar melody into something transcendent. Even though the singer gave them starting pitches, they all intuited what to do next just by his direction.
MuseScore user George Collier (no relation to Jacob) transcribed the entire performance and overlayed it on the video to show just how the audience choir worked.
Get the sheet music for “Fix You” to follow along with the standard song:
