1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,240
You're listening to the PianoPod, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry
2
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:17,400
about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.
3
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,920
Last time we spoke to Ben Laudy of ToneBass.com about the origins of this great new resource
4
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:23,720
for high-level piano education.
5
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,800
And now, the conclusion.
6
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:34,440
How do you recommend as a piano teacher to use ToneBass for students?
7
00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:35,800
That's a very good question.
8
00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,400
And it's something we're always working on and improving because the platform was not
9
00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:47,800
originally intended immediately for some obvious practical use for students.
10
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:52,560
Its original intention was more for the kind of capable amateur.
11
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,560
These are the atomized amateurs who live all among us, but we don't know them yet.
12
00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,760
Maybe they end up being our adult students.
13
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,080
I had many in New York.
14
00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:07,960
But they're the ones who really often didn't get a taste of this education, or it's been
15
00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:10,920
decades since they got to be in those environments.
16
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:16,320
So that was the original target, and that helped shape the original framing of the platform.
17
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:21,780
But as we started building it, it became clear that there's many different audiences that
18
00:01:21,780 --> 00:01:24,480
would be attracted to this product.
19
00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,800
And so we sort of internally refer to them as personas.
20
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:35,040
And so there's beginner personas, casual and serious amateurs, there's conservatory students.
21
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:41,440
Really I see that as a kind of high school, college age, sort of potentially pre-professional
22
00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,640
track or at least very serious about practicing.
23
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,840
And then there's professionals of different stripes, including teachers.
24
00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,140
And teachers are often performers too, and performers are often teachers too.
25
00:01:53,140 --> 00:01:55,320
So it was hard to distinguish those.
26
00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:02,640
But there is a community of pedagogues, as we know, and you are among them.
27
00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,320
And New York has a very strong community with the Congress, with the open forums that you
28
00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,200
guys have created, courses, MTNA.
29
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:16,480
And these teachers are also often not directly connected, especially if they're in Topeka,
30
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:22,020
Kansas, to what's going on in Colburn or Curtis.
31
00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:27,300
So we realized there is an intrigue there.
32
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:34,080
And frankly, I have to say, we learn a lot from them too.
33
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:39,240
We're in communication with teachers all the time who are interested in Tomebase.
34
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,240
They want to...
35
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,120
Could we always have a teacher discount, by the way?
36
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:43,600
I should just advertise that.
37
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,840
I don't know exactly what it's at right now, but I think it's...
38
00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:46,840
That's great.
39
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,600
I don't want to cite the wrong figure, but in the past it's been 30%.
40
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:55,400
If you're a teacher and you want to subscribe to Tomebase, email our support team if you
41
00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:01,760
don't find the teacher discount online and we'll get it to you.
42
00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,320
But we're in dialogue with them all the time.
43
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,080
In fact, many are actually giving us feedback and telling us their experiences and sharing
44
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:10,080
them.
45
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,360
So I don't see it as just like teachers are our audience and we're creating a product
46
00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:14,360
for them.
47
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,220
I see it hopefully as a kind of continual collaboration and community building where
48
00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:20,800
we can learn from them too.
49
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,440
Because guess who doesn't know how to teach kids?
50
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:24,720
Concert pianists.
51
00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,600
Guess who doesn't know how to teach kids?
52
00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,240
Juilliard and Curtis professors.
53
00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,040
They have no idea.
54
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:32,040
They're the worst at it.
55
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:33,680
I mean, maybe there's an exception.
56
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:34,680
Okay.
57
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:35,680
I didn't say that.
58
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:36,680
Maybe they say that.
59
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,840
It's the hardest thing.
60
00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:41,360
It's the hardest thing.
61
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:49,200
And it's often the most thankless thing because you wouldn't get these great virtuosi who
62
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,280
who many of these professors I think would be the first to admit that they get the spoils
63
00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:58,280
of what many nameless teachers around the world have produced.
64
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,320
And yes, there's a lot of bad teaching out there.
65
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:02,960
It's true.
66
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,920
And that's partially because these there's not enough structures of training in pedagogy
67
00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,040
and sharing of knowledge.
68
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:12,200
They're there.
69
00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,440
They're not always utilized successfully.
70
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:19,960
And there's just a lot of teachers who are sort of stray from this and do their best.
71
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,280
But piano teaching is damn hard.
72
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:27,040
And teach being around kids is just as hard, whatever you're teaching them.
73
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,440
So put those two together, especially with I don't need to tell you guys this, especially
74
00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,880
with like short attention spans.
75
00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:39,160
And it's one of the most remarkable achievements if you can take a child and turn them into
76
00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,600
a great musician who actually wants to do it and doesn't hate doing it.
77
00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:48,520
On top of it all, even if you train them well, they might hate their lives.
78
00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,120
It's so hard.
79
00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,920
And so those who have done that should be getting like presidential medals of honor
80
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:56,920
or something and they're not.
81
00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:57,920
And work over candy.
82
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,920
Three of us are so great with children.
83
00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,680
I'm still waiting for my presidential medal.
84
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:04,680
I know.
85
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,240
I mean, I commend you.
86
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:07,240
I've done it.
87
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,720
I don't think I did it as well as I could have.
88
00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:11,360
I could have dedicated myself more to it.
89
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,240
I would have had to dedicate my life to it because it deserves that.
90
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,160
It's not a freelance thing.
91
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,440
And so I really appreciate you guys.
92
00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,440
And so, okay, so back to the question.
93
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,580
What can what can tone bass do for teachers?
94
00:05:24,580 --> 00:05:30,240
We are developing more and more structured materials that I think actually fill in a
95
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,800
lot of gaps that typical piano lessons might not cover.
96
00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:41,120
So when I had lessons and I had some good teachers as a kid, I had some ones that were
97
00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,840
probably watching TV at the same time that they were like, you know, teaching me hot
98
00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:45,840
cross buns.
99
00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:50,280
But in any case, there was this sense that like you need to learn this next piece.
100
00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,240
You need to learn this next piece.
101
00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,480
And oh, yeah, something about theory and something about just general musicianship maybe.
102
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,160
But you need to learn this next piece and you need to program it into your fingers.
103
00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,520
And then you need to regurgitate it on stage.
104
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,440
Okay, well, I'm not saying this is everybody.
105
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:07,760
I do think it's common.
106
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,040
And I understand why it's common because there's an expectation from parents that they're
107
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,520
little kid has to play a recital at the end of each season.
108
00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,440
And so then teachers are pressured into this kind of like repertoire driven track.
109
00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:19,440
Right.
110
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,200
I'm assuming you guys have been there.
111
00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,200
I felt that pressure, too.
112
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,400
And parents can be demanding sometimes they put their pain for lessons.
113
00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,120
They put them in there for a reason.
114
00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:29,360
Yeah, they want to see results.
115
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,400
Why are you sitting there clapping all day or teaching them solfège or helping their
116
00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,160
ears out or getting them to improvise things?
117
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:37,160
What is that all about?
118
00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:38,160
Right.
119
00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:45,840
And I think that matters and I think every great musician who's ever made it to a high
120
00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:51,520
level had some element, whether it was nurtured in them or whether they were just born with
121
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:57,800
it of what I would call general musicianship that isn't specific to the piano that you
122
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:03,160
develop in your ear and your mind and your heart and your soul, whether it's rhythmic,
123
00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:11,520
pitch, phrase, a sense of line and expression, a sense of collaboration, whether you're playing
124
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:15,280
with others or yourself the way different parts combine.
125
00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,920
For me, that's the most important thing.
126
00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,200
And then piano is just one tool we can use to express that core musicianship.
127
00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,620
I don't think that's taught enough, even if teachers know it.
128
00:07:25,620 --> 00:07:27,920
And I don't want to say like, oh, I know it and we're doing it.
129
00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:29,800
It's just as hard for us.
130
00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:36,440
But we do have the advantage of not having to respond to the demands of teach this child
131
00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,640
a piece so that they can impress their grandparents and their friends.
132
00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:46,440
So I hope one of the tools I think we can help teachers with is have these wonderful
133
00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:55,160
– we just released 24 ear training labs on Bach subjects taught by a Juilliard music
134
00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,040
theory professor, Benjamin Grow.
135
00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:58,320
And it's wonderful.
136
00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:03,440
But at one at the same time, you're learning all of these fugue subjects, just how they
137
00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,640
sound and you're reverse engineering them and you're sort of dissecting their anatomy
138
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,440
and putting it in your voice and putting it in your fingers.
139
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:17,220
And suddenly it's both sight reading and ear training and music history and culture
140
00:08:17,220 --> 00:08:18,980
all at the same time.
141
00:08:18,980 --> 00:08:20,600
And it's not just for pianists.
142
00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,360
It's about being a better musician.
143
00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,200
Okay, well then you watch those.
144
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,880
You could show a kid some of those and now they're singing Bach subjects in solfège
145
00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:29,520
or in scale degrees.
146
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,540
Now they want to learn – then you show them the rest of the piece.
147
00:08:32,540 --> 00:08:33,720
Now they want to learn a few.
148
00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,600
All right, so I think that can help teachers.
149
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,560
We have Penelope Roscoe has a whole series of Pillars of Piano Technique.
150
00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:43,960
She has a giant book published by Peters called The Complete Pianist.
151
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,520
So we have a kind of I'd say a bridged video version of that.
152
00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:49,800
And there's labs that go with it.
153
00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,400
So you can actually practice with her.
154
00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,520
And she teaches just fundamental touches.
155
00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,480
And she's somebody who sort of like doesn't belong to any particular school.
156
00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,200
It's not – she's not Taliban.
157
00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,560
She's not – not that she hasn't been informed by them, but she doesn't like belong to any
158
00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,640
particular lineage or tradition, which I think is an advantage.
159
00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,280
She sort of reworked a lot of these same ideas herself.
160
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,560
And she teaches them very clearly and in a British accent.
161
00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:15,560
So it must be true.
162
00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:16,560
Oh yeah.
163
00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,360
So that's great.
164
00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,720
And then there's improvisation materials.
165
00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:22,640
Noam Savan I have to shout out to.
166
00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:23,640
He used to be a –
167
00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:24,640
I saw it.
168
00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:25,640
At Juilliard.
169
00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,360
And now he actually has his own – he invented his own degree.
170
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,520
I think it's the only one of its kind in Stuttgart at the music school there.
171
00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:41,000
If you want to get a master's in piano improvisation, historic improvisation, go study with Noam
172
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,320
Savan in Stuttgart.
173
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,240
He taught these classes that were insanely popular at Juilliard and Curtis.
174
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,080
I remember all my friends taking them.
175
00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,600
I was an idiot and didn't for some reason.
176
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,980
And they're coming out after semester and they're improvising like Baroque tocatas.
177
00:09:54,980 --> 00:09:58,220
And so we have a six-part series called Intro to Improvisation.
178
00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:00,040
Why would that be useful to teachers?
179
00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:06,320
Well, you can't learn improvisation from six lessons, but you can learn – first of
180
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,800
all, you can be inspired to want to.
181
00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:10,000
And you actually learn a lot.
182
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,040
And we have deluxe workbooks and all kinds of interactive tools and resources during
183
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:16,040
the video.
184
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,800
And then you get to watch Noam do it.
185
00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:22,280
And so you're seeing somebody who's like one of the best historical improvisers in
186
00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:23,360
the world.
187
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:28,400
And then from the overhead cam, from the side cam, from the teaching cam.
188
00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:33,880
And he's showing you, breaking down his process when he actually approaches something that
189
00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:35,320
you might have thought unteachable.
190
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,580
If you see somebody improvise, you're like, either you know that language or you don't.
191
00:10:40,580 --> 00:10:45,600
But he actually is able to sort of introduce you to the process that one could take oneself
192
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,240
from like me, a kind of bad non-improviser.
193
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,180
I play music from a score, classically trained.
194
00:10:53,180 --> 00:10:57,440
But watching Noam's videos enough has inspired me to start attempting this.
195
00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:02,360
And we actually have a few different historical improvisation series of these kinds.
196
00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:07,280
So I think these are actually some of the most useful resources for teachers, because
197
00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,240
it's not directly about learning your next piece.
198
00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,800
It's about becoming a better musician at the keyboard.
199
00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:19,760
And so I would promote ToneBase for teachers, especially because of that, not to mention
200
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,360
it's nice to share long form videos of Garrick Olson and Simone de'Nercy and another great
201
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,960
artist John O'Connor teaching Beethoven and Chopin and Bach.
202
00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,160
Whether it's the piece you're learning or not, watch this great artist do this and you're
203
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,760
going to be fascinated and you're going to want to play more.
204
00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,800
So there's an inspiration element too.
205
00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,120
And also just as teachers, teachers want to learn from other teachers.
206
00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,120
That's who teaches them.
207
00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,120
They don't get...
208
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:43,120
Sure, of course.
209
00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,520
There's no teacher of teachers who's not a teacher themselves.
210
00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,080
It's a contradiction.
211
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,280
So teachers have to learn from each other.
212
00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,120
They're both always in the process of teaching and learning at the same time.
213
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:53,960
It's one in the same process.
214
00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:58,780
So just the library of videos of repertoire and technique from all the great artists we've
215
00:11:58,780 --> 00:12:03,720
worked with, those are invaluable, I think, to teachers just to watch.
216
00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:08,740
But in terms of just direct structured resources, we're still building them.
217
00:12:08,740 --> 00:12:13,800
So I wouldn't say tone-based is like, you could just send your students there and be
218
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,960
like, all right, my work here is done.
219
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,640
And it shouldn't be that because we don't want to replace teachers.
220
00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,000
We're not in the business of that.
221
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,000
Thank you.
222
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,000
I was going to ask you that.
223
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,000
Don't steal...
224
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,000
Well, we've had comments on...
225
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,280
We've got some Facebook comments.
226
00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,160
I think they just miss...
227
00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:30,760
I don't blame people for seeing it this way.
228
00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:40,180
They just see the product as some kind of video surrogate for the irreducible experience
229
00:12:40,180 --> 00:12:42,480
of in-person teaching.
230
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:43,480
We're not trying...
231
00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:48,000
Not only are we not trying to take that away, we're trying to promote that because, first
232
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,400
of all, a lot of teachers are having to do grunt work, teaching technique and things
233
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,560
that actually tone-based might be able to take care of.
234
00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:00,400
Hey, go watch some of this so that in your lessons, I can work with just you and me personally.
235
00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,800
The student and the teacher on your specific problems because tone-based can't do that.
236
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,280
So there's a lot of general knowledge about playing the piano that I think teachers spend
237
00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:17,260
a lot of time on at the expense of the really specific personalized needs of their student.
238
00:13:17,260 --> 00:13:24,160
So actually tone-based can fill that kind of general knowledge void and then teachers
239
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,360
can be left to focus on the student in front of them.
240
00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:33,580
So I hope it's a resource for teachers too to allow their lessons to be more enjoyable.
241
00:13:33,580 --> 00:13:35,600
You can watch lessons with students.
242
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:36,600
You can send them home.
243
00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,800
They can come back and be like, you can discuss what they watched.
244
00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:41,840
They could practice along with these things.
245
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,520
And the people using tone-based, they're not going to quit their lessons.
246
00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,000
More likely, they're going to sign up for lessons.
247
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,860
Now they need to take the next step.
248
00:13:51,860 --> 00:13:53,840
So I hope that...
249
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:58,460
It seems to me like it's true that teachers see this as promoting what they do and is
250
00:13:58,460 --> 00:14:02,400
valuing what they do and contributing to it.
251
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,080
Thank you for clarifying that.
252
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,920
That's very helpful and thank you.
253
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:11,720
So my last question would be, I want to know the future of tone-based.
254
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,760
There's so much possibility here, as you mentioned.
255
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:20,720
So I specifically want to know who are you thinking to interview?
256
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:26,000
And right now, currently you have piano and guitar, but are you going to increase more
257
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,200
instruments?
258
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:32,880
Maybe a famous duo or trio, quartet.
259
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,360
There's so much potentials.
260
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,960
And which pianists are the tone-based wishlist?
261
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,880
Well, name your favorite pianist and they're on my wishlist.
262
00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,720
And I have them in a spreadsheet somewhere.
263
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,760
I'm stalking them.
264
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:55,040
I know weird statistics, like number of Google hits of different pianists.
265
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,040
It's creepy.
266
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,880
I'll tell you who...
267
00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,600
I was lucky enough to work with Manny.
268
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,280
By the way, he's Manny the moment you meet him.
269
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,240
He's kind of like Seymour.
270
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,160
It's immediate friends.
271
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:16,980
And so everyone can look forward to those releases in July.
272
00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:22,000
He basically learned a lot of late Chopin that he'd never played during the pandemic.
273
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,280
Did you know that Manny Axe never played the Chopin Bach role?
274
00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,160
Wouldn't you have assumed that was part of his repertoire?
275
00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:28,360
He just added it.
276
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:32,200
And so we have him talking about it among many other Chopin works.
277
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,080
And then he performed the two Opus 55 Nocturnes for us.
278
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:37,480
So he's no longer on the wishlist.
279
00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,920
He's real.
280
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,920
We're working with Anne-Marie McDermott in August.
281
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:43,200
A wonderful artist.
282
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,880
She'll be just finishing up at Bravo Veil and then headed to LA and teaching the Bach
283
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,360
A minor English Suite.
284
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,460
So that's going to be awesome.
285
00:15:52,460 --> 00:16:00,200
I will say that I don't know when it happens, and I want to say when and not if, but I'm
286
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:07,480
in touch with Marie Joelle Perez, who's one of the just great phenomenal pianists of the
287
00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:08,480
last generation.
288
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:12,640
Chopin, her Schubert Opus 90 impromptus are the best I've ever heard.
289
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,840
So go listen to Perez playing those.
290
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,420
I've been in touch with her.
291
00:16:16,420 --> 00:16:18,280
She has this festival in Portugal.
292
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,880
She is developing a lot of her own media.
293
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,760
I don't know if she's going to work with Tomei's immediately, but it feels like it's on the
294
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:24,760
horizon.
295
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:31,400
And she's pals with people who are seemingly just out of reach like Martha Argrich.
296
00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,360
And so I've made these kind of connections.
297
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:42,560
Also Ricardo Castro, who won Leeds in 93, has been a wonderful contact for me and has
298
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:43,560
been very supportive.
299
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,920
He was a Tomei user, and we had these user interviews to try to improve the product.
300
00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,640
And I'm sitting there talking to Ricardo Castro, and I didn't know who he was at first.
301
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,440
He's like, oh, yes.
302
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:59,200
I was in a duo with Maria Joelle Perez, and I just visited Martha yesterday.
303
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:00,640
She's friends with my...
304
00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:01,640
She loves my son and this.
305
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:06,720
And I'm like, okay, well, maybe one day not only Ricardo, but Martha Argrich is top on
306
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:07,720
the list.
307
00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:08,720
Look, I want to get Zimmermann.
308
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:09,800
He's off limits practically.
309
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:10,920
I want to get Sokolov.
310
00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:11,920
He's off limits.
311
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:13,880
Kissen is going to cost a fortune.
312
00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:15,640
So they're there.
313
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,160
And I think in terms of just next great pianists, we're close to them.
314
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,680
Now there's a lot that are at that caliber, but more accessible.
315
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,320
And I do think you're going to be seeing more and more of them in the next year.
316
00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,320
I could go through names, but honestly, I don't want to sort of tease any of these out
317
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,320
because there's not immediate prospects, but there's a lot on the horizon.
318
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,560
I'm in touch with managers.
319
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,920
I'm in touch with some of these pianists directly, and it's a timing thing.
320
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,080
They're busy people.
321
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,960
But a lot of them, they seem to all know about tone-based now, and they've seen the great
322
00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,840
artists we have, and there's more and more of an interest from them.
323
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:57,800
And we're starting to get emails from conservatory professors at CIM and other places saying,
324
00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:58,800
can I teach for you?
325
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:02,880
So we're starting to get calls from Curtis, like, can we collaborate?
326
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,640
So there's a growing interest in what we're doing.
327
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:06,740
I think that's really great.
328
00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:08,480
I hope that keeps up.
329
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:16,160
For business, so there's all kinds of pedantic business things going on internally that we're
330
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:22,520
trying to make the best decisions for how to sustain the company, stick to our mission,
331
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,560
not betray the mission in favor of some get-rich-quick scheme.
332
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,280
That wouldn't work anyway for our product, but we are a startup.
333
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:30,280
You know what startups do?
334
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:36,360
They usually create some bad product, and they fail after a couple of days.
335
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:41,680
And it's just not the kind of enterprise that you usually see this kind of classical music
336
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:43,480
education thriving in.
337
00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:51,240
So it's a challenge to figure out how do we grow at this kind of rapid pace while also
338
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:58,560
staying true to our commitments as teachers, educators, artists, and so on.
339
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,680
In terms of expanding and growing, I'd say tone-based is next step.
340
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:08,000
Of course, since the beginning, after piano was meant to be, okay, let's finish the other
341
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,360
instruments, it's been a timing thing because now we're thinking maybe strategy-wise, we
342
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,640
want to broaden the instruments we have.
343
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,880
I don't see classical piano and jazz piano as being separate platforms.
344
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,240
I see them as part of one history of the piano.
345
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:27,440
And we already have had some great jazz artists on live streams, and I want more and more
346
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:28,440
of that content.
347
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,760
So that might be where we invest our energies.
348
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:40,400
There's some thought of maybe strings as a whole being next, or violin and then cello,
349
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,960
or maybe high strings and low strings.
350
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,120
The issue there is, well, guess what the two major amateur instruments around the world
351
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:49,000
are piano and guitar.
352
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,320
Yes, there's Suzuki violin and cello lessons, but as you get to the other orchestra instruments,
353
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,280
you see fewer and fewer just ordinary people who might subscribe.
354
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,720
So this becomes a business challenge.
355
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:06,360
Maybe the next platform for orchestra instruments is about excerpts, and we try to sell it to
356
00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,360
conservatories and we get all the great principles to teach those excerpts.
357
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:12,120
That's just an idea that's floating around.
358
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,760
And maybe we go beyond music.
359
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:23,280
I mean, one of the founders, you can't be a startup founder and not have ambitions.
360
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:29,420
So part of their ambitions is to not only expand beyond classical genres, but to expand
361
00:20:29,420 --> 00:20:39,520
beyond music and potentially teach you cooking or chess or arts and crafts of different kinds.
362
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,800
Now these tone-based versions of these things exist.
363
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:49,520
So once we get there, then it's going to be a lot of competition and maybe partnerships,
364
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,280
or who knows what it will be like.
365
00:20:51,280 --> 00:21:01,040
But this kind of space of a creative online education, high level, was already happening,
366
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,800
and then COVID happened, and now it's about to just thrive.
367
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:08,280
I mean, masterclass was already there, now they're doing Outlier, and Rasmussen is starting
368
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:09,520
Outlier if you haven't seen it.
369
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:14,920
So you can go take calculus and psychology courses and get credit.
370
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,140
So we're not accredited yet, but maybe we move to a model where we're actually able
371
00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:21,800
to contribute to online education.
372
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:28,560
And that opens a whole sequel episode that we'll have to do together where we talk about
373
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:34,000
the complexities of brick and mortar educational institutions versus online education, because
374
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,680
there's a lot of potential problems there.
375
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,480
There's a lot of potential achievements there.
376
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:44,760
And so I think that's the new frontier.
377
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:49,560
And COVID rapidly accelerated our journey there, and I think the 2020s are going to
378
00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,760
just see a flourishing of this kind of thing.
379
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:58,520
And I'm just happy that ToneBase might be able to contribute in some small way to that.
380
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,200
Wonderful.
381
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:06,800
What is your advice for young and upcoming musicians in this current technology-based
382
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,280
and musical environment?
383
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,960
I probably don't need to be the one to tell them because they're already doing it, but
384
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,720
you have to know technology.
385
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:25,640
You have to not just use it, but I would say learn how to produce with it.
386
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:27,120
I could have done that more, honestly.
387
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:31,360
I mean, you might look at me and say, oh, look at this tech musician guy.
388
00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:37,320
I still feel like a dinosaur around what the 23-year-olds and the 18-year-olds know and
389
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:38,520
are doing.
390
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:45,160
So I don't think I need to impart that advice, but besides consuming your technologies and
391
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,320
your media, learn how it's made and start making it yourself.
392
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:57,440
So get Garage Band or Ableton or whatever, if you're a teenager, and get a MIDI keyboard
393
00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,340
and start making your own jams.
394
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:05,880
Hook up your piano to it and learn classical music, learn how to improvise and create new
395
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,500
kinds of music with it.
396
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:13,040
Create music we've never heard, compose stuff, be creative.
397
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:14,560
And then I used to say this.
398
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,180
I used to say, say yes to every opportunity.
399
00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:19,640
That's always a fun thing to say.
400
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,400
I would refine that a bit.
401
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,880
I still believe in that up to a certain age, and then you have to start saying no.
402
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,960
But of course, you need to be picky.
403
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,640
So don't say yes to everything.
404
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:35,820
But don't think that because you're comfortable in one narrow sphere and you're good at that
405
00:23:35,820 --> 00:23:39,700
one thing, that that's going to take you where you think it's going to take you because it
406
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:41,300
never will.
407
00:23:41,300 --> 00:23:46,760
It's going to be something unpredictable out of your control that will define your life.
408
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,760
And the more experiences you have, the more skills you pick up, the more things you try,
409
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:56,720
the more people you meet in music and in life, the more that's going to set you up for happiness
410
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,300
and success in the future.
411
00:23:59,300 --> 00:24:04,240
So that would be my advice to kids is not just practice.
412
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:09,300
You should practice, but if you don't like practicing, tell your teacher and have an
413
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:16,320
honest conversation about why you don't and stop this passive aggression where it's awkward
414
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,680
because I don't like doing it and then you make me because piano lessons should be the
415
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,440
most amazing thing that every kid has.
416
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,080
It should be a gift and a treasure.
417
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,000
So if that's not working out for you exactly how you like, probe that a bit, explore a
418
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,160
bit and try some things out and also cut your teachers some slack because they're trying
419
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,860
hard and they've got a tough job.
420
00:24:38,860 --> 00:24:44,400
So yeah, those are just a little coda to my advice for kids.
421
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:49,080
Maybe for those students that doesn't want to practice, they can come to watch some tone
422
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:55,840
based videos and listen to some piano podcast.
423
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,800
That's why I wanted to practice ultimately, even though I never liked practicing and I
424
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,000
never did it very well.
425
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,800
It was because not anybody forced me to.
426
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,300
That never worked very well.
427
00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:10,100
It just made me mad and upset and it made my technique like, I have to do this.
428
00:25:10,100 --> 00:25:15,080
It was because of discovering the music.
429
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,440
Really the music did it.
430
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:18,920
Listen to it.
431
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:19,920
Compare recordings.
432
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:27,200
Listen to these dusty old men and women of yesteryear who've just imparted to us some
433
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:34,400
of the great recordings in music history of any genre and try to follow in the score.
434
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,400
Scores are free.
435
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:36,400
I'm SLP.
436
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:37,400
Go right now.
437
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,400
Find a piece you're playing or find a better piece or maybe a more interesting difficult
438
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,900
piece by the same composer.
439
00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:48,960
Go on YouTube at the same time, find a rare recording by Corteau or Horowitz and follow
440
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,060
in the score while you're listening.
441
00:25:50,060 --> 00:25:56,960
I didn't get to have any of that access in 1999 or 2002 or whenever when I was, I had
442
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,640
to order a VHS of Horowitz playing and wait for three weeks before maybe I can watch a
443
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:08,640
grainy copy of it and I'd had to go buy scores at the store and it's just, it's all right
444
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:09,640
there.
445
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,640
Don't miss this opportunity.
446
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:12,640
All right.
447
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,040
Let's move on to rapid fire.
448
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:22,900
I feel like we've had a very long in-depth productive conversation.
449
00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:24,520
Time to be totally silly.
450
00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:29,200
So let me ask you, Ben, what is your favorite comfort food?
451
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:30,200
Biscuits and gravy.
452
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,200
Oh, nice.
453
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,160
You're from Texas, right?
454
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:38,880
With sausage gravy, I should add, but I'm from Texas and it's the most caloric thing
455
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,560
you can possibly eat.
456
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,120
I've studied the IHOP menu.
457
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:43,120
Okay, sorry.
458
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:44,120
Lightning round.
459
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:45,120
Let's go.
460
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:46,120
All right.
461
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:47,120
Number two, cats or dogs?
462
00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:48,120
Cats.
463
00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:49,120
Okay.
464
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,760
What is your word or words to live by?
465
00:26:52,760 --> 00:27:02,480
Open authority, but also think about what you're questioning and think about how you
466
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,920
might be an authority yourself and not know it.
467
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:05,920
All right.
468
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,080
That'll keep us busy.
469
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:14,280
What is the most important quality you look for in people?
470
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:23,400
Kind of openness and not just open-mindedness, but I like people who like people and who
471
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,240
give people the benefit of the doubt.
472
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:27,600
Wonderful.
473
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:34,120
And what is the worst quality in people that you want to stay away from?
474
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,560
I've tried to be a Christian and befriend all my enemies, so I don't know if I have
475
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:39,560
an answer for that.
476
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:44,120
But don't be boring.
477
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:49,080
I don't think anybody's boring.
478
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,960
It doesn't matter if you have a monotone voice and maybe you're not charismatic.
479
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,720
Those are some of the funniest, most interesting people.
480
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,200
There's no excuse for being boring.
481
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,480
I don't care what your genes are.
482
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,400
There's something interesting about your life that you can share with us.
483
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:12,480
So if you're being boring, I just ask you to practice harder.
484
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,760
Okay, wonderful.
485
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:15,760
Thank you.
486
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:20,520
Name three people who inspire you, living or dead.
487
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,040
Well, my mom.
488
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:23,400
It's her birthday tomorrow.
489
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,920
Just speaking of gracious people.
490
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,400
Happy birthday.
491
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,080
And I guess I should be very basic about this.
492
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,840
My father, I wouldn't be a pianist without him.
493
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:35,840
Not that he is one.
494
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:41,560
He's a chemist, but it was his Chopin first nocturne that he was attempting as a child.
495
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:43,720
Yeah, I told Seymour this.
496
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:49,320
That was partially why I was fascinated by the piano and got into it.
497
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,520
And just as a human being, I admire him endlessly.
498
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,560
Oh, third.
499
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:56,560
Okay.
500
00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:03,800
Well, I should say that my partner, Sasha, I could say the same things about her.
501
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,560
And I look up to her as well.
502
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,040
She's a fantastic pianist.
503
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:10,680
Sasha Cosman.
504
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,760
And she keeps me whole.
505
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,720
Okay.
506
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:21,080
Which historical figure or composer do you want to learn, take lessons from, if she or
507
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,960
he were alive?
508
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:25,880
Of course Bach.
509
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:31,860
But I would say that if I could modify the question to give a more interesting answer,
510
00:29:31,860 --> 00:29:38,340
I want Bach to be my sort of musicianship composition teacher.
511
00:29:38,340 --> 00:29:41,220
Maybe he can tell me how to tune and stuff.
512
00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,560
And then I want Gould on my other shoulder.
513
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:44,560
Oh my gosh.
514
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,280
And Glenn Gould can sort of, first of all, he'll be talking with Bach.
515
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:54,240
And I think they'll actually be friends, not enemies like a lot of people say.
516
00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,160
And Gould will just be there to sort of show me things that I don't think he would ever
517
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,160
teach.
518
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:02,160
He wasn't a teacher.
519
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,260
But if he were alive, first of all, he would be younger.
520
00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:11,920
If he was alive, he would be younger than Seymour Bernstein, Jerome Lowenthal, Leon
521
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,640
Fleischer, Gary Grafman.
522
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:15,980
He was born in 1932.
523
00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:18,520
He passed away at the age of 50.
524
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,880
If Gould were here, he would have already started tone-based of some kind.
525
00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:23,520
He was really into media.
526
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:28,080
And it wouldn't be because he taught you lesson, but we would film him and Bach together in
527
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:34,000
the same room, just being in their presence and sharing in their magic.
528
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,760
And so I don't even remember your question, but those are the ones that I would want to
529
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,080
hang out with.
530
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,320
Name one piece in your current playlist.
531
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:50,520
Well, my girlfriend is Russian-American, so I've been listening to a lot of Russian, like
532
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:54,780
old sort of Soviet film soundtracks.
533
00:30:54,780 --> 00:30:57,960
And so there's some wonderful music.
534
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,520
There's a film that you have to go see, or you have to, I don't know how you'd see it.
535
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,160
It's called The Ordinary Miracle.
536
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:07,960
And there's just a wonderful soundtrack to that.
537
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,600
And I have it stuck in my head all the time.
538
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,240
It's in some playlists because I hear it in the car.
539
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,080
But guess what's really good?
540
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,780
Soviet film music.
541
00:31:17,780 --> 00:31:18,780
Because guess why?
542
00:31:18,780 --> 00:31:24,320
Those composers were really well-trained and they were compensated for their work.
543
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,280
And it's incredible.
544
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:31,320
If you like Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny, you know how good orchestral music can be with
545
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:32,320
film.
546
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,200
It's everywhere in Russian film.
547
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:40,560
I mean, just the soundtracks by themselves are worthy of stage performance.
548
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,260
But I'm actually thinking more sort of pop, sorts of Russian soundtracks.
549
00:31:45,260 --> 00:31:47,680
But anyway, that's kind of random.
550
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,880
Well, we come to the very last question.
551
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:55,260
You get only one song or piece to listen to for the rest of your life.
552
00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:56,260
What is it?
553
00:31:56,260 --> 00:32:04,840
I mean, I just out of duty and obligation and consistency, I have to say the 1981 Goldberg
554
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,840
Variations recording by Graham Gould.
555
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:07,840
I just knew it.
556
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,680
I mean, it was the only thing I listened to.
557
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:11,680
I'm not exaggerating.
558
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,120
It was the only thing I listened to for two years.
559
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,440
I went to Planet Fitness and just bounced along to the canons.
560
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,120
And it made me want to learn the piece.
561
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,960
And after that, I actually didn't listen to anything for a while.
562
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:28,160
So I would probably just take that with me to the desert island or wherever.
563
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,560
Well, so you just answer one of the questions that we were going to ask.
564
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,960
Okay, no, no, you can still ask.
565
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:35,960
Yeah, no, no.
566
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:37,880
I mean, it's perfect.
567
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:39,320
And I can understand you.
568
00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:46,440
I even did an MRI or something with the Gould's edition of Goldberg.
569
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,160
So well, very, very last one.
570
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,920
Music is blank.
571
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:51,920
What is your music?
572
00:32:51,920 --> 00:33:00,120
Music is the interior of humanity.
573
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,400
Out loud, made external.
574
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,080
Thank you so much.
575
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:08,080
Dream that.
576
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:09,080
That is so beautiful.
577
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,080
I'll leave you with that.
578
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:11,080
How about that?
579
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,080
A little bit of profundity.
580
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,200
Ben, thank you so much.
581
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:21,880
So I think that concludes this episode and this season of the Piano Pod.
582
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:26,880
Thank you so much, Ben Lottie, for joining our show today and sharing your wisdom, expertise
583
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:27,880
and humor.
584
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:32,120
And as always, thank you so much to the audience for tuning in.
585
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:37,680
If you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review on whatever podcasting platform
586
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:38,680
you use.
587
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,400
If you're watching it from YouTube, please hit the thumbs up button and be sure to subscribe
588
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:44,720
to our channel.
589
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,520
And you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
590
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,340
The links are in the description below.
591
00:33:52,340 --> 00:33:57,920
If you have feedback for us, please leave it in the comments or DM us via social media.
592
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:04,440
Or you can also email us at the pianopodnyc at gmail.com.
593
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:10,160
All right, everybody, we hope to see you next fall for season two of the Piano Pod.
594
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:11,160
Until then, take care.
595
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:12,160
Bye bye.
596
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:13,160
Thank you so much, Ben.
597
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:14,160
Thank you, Ben.
598
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:15,160
Hi, everyone.
599
00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:16,160
Clara, Yukimi, Eric.
600
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,760
It was a lot of fun.
601
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,600
I hope to be back some other season, maybe.
602
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:22,600
For sure.
603
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,600
Definitely.
604
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:46,400
There's a little ride coming to an end.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,240
You're listening to the PianoPod, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry
2
00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:17,400
about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century.
3
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:21,920
Last time we spoke to Ben Laudy of ToneBass.com about the origins of this great new resource
4
00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:23,720
for high-level piano education.
5
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,800
And now, the conclusion.
6
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:34,440
How do you recommend as a piano teacher to use ToneBass for students?
7
00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:35,800
That's a very good question.
8
00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,400
And it's something we're always working on and improving because the platform was not
9
00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:47,800
originally intended immediately for some obvious practical use for students.
10
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:52,560
Its original intention was more for the kind of capable amateur.
11
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,560
These are the atomized amateurs who live all among us, but we don't know them yet.
12
00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,760
Maybe they end up being our adult students.
13
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,080
I had many in New York.
14
00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:07,960
But they're the ones who really often didn't get a taste of this education, or it's been
15
00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:10,920
decades since they got to be in those environments.
16
00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:16,320
So that was the original target, and that helped shape the original framing of the platform.
17
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:21,780
But as we started building it, it became clear that there's many different audiences that
18
00:01:21,780 --> 00:01:24,480
would be attracted to this product.
19
00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:28,800
And so we sort of internally refer to them as personas.
20
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:35,040
And so there's beginner personas, casual and serious amateurs, there's conservatory students.
21
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:41,440
Really I see that as a kind of high school, college age, sort of potentially pre-professional
22
00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,640
track or at least very serious about practicing.
23
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,840
And then there's professionals of different stripes, including teachers.
24
00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,140
And teachers are often performers too, and performers are often teachers too.
25
00:01:53,140 --> 00:01:55,320
So it was hard to distinguish those.
26
00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:02,640
But there is a community of pedagogues, as we know, and you are among them.
27
00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,320
And New York has a very strong community with the Congress, with the open forums that you
28
00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,200
guys have created, courses, MTNA.
29
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:16,480
And these teachers are also often not directly connected, especially if they're in Topeka,
30
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:22,020
Kansas, to what's going on in Colburn or Curtis.
31
00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:27,300
So we realized there is an intrigue there.
32
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:34,080
And frankly, I have to say, we learn a lot from them too.
33
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:39,240
We're in communication with teachers all the time who are interested in Tomebase.
34
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:40,240
They want to...
35
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,120
Could we always have a teacher discount, by the way?
36
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:43,600
I should just advertise that.
37
00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,840
I don't know exactly what it's at right now, but I think it's...
38
00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:46,840
That's great.
39
00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,600
I don't want to cite the wrong figure, but in the past it's been 30%.
40
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:55,400
If you're a teacher and you want to subscribe to Tomebase, email our support team if you
41
00:02:55,400 --> 00:03:01,760
don't find the teacher discount online and we'll get it to you.
42
00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,320
But we're in dialogue with them all the time.
43
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,080
In fact, many are actually giving us feedback and telling us their experiences and sharing
44
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:10,080
them.
45
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,360
So I don't see it as just like teachers are our audience and we're creating a product
46
00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:14,360
for them.
47
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,220
I see it hopefully as a kind of continual collaboration and community building where
48
00:03:19,220 --> 00:03:20,800
we can learn from them too.
49
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,440
Because guess who doesn't know how to teach kids?
50
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:24,720
Concert pianists.
51
00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,600
Guess who doesn't know how to teach kids?
52
00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,240
Juilliard and Curtis professors.
53
00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,040
They have no idea.
54
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:32,040
They're the worst at it.
55
00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:33,680
I mean, maybe there's an exception.
56
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:34,680
Okay.
57
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:35,680
I didn't say that.
58
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:36,680
Maybe they say that.
59
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,840
It's the hardest thing.
60
00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:41,360
It's the hardest thing.
61
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:49,200
And it's often the most thankless thing because you wouldn't get these great virtuosi who
62
00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,280
who many of these professors I think would be the first to admit that they get the spoils
63
00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:58,280
of what many nameless teachers around the world have produced.
64
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,320
And yes, there's a lot of bad teaching out there.
65
00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:02,960
It's true.
66
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,920
And that's partially because these there's not enough structures of training in pedagogy
67
00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,040
and sharing of knowledge.
68
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:12,200
They're there.
69
00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:14,440
They're not always utilized successfully.
70
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:19,960
And there's just a lot of teachers who are sort of stray from this and do their best.
71
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,280
But piano teaching is damn hard.
72
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:27,040
And teach being around kids is just as hard, whatever you're teaching them.
73
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,440
So put those two together, especially with I don't need to tell you guys this, especially
74
00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,880
with like short attention spans.
75
00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:39,160
And it's one of the most remarkable achievements if you can take a child and turn them into
76
00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,600
a great musician who actually wants to do it and doesn't hate doing it.
77
00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:48,520
On top of it all, even if you train them well, they might hate their lives.
78
00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,120
It's so hard.
79
00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,920
And so those who have done that should be getting like presidential medals of honor
80
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:56,920
or something and they're not.
81
00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:57,920
And work over candy.
82
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,920
Three of us are so great with children.
83
00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,680
I'm still waiting for my presidential medal.
84
00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:04,680
I know.
85
00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,240
I mean, I commend you.
86
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:07,240
I've done it.
87
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,720
I don't think I did it as well as I could have.
88
00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:11,360
I could have dedicated myself more to it.
89
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,240
I would have had to dedicate my life to it because it deserves that.
90
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,160
It's not a freelance thing.
91
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,440
And so I really appreciate you guys.
92
00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,440
And so, okay, so back to the question.
93
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,580
What can what can tone bass do for teachers?
94
00:05:24,580 --> 00:05:30,240
We are developing more and more structured materials that I think actually fill in a
95
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,800
lot of gaps that typical piano lessons might not cover.
96
00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:41,120
So when I had lessons and I had some good teachers as a kid, I had some ones that were
97
00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,840
probably watching TV at the same time that they were like, you know, teaching me hot
98
00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:45,840
cross buns.
99
00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:50,280
But in any case, there was this sense that like you need to learn this next piece.
100
00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,240
You need to learn this next piece.
101
00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:57,480
And oh, yeah, something about theory and something about just general musicianship maybe.
102
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,160
But you need to learn this next piece and you need to program it into your fingers.
103
00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,520
And then you need to regurgitate it on stage.
104
00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,440
Okay, well, I'm not saying this is everybody.
105
00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:07,760
I do think it's common.
106
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,040
And I understand why it's common because there's an expectation from parents that they're
107
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,520
little kid has to play a recital at the end of each season.
108
00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,440
And so then teachers are pressured into this kind of like repertoire driven track.
109
00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:19,440
Right.
110
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,200
I'm assuming you guys have been there.
111
00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,200
I felt that pressure, too.
112
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,400
And parents can be demanding sometimes they put their pain for lessons.
113
00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,120
They put them in there for a reason.
114
00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:29,360
Yeah, they want to see results.
115
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,400
Why are you sitting there clapping all day or teaching them solfège or helping their
116
00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,160
ears out or getting them to improvise things?
117
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:37,160
What is that all about?
118
00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:38,160
Right.
119
00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:45,840
And I think that matters and I think every great musician who's ever made it to a high
120
00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:51,520
level had some element, whether it was nurtured in them or whether they were just born with
121
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:57,800
it of what I would call general musicianship that isn't specific to the piano that you
122
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:03,160
develop in your ear and your mind and your heart and your soul, whether it's rhythmic,
123
00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:11,520
pitch, phrase, a sense of line and expression, a sense of collaboration, whether you're playing
124
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:15,280
with others or yourself the way different parts combine.
125
00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,920
For me, that's the most important thing.
126
00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,200
And then piano is just one tool we can use to express that core musicianship.
127
00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,620
I don't think that's taught enough, even if teachers know it.
128
00:07:25,620 --> 00:07:27,920
And I don't want to say like, oh, I know it and we're doing it.
129
00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:29,800
It's just as hard for us.
130
00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:36,440
But we do have the advantage of not having to respond to the demands of teach this child
131
00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,640
a piece so that they can impress their grandparents and their friends.
132
00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:46,440
So I hope one of the tools I think we can help teachers with is have these wonderful
133
00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:55,160
– we just released 24 ear training labs on Bach subjects taught by a Juilliard music
134
00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,040
theory professor, Benjamin Grow.
135
00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:58,320
And it's wonderful.
136
00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:03,440
But at one at the same time, you're learning all of these fugue subjects, just how they
137
00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,640
sound and you're reverse engineering them and you're sort of dissecting their anatomy
138
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,440
and putting it in your voice and putting it in your fingers.
139
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:17,220
And suddenly it's both sight reading and ear training and music history and culture
140
00:08:17,220 --> 00:08:18,980
all at the same time.
141
00:08:18,980 --> 00:08:20,600
And it's not just for pianists.
142
00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,360
It's about being a better musician.
143
00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,200
Okay, well then you watch those.
144
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,880
You could show a kid some of those and now they're singing Bach subjects in solfège
145
00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:29,520
or in scale degrees.
146
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,540
Now they want to learn – then you show them the rest of the piece.
147
00:08:32,540 --> 00:08:33,720
Now they want to learn a few.
148
00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,600
All right, so I think that can help teachers.
149
00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,560
We have Penelope Roscoe has a whole series of Pillars of Piano Technique.
150
00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:43,960
She has a giant book published by Peters called The Complete Pianist.
151
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,520
So we have a kind of I'd say a bridged video version of that.
152
00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:49,800
And there's labs that go with it.
153
00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,400
So you can actually practice with her.
154
00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,520
And she teaches just fundamental touches.
155
00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,480
And she's somebody who sort of like doesn't belong to any particular school.
156
00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,200
It's not – she's not Taliban.
157
00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,560
She's not – not that she hasn't been informed by them, but she doesn't like belong to any
158
00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,640
particular lineage or tradition, which I think is an advantage.
159
00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,280
She sort of reworked a lot of these same ideas herself.
160
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,560
And she teaches them very clearly and in a British accent.
161
00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:15,560
So it must be true.
162
00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:16,560
Oh yeah.
163
00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,360
So that's great.
164
00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,720
And then there's improvisation materials.
165
00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:22,640
Noam Savan I have to shout out to.
166
00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:23,640
He used to be a –
167
00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:24,640
I saw it.
168
00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:25,640
At Juilliard.
169
00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,360
And now he actually has his own – he invented his own degree.
170
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,520
I think it's the only one of its kind in Stuttgart at the music school there.
171
00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:41,000
If you want to get a master's in piano improvisation, historic improvisation, go study with Noam
172
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,320
Savan in Stuttgart.
173
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,240
He taught these classes that were insanely popular at Juilliard and Curtis.
174
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,080
I remember all my friends taking them.
175
00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,600
I was an idiot and didn't for some reason.
176
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,980
And they're coming out after semester and they're improvising like Baroque tocatas.
177
00:09:54,980 --> 00:09:58,220
And so we have a six-part series called Intro to Improvisation.
178
00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:00,040
Why would that be useful to teachers?
179
00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:06,320
Well, you can't learn improvisation from six lessons, but you can learn – first of
180
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,800
all, you can be inspired to want to.
181
00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:10,000
And you actually learn a lot.
182
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,040
And we have deluxe workbooks and all kinds of interactive tools and resources during
183
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:16,040
the video.
184
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,800
And then you get to watch Noam do it.
185
00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:22,280
And so you're seeing somebody who's like one of the best historical improvisers in
186
00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:23,360
the world.
187
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:28,400
And then from the overhead cam, from the side cam, from the teaching cam.
188
00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:33,880
And he's showing you, breaking down his process when he actually approaches something that
189
00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:35,320
you might have thought unteachable.
190
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,580
If you see somebody improvise, you're like, either you know that language or you don't.
191
00:10:40,580 --> 00:10:45,600
But he actually is able to sort of introduce you to the process that one could take oneself
192
00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,240
from like me, a kind of bad non-improviser.
193
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,180
I play music from a score, classically trained.
194
00:10:53,180 --> 00:10:57,440
But watching Noam's videos enough has inspired me to start attempting this.
195
00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:02,360
And we actually have a few different historical improvisation series of these kinds.
196
00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:07,280
So I think these are actually some of the most useful resources for teachers, because
197
00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,240
it's not directly about learning your next piece.
198
00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,800
It's about becoming a better musician at the keyboard.
199
00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:19,760
And so I would promote ToneBase for teachers, especially because of that, not to mention
200
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,360
it's nice to share long form videos of Garrick Olson and Simone de'Nercy and another great
201
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,960
artist John O'Connor teaching Beethoven and Chopin and Bach.
202
00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:32,160
Whether it's the piece you're learning or not, watch this great artist do this and you're
203
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,760
going to be fascinated and you're going to want to play more.
204
00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,800
So there's an inspiration element too.
205
00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,120
And also just as teachers, teachers want to learn from other teachers.
206
00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,120
That's who teaches them.
207
00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,120
They don't get...
208
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:43,120
Sure, of course.
209
00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,520
There's no teacher of teachers who's not a teacher themselves.
210
00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,080
It's a contradiction.
211
00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,280
So teachers have to learn from each other.
212
00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,120
They're both always in the process of teaching and learning at the same time.
213
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:53,960
It's one in the same process.
214
00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:58,780
So just the library of videos of repertoire and technique from all the great artists we've
215
00:11:58,780 --> 00:12:03,720
worked with, those are invaluable, I think, to teachers just to watch.
216
00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:08,740
But in terms of just direct structured resources, we're still building them.
217
00:12:08,740 --> 00:12:13,800
So I wouldn't say tone-based is like, you could just send your students there and be
218
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,960
like, all right, my work here is done.
219
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,640
And it shouldn't be that because we don't want to replace teachers.
220
00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,000
We're not in the business of that.
221
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,000
Thank you.
222
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,000
I was going to ask you that.
223
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,000
Don't steal...
224
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,000
Well, we've had comments on...
225
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,280
We've got some Facebook comments.
226
00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,160
I think they just miss...
227
00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:30,760
I don't blame people for seeing it this way.
228
00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:40,180
They just see the product as some kind of video surrogate for the irreducible experience
229
00:12:40,180 --> 00:12:42,480
of in-person teaching.
230
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:43,480
We're not trying...
231
00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:48,000
Not only are we not trying to take that away, we're trying to promote that because, first
232
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,400
of all, a lot of teachers are having to do grunt work, teaching technique and things
233
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,560
that actually tone-based might be able to take care of.
234
00:12:54,560 --> 00:13:00,400
Hey, go watch some of this so that in your lessons, I can work with just you and me personally.
235
00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,800
The student and the teacher on your specific problems because tone-based can't do that.
236
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,280
So there's a lot of general knowledge about playing the piano that I think teachers spend
237
00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:17,260
a lot of time on at the expense of the really specific personalized needs of their student.
238
00:13:17,260 --> 00:13:24,160
So actually tone-based can fill that kind of general knowledge void and then teachers
239
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,360
can be left to focus on the student in front of them.
240
00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:33,580
So I hope it's a resource for teachers too to allow their lessons to be more enjoyable.
241
00:13:33,580 --> 00:13:35,600
You can watch lessons with students.
242
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:36,600
You can send them home.
243
00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,800
They can come back and be like, you can discuss what they watched.
244
00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:41,840
They could practice along with these things.
245
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,520
And the people using tone-based, they're not going to quit their lessons.
246
00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,000
More likely, they're going to sign up for lessons.
247
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,860
Now they need to take the next step.
248
00:13:51,860 --> 00:13:53,840
So I hope that...
249
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:58,460
It seems to me like it's true that teachers see this as promoting what they do and is
250
00:13:58,460 --> 00:14:02,400
valuing what they do and contributing to it.
251
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,080
Thank you for clarifying that.
252
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,920
That's very helpful and thank you.
253
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:11,720
So my last question would be, I want to know the future of tone-based.
254
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,760
There's so much possibility here, as you mentioned.
255
00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:20,720
So I specifically want to know who are you thinking to interview?
256
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:26,000
And right now, currently you have piano and guitar, but are you going to increase more
257
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,200
instruments?
258
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:32,880
Maybe a famous duo or trio, quartet.
259
00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,360
There's so much potentials.
260
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:39,960
And which pianists are the tone-based wishlist?
261
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,880
Well, name your favorite pianist and they're on my wishlist.
262
00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,720
And I have them in a spreadsheet somewhere.
263
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,760
I'm stalking them.
264
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:55,040
I know weird statistics, like number of Google hits of different pianists.
265
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,040
It's creepy.
266
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,880
I'll tell you who...
267
00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,600
I was lucky enough to work with Manny.
268
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,280
By the way, he's Manny the moment you meet him.
269
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,240
He's kind of like Seymour.
270
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,160
It's immediate friends.
271
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:16,980
And so everyone can look forward to those releases in July.
272
00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:22,000
He basically learned a lot of late Chopin that he'd never played during the pandemic.
273
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,280
Did you know that Manny Axe never played the Chopin Bach role?
274
00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,160
Wouldn't you have assumed that was part of his repertoire?
275
00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:28,360
He just added it.
276
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:32,200
And so we have him talking about it among many other Chopin works.
277
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:36,080
And then he performed the two Opus 55 Nocturnes for us.
278
00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:37,480
So he's no longer on the wishlist.
279
00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:38,920
He's real.
280
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,920
We're working with Anne-Marie McDermott in August.
281
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:43,200
A wonderful artist.
282
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,880
She'll be just finishing up at Bravo Veil and then headed to LA and teaching the Bach
283
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,360
A minor English Suite.
284
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,460
So that's going to be awesome.
285
00:15:52,460 --> 00:16:00,200
I will say that I don't know when it happens, and I want to say when and not if, but I'm
286
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:07,480
in touch with Marie Joelle Perez, who's one of the just great phenomenal pianists of the
287
00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:08,480
last generation.
288
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:12,640
Chopin, her Schubert Opus 90 impromptus are the best I've ever heard.
289
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,840
So go listen to Perez playing those.
290
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,420
I've been in touch with her.
291
00:16:16,420 --> 00:16:18,280
She has this festival in Portugal.
292
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,880
She is developing a lot of her own media.
293
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,760
I don't know if she's going to work with Tomei's immediately, but it feels like it's on the
294
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:24,760
horizon.
295
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:31,400
And she's pals with people who are seemingly just out of reach like Martha Argrich.
296
00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,360
And so I've made these kind of connections.
297
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:42,560
Also Ricardo Castro, who won Leeds in 93, has been a wonderful contact for me and has
298
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:43,560
been very supportive.
299
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,920
He was a Tomei user, and we had these user interviews to try to improve the product.
300
00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,640
And I'm sitting there talking to Ricardo Castro, and I didn't know who he was at first.
301
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,440
He's like, oh, yes.
302
00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:59,200
I was in a duo with Maria Joelle Perez, and I just visited Martha yesterday.
303
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:00,640
She's friends with my...
304
00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:01,640
She loves my son and this.
305
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:06,720
And I'm like, okay, well, maybe one day not only Ricardo, but Martha Argrich is top on
306
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:07,720
the list.
307
00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:08,720
Look, I want to get Zimmermann.
308
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:09,800
He's off limits practically.
309
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:10,920
I want to get Sokolov.
310
00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:11,920
He's off limits.
311
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:13,880
Kissen is going to cost a fortune.
312
00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:15,640
So they're there.
313
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:20,160
And I think in terms of just next great pianists, we're close to them.
314
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,680
Now there's a lot that are at that caliber, but more accessible.
315
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:28,320
And I do think you're going to be seeing more and more of them in the next year.
316
00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,320
I could go through names, but honestly, I don't want to sort of tease any of these out
317
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:36,320
because there's not immediate prospects, but there's a lot on the horizon.
318
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,560
I'm in touch with managers.
319
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,920
I'm in touch with some of these pianists directly, and it's a timing thing.
320
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,080
They're busy people.
321
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,960
But a lot of them, they seem to all know about tone-based now, and they've seen the great
322
00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,840
artists we have, and there's more and more of an interest from them.
323
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:57,800
And we're starting to get emails from conservatory professors at CIM and other places saying,
324
00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:58,800
can I teach for you?
325
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:02,880
So we're starting to get calls from Curtis, like, can we collaborate?
326
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,640
So there's a growing interest in what we're doing.
327
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:06,740
I think that's really great.
328
00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:08,480
I hope that keeps up.
329
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:16,160
For business, so there's all kinds of pedantic business things going on internally that we're
330
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:22,520
trying to make the best decisions for how to sustain the company, stick to our mission,
331
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,560
not betray the mission in favor of some get-rich-quick scheme.
332
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,280
That wouldn't work anyway for our product, but we are a startup.
333
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:30,280
You know what startups do?
334
00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:36,360
They usually create some bad product, and they fail after a couple of days.
335
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:41,680
And it's just not the kind of enterprise that you usually see this kind of classical music
336
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:43,480
education thriving in.
337
00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:51,240
So it's a challenge to figure out how do we grow at this kind of rapid pace while also
338
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:58,560
staying true to our commitments as teachers, educators, artists, and so on.
339
00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,680
In terms of expanding and growing, I'd say tone-based is next step.
340
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:08,000
Of course, since the beginning, after piano was meant to be, okay, let's finish the other
341
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,360
instruments, it's been a timing thing because now we're thinking maybe strategy-wise, we
342
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,640
want to broaden the instruments we have.
343
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,880
I don't see classical piano and jazz piano as being separate platforms.
344
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,240
I see them as part of one history of the piano.
345
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:27,440
And we already have had some great jazz artists on live streams, and I want more and more
346
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:28,440
of that content.
347
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,760
So that might be where we invest our energies.
348
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:40,400
There's some thought of maybe strings as a whole being next, or violin and then cello,
349
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,960
or maybe high strings and low strings.
350
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,120
The issue there is, well, guess what the two major amateur instruments around the world
351
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:49,000
are piano and guitar.
352
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,320
Yes, there's Suzuki violin and cello lessons, but as you get to the other orchestra instruments,
353
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,280
you see fewer and fewer just ordinary people who might subscribe.
354
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,720
So this becomes a business challenge.
355
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:06,360
Maybe the next platform for orchestra instruments is about excerpts, and we try to sell it to
356
00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:09,360
conservatories and we get all the great principles to teach those excerpts.
357
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:12,120
That's just an idea that's floating around.
358
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,760
And maybe we go beyond music.
359
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:23,280
I mean, one of the founders, you can't be a startup founder and not have ambitions.
360
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:29,420
So part of their ambitions is to not only expand beyond classical genres, but to expand
361
00:20:29,420 --> 00:20:39,520
beyond music and potentially teach you cooking or chess or arts and crafts of different kinds.
362
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,800
Now these tone-based versions of these things exist.
363
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:49,520
So once we get there, then it's going to be a lot of competition and maybe partnerships,
364
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,280
or who knows what it will be like.
365
00:20:51,280 --> 00:21:01,040
But this kind of space of a creative online education, high level, was already happening,
366
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,800
and then COVID happened, and now it's about to just thrive.
367
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:08,280
I mean, masterclass was already there, now they're doing Outlier, and Rasmussen is starting
368
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:09,520
Outlier if you haven't seen it.
369
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:14,920
So you can go take calculus and psychology courses and get credit.
370
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,140
So we're not accredited yet, but maybe we move to a model where we're actually able
371
00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:21,800
to contribute to online education.
372
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:28,560
And that opens a whole sequel episode that we'll have to do together where we talk about
373
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:34,000
the complexities of brick and mortar educational institutions versus online education, because
374
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,680
there's a lot of potential problems there.
375
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,480
There's a lot of potential achievements there.
376
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:44,760
And so I think that's the new frontier.
377
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:49,560
And COVID rapidly accelerated our journey there, and I think the 2020s are going to
378
00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,760
just see a flourishing of this kind of thing.
379
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:58,520
And I'm just happy that ToneBase might be able to contribute in some small way to that.
380
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,200
Wonderful.
381
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:06,800
What is your advice for young and upcoming musicians in this current technology-based
382
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,280
and musical environment?
383
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:15,960
I probably don't need to be the one to tell them because they're already doing it, but
384
00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,720
you have to know technology.
385
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:25,640
You have to not just use it, but I would say learn how to produce with it.
386
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:27,120
I could have done that more, honestly.
387
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:31,360
I mean, you might look at me and say, oh, look at this tech musician guy.
388
00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:37,320
I still feel like a dinosaur around what the 23-year-olds and the 18-year-olds know and
389
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:38,520
are doing.
390
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:45,160
So I don't think I need to impart that advice, but besides consuming your technologies and
391
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,320
your media, learn how it's made and start making it yourself.
392
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:57,440
So get Garage Band or Ableton or whatever, if you're a teenager, and get a MIDI keyboard
393
00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,340
and start making your own jams.
394
00:22:59,340 --> 00:23:05,880
Hook up your piano to it and learn classical music, learn how to improvise and create new
395
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,500
kinds of music with it.
396
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:13,040
Create music we've never heard, compose stuff, be creative.
397
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:14,560
And then I used to say this.
398
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,180
I used to say, say yes to every opportunity.
399
00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:19,640
That's always a fun thing to say.
400
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,400
I would refine that a bit.
401
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,880
I still believe in that up to a certain age, and then you have to start saying no.
402
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:27,960
But of course, you need to be picky.
403
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:29,640
So don't say yes to everything.
404
00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:35,820
But don't think that because you're comfortable in one narrow sphere and you're good at that
405
00:23:35,820 --> 00:23:39,700
one thing, that that's going to take you where you think it's going to take you because it
406
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:41,300
never will.
407
00:23:41,300 --> 00:23:46,760
It's going to be something unpredictable out of your control that will define your life.
408
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,760
And the more experiences you have, the more skills you pick up, the more things you try,
409
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:56,720
the more people you meet in music and in life, the more that's going to set you up for happiness
410
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,300
and success in the future.
411
00:23:59,300 --> 00:24:04,240
So that would be my advice to kids is not just practice.
412
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:09,300
You should practice, but if you don't like practicing, tell your teacher and have an
413
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:16,320
honest conversation about why you don't and stop this passive aggression where it's awkward
414
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,680
because I don't like doing it and then you make me because piano lessons should be the
415
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,440
most amazing thing that every kid has.
416
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,080
It should be a gift and a treasure.
417
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:32,000
So if that's not working out for you exactly how you like, probe that a bit, explore a
418
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,160
bit and try some things out and also cut your teachers some slack because they're trying
419
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,860
hard and they've got a tough job.
420
00:24:38,860 --> 00:24:44,400
So yeah, those are just a little coda to my advice for kids.
421
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:49,080
Maybe for those students that doesn't want to practice, they can come to watch some tone
422
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:55,840
based videos and listen to some piano podcast.
423
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,800
That's why I wanted to practice ultimately, even though I never liked practicing and I
424
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,000
never did it very well.
425
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,800
It was because not anybody forced me to.
426
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,300
That never worked very well.
427
00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:10,100
It just made me mad and upset and it made my technique like, I have to do this.
428
00:25:10,100 --> 00:25:15,080
It was because of discovering the music.
429
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,440
Really the music did it.
430
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:18,920
Listen to it.
431
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:19,920
Compare recordings.
432
00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:27,200
Listen to these dusty old men and women of yesteryear who've just imparted to us some
433
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:34,400
of the great recordings in music history of any genre and try to follow in the score.
434
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,400
Scores are free.
435
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:36,400
I'm SLP.
436
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:37,400
Go right now.
437
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:41,400
Find a piece you're playing or find a better piece or maybe a more interesting difficult
438
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,900
piece by the same composer.
439
00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:48,960
Go on YouTube at the same time, find a rare recording by Corteau or Horowitz and follow
440
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,060
in the score while you're listening.
441
00:25:50,060 --> 00:25:56,960
I didn't get to have any of that access in 1999 or 2002 or whenever when I was, I had
442
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,640
to order a VHS of Horowitz playing and wait for three weeks before maybe I can watch a
443
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:08,640
grainy copy of it and I'd had to go buy scores at the store and it's just, it's all right
444
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:09,640
there.
445
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,640
Don't miss this opportunity.
446
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:12,640
All right.
447
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,040
Let's move on to rapid fire.
448
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:22,900
I feel like we've had a very long in-depth productive conversation.
449
00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:24,520
Time to be totally silly.
450
00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:29,200
So let me ask you, Ben, what is your favorite comfort food?
451
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:30,200
Biscuits and gravy.
452
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,200
Oh, nice.
453
00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:33,160
You're from Texas, right?
454
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:38,880
With sausage gravy, I should add, but I'm from Texas and it's the most caloric thing
455
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,560
you can possibly eat.
456
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,120
I've studied the IHOP menu.
457
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:43,120
Okay, sorry.
458
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:44,120
Lightning round.
459
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:45,120
Let's go.
460
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:46,120
All right.
461
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:47,120
Number two, cats or dogs?
462
00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:48,120
Cats.
463
00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:49,120
Okay.
464
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,760
What is your word or words to live by?
465
00:26:52,760 --> 00:27:02,480
Open authority, but also think about what you're questioning and think about how you
466
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,920
might be an authority yourself and not know it.
467
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:05,920
All right.
468
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,080
That'll keep us busy.
469
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:14,280
What is the most important quality you look for in people?
470
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:23,400
Kind of openness and not just open-mindedness, but I like people who like people and who
471
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,240
give people the benefit of the doubt.
472
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:27,600
Wonderful.
473
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:34,120
And what is the worst quality in people that you want to stay away from?
474
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,560
I've tried to be a Christian and befriend all my enemies, so I don't know if I have
475
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:39,560
an answer for that.
476
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:44,120
But don't be boring.
477
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:49,080
I don't think anybody's boring.
478
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,960
It doesn't matter if you have a monotone voice and maybe you're not charismatic.
479
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,720
Those are some of the funniest, most interesting people.
480
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,200
There's no excuse for being boring.
481
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:04,480
I don't care what your genes are.
482
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,400
There's something interesting about your life that you can share with us.
483
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:12,480
So if you're being boring, I just ask you to practice harder.
484
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,760
Okay, wonderful.
485
00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:15,760
Thank you.
486
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:20,520
Name three people who inspire you, living or dead.
487
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,040
Well, my mom.
488
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:23,400
It's her birthday tomorrow.
489
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,920
Just speaking of gracious people.
490
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,400
Happy birthday.
491
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,080
And I guess I should be very basic about this.
492
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,840
My father, I wouldn't be a pianist without him.
493
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:35,840
Not that he is one.
494
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:41,560
He's a chemist, but it was his Chopin first nocturne that he was attempting as a child.
495
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:43,720
Yeah, I told Seymour this.
496
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:49,320
That was partially why I was fascinated by the piano and got into it.
497
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,520
And just as a human being, I admire him endlessly.
498
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,560
Oh, third.
499
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:56,560
Okay.
500
00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:03,800
Well, I should say that my partner, Sasha, I could say the same things about her.
501
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,560
And I look up to her as well.
502
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,040
She's a fantastic pianist.
503
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:10,680
Sasha Cosman.
504
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,760
And she keeps me whole.
505
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:15,720
Okay.
506
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:21,080
Which historical figure or composer do you want to learn, take lessons from, if she or
507
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,960
he were alive?
508
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:25,880
Of course Bach.
509
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:31,860
But I would say that if I could modify the question to give a more interesting answer,
510
00:29:31,860 --> 00:29:38,340
I want Bach to be my sort of musicianship composition teacher.
511
00:29:38,340 --> 00:29:41,220
Maybe he can tell me how to tune and stuff.
512
00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,560
And then I want Gould on my other shoulder.
513
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:44,560
Oh my gosh.
514
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,280
And Glenn Gould can sort of, first of all, he'll be talking with Bach.
515
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:54,240
And I think they'll actually be friends, not enemies like a lot of people say.
516
00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,160
And Gould will just be there to sort of show me things that I don't think he would ever
517
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:01,160
teach.
518
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:02,160
He wasn't a teacher.
519
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,260
But if he were alive, first of all, he would be younger.
520
00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:11,920
If he was alive, he would be younger than Seymour Bernstein, Jerome Lowenthal, Leon
521
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,640
Fleischer, Gary Grafman.
522
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:15,980
He was born in 1932.
523
00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:18,520
He passed away at the age of 50.
524
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,880
If Gould were here, he would have already started tone-based of some kind.
525
00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:23,520
He was really into media.
526
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:28,080
And it wouldn't be because he taught you lesson, but we would film him and Bach together in
527
00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:34,000
the same room, just being in their presence and sharing in their magic.
528
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,760
And so I don't even remember your question, but those are the ones that I would want to
529
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,080
hang out with.
530
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:43,320
Name one piece in your current playlist.
531
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:50,520
Well, my girlfriend is Russian-American, so I've been listening to a lot of Russian, like
532
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:54,780
old sort of Soviet film soundtracks.
533
00:30:54,780 --> 00:30:57,960
And so there's some wonderful music.
534
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,520
There's a film that you have to go see, or you have to, I don't know how you'd see it.
535
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,160
It's called The Ordinary Miracle.
536
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:07,960
And there's just a wonderful soundtrack to that.
537
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,600
And I have it stuck in my head all the time.
538
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,240
It's in some playlists because I hear it in the car.
539
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,080
But guess what's really good?
540
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:17,780
Soviet film music.
541
00:31:17,780 --> 00:31:18,780
Because guess why?
542
00:31:18,780 --> 00:31:24,320
Those composers were really well-trained and they were compensated for their work.
543
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,280
And it's incredible.
544
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:31,320
If you like Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny, you know how good orchestral music can be with
545
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:32,320
film.
546
00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,200
It's everywhere in Russian film.
547
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:40,560
I mean, just the soundtracks by themselves are worthy of stage performance.
548
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:45,260
But I'm actually thinking more sort of pop, sorts of Russian soundtracks.
549
00:31:45,260 --> 00:31:47,680
But anyway, that's kind of random.
550
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,880
Well, we come to the very last question.
551
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:55,260
You get only one song or piece to listen to for the rest of your life.
552
00:31:55,260 --> 00:31:56,260
What is it?
553
00:31:56,260 --> 00:32:04,840
I mean, I just out of duty and obligation and consistency, I have to say the 1981 Goldberg
554
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,840
Variations recording by Graham Gould.
555
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:07,840
I just knew it.
556
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,680
I mean, it was the only thing I listened to.
557
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:11,680
I'm not exaggerating.
558
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,120
It was the only thing I listened to for two years.
559
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,440
I went to Planet Fitness and just bounced along to the canons.
560
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,120
And it made me want to learn the piece.
561
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,960
And after that, I actually didn't listen to anything for a while.
562
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:28,160
So I would probably just take that with me to the desert island or wherever.
563
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,560
Well, so you just answer one of the questions that we were going to ask.
564
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,960
Okay, no, no, you can still ask.
565
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:35,960
Yeah, no, no.
566
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:37,880
I mean, it's perfect.
567
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:39,320
And I can understand you.
568
00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:46,440
I even did an MRI or something with the Gould's edition of Goldberg.
569
00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,160
So well, very, very last one.
570
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,920
Music is blank.
571
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:51,920
What is your music?
572
00:32:51,920 --> 00:33:00,120
Music is the interior of humanity.
573
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,400
Out loud, made external.
574
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:07,080
Thank you so much.
575
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:08,080
Dream that.
576
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:09,080
That is so beautiful.
577
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,080
I'll leave you with that.
578
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:11,080
How about that?
579
00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,080
A little bit of profundity.
580
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,200
Ben, thank you so much.
581
00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:21,880
So I think that concludes this episode and this season of the Piano Pod.
582
00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:26,880
Thank you so much, Ben Lottie, for joining our show today and sharing your wisdom, expertise
583
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:27,880
and humor.
584
00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:32,120
And as always, thank you so much to the audience for tuning in.
585
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:37,680
If you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review on whatever podcasting platform
586
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:38,680
you use.
587
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:43,400
If you're watching it from YouTube, please hit the thumbs up button and be sure to subscribe
588
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:44,720
to our channel.
589
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,520
And you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
590
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:52,340
The links are in the description below.
591
00:33:52,340 --> 00:33:57,920
If you have feedback for us, please leave it in the comments or DM us via social media.
592
00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:04,440
Or you can also email us at the pianopodnyc at gmail.com.
593
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:10,160
All right, everybody, we hope to see you next fall for season two of the Piano Pod.
594
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:11,160
Until then, take care.
595
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:12,160
Bye bye.
596
00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:13,160
Thank you so much, Ben.
597
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:14,160
Thank you, Ben.
598
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:15,160
Hi, everyone.
599
00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:16,160
Clara, Yukimi, Eric.
600
00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,760
It was a lot of fun.
601
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,600
I hope to be back some other season, maybe.
602
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:22,600
For sure.
603
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,600
Definitely.
604
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:46,400
There's a little ride coming to an end.
