Couverture de Steve Pretty On The Origin of the Pieces

Steve Pretty On The Origin of the Pieces

Steve Pretty On The Origin of the Pieces

De : Steve Pretty
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‘Wide-ranging and insightful’ - Guardian (pick of the week, January 2024)


A show for anyone who has ever listened to, played, improvised, written, or just enjoyed music and wanted to know more about these mysterious sounds. Are they 'auditory cheesecake' as cognitive scientist Steven Pinker claims, or actually a fundamental part of what has made us into modern humans?


With an enormous variety of guests ranging from well-known musicians, producers and industry figures through to those for whom music is central but who rarely have a voice, this show is unapologetically broad in scope.


In 'entertaining noises', Steve has musicians explain and demonstrate their instrument, giving fresh perspective on everything from the piano to modular synthesizers, via lesser-known folk instruments from around the world.


And in the flagship 'genre tombola' section, Steve is assigned a randomly-chosen genre from the list of 1334 music genres on Wikipedia, which he then goes away and researches, often talking to an expert in that music, before frequently attempting to make some music in that style... Whether he succeeds or not, there's lots of fascinating stuff to learn along the way!


As fun as it is thoughtful, this show aims to help you hear and appreciate music in new ways.


http://www.originofthepieces.com/

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    Épisodes
    • Nathaniel Dye: Public Service Announcement

      Nathaniel Dye: Public Service Announcement
      Feb 11 2026

      In this episode, I’m dedicating the show to Nathaniel Dye — musician, music teacher, brass band obsessive, ultramarathon runner, and one of the most quietly extraordinary people I’ve met. We begin with Nat performing his song “Public Service Announcement” (recorded live at my Wilton’s Music Hall show in November 2024) — a funny, furious, razor-sharp call to take bowel cancer symptoms seriously.


      Nat sadly died recently from complications related to bowel cancer. This episode is part tribute, part replay, part attempt to hold onto the actual substance of what he stood for: making things, teaching people, and choosing music — not as escapism, but as a meaningful way to use the time you’ve got.


      You’ll also hear excerpts from my “Listen like a musician” series, and then a replay of my earlier interview with Nat (from Episode 10), where he talks about his diagnosis, his fundraising, his trombone marathon plans, and what music became for him after everything changed.



      In this episode


      • Nat’s live performance of “Public Service Announcement”
      • Why he threw himself back into teaching and music-making after treatment
      • The story behind Bowel Cancer Bucket List and the fundraising work
      • A replay of our earlier chat: music, mortality, and doing the thing anyway
      • The episode outro: Nat’s music, accompanied by bass/tuba greats Guy Pratt and Theon Cross


      Links & references


      • Bowel Cancer Bucket List (Nat’s site + donation links): bowelcancerbucketlist.com
      • Matters of Life and Death (album page): Bowel Cancer Bucket List – album page
      • Matters of Life and Death (Spotify): Spotify album link
      • “Public Service Announcement” (Spotify track): Spotify track link
      • Donate to Macmillan Cancer Support: Macmillan donation page
      • Guy Pratt: guypratt.com
      • Theon Cross who appears in Nat's closing song too: theoncross.com


      Stay musically curious.

      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      55 min
    • A Clap, a Slap and a Stomp (with Aluá Nascimento)

      A Clap, a Slap and a Stomp (with Aluá Nascimento)
      Jan 22 2026
      Episode 37 - A clap, a Slap and a Stomp


      What actually is musical time? In this episode, Steve kicks off 2026 with the first four days of his “12 Days of Listening” mini-series — all about pulse, groove, and how our brains latch onto patterns (sometimes to our advantage, sometimes not).


      Then we jump to Wilton’s Music Hall (January 2025) for a live guest spot from Aluá Nascimento — Brazilian percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and former STOMP cast member — starting with a trumpet + pandeiro duet on “Brazil” and expanding into body percussion, Afro-Brazilian rhythm traditions, and the wonderfully low-tech joy of making music out of whatever’s around.


      Along the way, Aluá talks about growing up around capoeira, how culture and history shaped these sounds, and demonstrates instruments including berimbau (musical bow), caxixi (shaker), and pandeiro — with a bit of audience participation thrown in too.





      In this episode


      • A practical listening upgrade: pulse vs rhythm (try it while walking)
      • “The pocket”: groove as micro-timing, not just the pattern
      • Why your brain is basically a pattern-hunting drummer
      • Shared time / entrainment: why humans sync up (and why it matters in music)
      • Live at Wilton’s: trumpet + pandeiro on “Brazil”
      • Aluá’s story: capoeira roots, Afro-Brazilian traditions, and the STOMP years
      • Instruments you’ll hear: body percussion, pandeiro, berimbau, caxixi (and more)





      Find Aluá


      • Instagram
      • Beat Goes On (bio + workshops)
      • Watch: Aluá Nascimento & Helene Jank – Body Music (YouTube)





      Also in this episode


      • Steve mentions Episode 36 (breaking down how the My Friend Maisy theme was made)
      • Wilton’s Music Hall shows: 24th January — kids/family show at 2pm, evening show at 7pm





      Support the show


      • Explore episodes, transcripts, and more: originofthepieces.com
      • Join the Patreon: patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePieces
      • If you enjoyed this one, share it with a musically curious human (it helps more than you’d think)


      Stay musically curious!

      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      38 min
    • Five Notes, Maisy Mouse and a Sacred Flute

      Five Notes, Maisy Mouse and a Sacred Flute
      Dec 23 2025
      From a Colombian ritual flute heard backstage at Oslo Mela to a children’s TV theme tune played on a London school playground, this episode explores why pentatonic scales turn up everywhere — and why they feel so immediately playable, memorable, and emotionally direct. Along the way, Steve unpacks the thinking behind the theme tune he wrote for My Friend Maisy (also available on NOW), based on the books by Lucy Cousins, and how five carefully chosen notes can shape an entire musical world.The episode takes a gentle detour into Colombian traditional music with a backstage conversation recorded in 2024 with El León Pardo of Mestizo Collective, exploring the gaita — a ritual wind instrument built around paired male and female voices, deep cultural symbolism, and tightly limited pitch material. That sound becomes a useful reference point for the episode’s main thread: how scales function less like theory and more like palettes of identity.Back in TV land, Steve breaks down the Maisy theme in detail, showing how pentatonic scales sit at the heart of children’s musical toys, playground instruments, and early musical experiences — and why avoiding semitone clashes makes music feel instantly safe, inclusive, and playable. Using live demonstrations, playground recordings, and some creative repitching in Melodyne, the episode shows how tiny changes to a scale can completely transform a melody’s emotional character.In this episode:• A backstage conversation with León Pardo about the Colombian gaita, its ritual use, construction, and sound-world.• How male and female gaita flutes are paired, and what that reveals about musical identity.• Why pentatonic scales appear in folk traditions, playground instruments, and children’s musical toys worldwide.• A breakdown of the theme tune Steve wrote for My Friend Maisy, based on the books by Lucy Cousins.• Why playground bells and boomwhackers are almost always pentatonic — and why that matters.• A live experiment repitching the Maisy theme into an Ethiopian-inflected pentatonic.• Why thinking of scales as identities or colour palettes can make musical listening feel less intimidating.Also in this episode, Steve reflects on why many people drift away from music when theory becomes detached from sound — and why listening itself is a learnable, creative skill, whether or not you play an instrument.Plus details of the upcoming Steve Pretty On the Origin of the Pieces live shows at Wilton’s Music Hall on 24th January, including the first ever Origin KIDS matinee at 2pm and the evening show at 7pm. Full details and tickets at originofthepieces.com/live.🎧 Listen, rate and share to help more musically curious ears find the show.💻 More episodes, transcripts, and extras atoriginofthepieces.com🪶 Patreon:patreon.com/StevePrettyOnTheOriginofthePiecesStay musically curious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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      40 min
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