The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music

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Happy April, everyone! April is Autism Acceptance Month, so to promote neurodiversity and inclusion, we interviewed Selena Pistoresi - pianist, teacher, creator of Notablepiano.com, and neurodiversity specialist.

With a studio of 50 students and a full waitlist, Selena has found success cultivating the gifts of students that many teachers often struggle with. In this episode, she explains neurodiversity and speaks about her experiences working with this rapidly growing population of students.  Some of the topics we cover include autism, ADHD, and ODD, and how to approach a student who has not been diagnosed yet.  With the explosion in diagnoses in recent years, this is information any modern piano teacher can't afford to be without.

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HAPPY 10TH EPISODE TO US! To celebrate this milestone, we decided to do a special episode, TPP Happy Hour! We had a few drinks, laughed about the mistakes we made in our early episodes, and also celebrated what we did right, and what we've learned along the way.

This special edition covers all our podcasts from the introductory episode through Episode 6.  We were reminded how fortunate we have been to be able to interview wonderful guests from all four corners of the globe!

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In this episode, TPP interviews Dr. Jonathan Ong 🇦🇺, classical pianist, improviser, arranger, and Twitch streamer! With over 57,000 followers, 2.4 million views, and 3,500 hours of streaming time, Jonathan is ranked in the top 0.1% of all Twitch streamers and is among the world’s top Twitch music channels.  We had a great time talking to him about "digital busking," making it in a freelance economy, and the importance of a growth mindset.  Check out his Twitch channel 👾 https://twitch.tv/jonathanong

*Note: We had a lot of technical issues during the taping: Yukimi's computer crashed, and Eric forgot to plug in his good microphone! So sorry about the audio quality. We will do better in the future!

Stay tuned for an extra special episode of The Piano Pod in two weeks: TPP Happy Hour! See you then!

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Part 2 of 2.

In this episode, TPP interviews Frederic Chiu: international concert pianist, innovator, Yamaha Artist with over 30 recorded albums, creator of Deeper Performance Studies, and distinguished faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and The Hartt School.

Frederic generously went way over our typical interview length of 45 minutes, and it was hard for us to stop talking with him! A deeply philosophical musician, he offered his thoughts on how piano fits into the modern world, what it is like to be a bridge between vastly different cultures, and how he comes up with his innovative programs.

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Part 1 of 2.

In this episode, TPP interviews Frederic Chiu: international concert pianist, innovator, Yamaha Artist with over 30 recorded albums, creator of Deeper Performance Studies, and distinguished faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and The Hartt School.

Frederic generously went way over our typical interview length of 45 minutes, and it was hard for us to stop talking with him! A deeply philosophical musician, he offered his thoughts on how piano fits into the modern world, what it is like to be a bridge between vastly different cultures, and how he comes up with his innovative programs.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

In this episode, The Piano Pod interviews Andrew Ingkavet, owner of Park Slope Music Lessons, and founder and CEO of The Musicolor Method, an innovative piano method for young learners.

We discussed topics such as what is behind the Musicolor Method's philosophy and how Andrew drew on his multi-layered career to develop it. He also shared some practical tips for musicians and music teachers, including how he has been able to sustain his music studio in Brooklyn, NY, for all of his employees 100% during the pandemic! 

[The Musicolor Method 🌈 ] 

• 🌐 Website: https://www.musicolormethod.com/​ 
• 🏙Instagram @musicolormethod 
• 😃 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicolormethod​ 

[The Piano Pod 🎙] 

• 👉 Follow us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/thepianopodnyc🌲​ 
• 🎧 The audio version of all the episodes is available on major podcast platforms: https://linktr.ee/TPP2.0🌴
• Watch this episode on YouTube: 

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In this episode, The Piano Pod interviews Dr. Paolo Marchettini, a brilliant composer, clarinetist, and theory and composition professor at the Manhattan School of Music. He recently released an album, "The Months Have Ends," a compilation of his orchestral works. We talk to him about the new album, his compositional process and relationship with the piano, and growing up as a musician in Italy.

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In our very first live-streamed episode, The Piano Pod interviews Ray Mak (https://www.youtube.com/user/makhonkit), a Malaysian pop pianist and YouTube star. With over 300,000 subscribers to date, Ray has built a career around the incredible popularity of his solo piano covers. Ray tells us the story of his journey on YouTube from the beginning till now, offering a ton of helpful tips for those who are just starting out or looking to increase their views and subscribers.

 [Season 1 Episode 5: Live with Ray Mak!] 

00:00:00 Intro Music 

00:00:42 Intro 335

00:03:35 How Ray Met His Teacher, Clara (one of The Piano Pod's Co-Host)! 

00:06:00 Reaching 300K Subscribers 

00:06:50 Moving Location Changed the Algorithm of His YouTube Channel 

00:09:45 How Losing His Eyesight Shaped His Artistry as a Pianist 

00:15:19 How Ray Started Posting His Videos on YouTube 

00:21:55 Ray the Multi-Talented and Multilingual 

00:23:39 Becoming a Youtube Pianist by Accident? 

00:24:45 Making a Music Career on YouTube 

00:28:23 Your Imperfection is Perfect. 

00:31:12 Started Making $$ on YouTube 

00:34:19 Getting Sponsorship on YouTube 

00:37:01 Consistency and Persistence are the Keys 

00:40:42 How to Engage the Audience 

00:43:53 Responding to Haters with Love 

00:47:19 A Recipe to Make a Viral Video!?!? 

00:53:13 Covering/Posting Pop Songs--Dealing with Copyright 

00:56:25 The Pandemic Tripled the Viewership 

00:59:47 The Recording Equipment Recommendation 

01:06:47 The Name "Ray Mak" 

01:08:30 Two Key Successful Tips to Share 

01:13:08 What Inspires Ray and Stays Motivated 

[Ray Mak] 

👉 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/makhonkit 

👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raymakpiano 

👉 Instagram: @makhonkit 

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In this episode, The Piano Pod interviews Chantal Balestri, a brilliant young concert pianist, teacher, and festival organizer. Trained as a soloist in the European tradition, Chantal moved to NYC to study and develop her career as an internationally performing soloist and chamber musician. She successfully founded her own music festival in Fivizzano, Tuscany, and is a member of the Global Leaders community-building program. Now that the pandemic has turned the world upside down, Chantal has returned to her hometown in Italy, where she is making a new start.

[Season 1: Episode 4]

0:00:00 Intro

[Lunigiana International Music Festival]

[Chantal Balestri]

[The Piano Pod]

The goals of The Piano Pod are to examine the traditions of the piano and help expand what it is capable of in the modern era. To this end, each month we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the industry.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

One of the first videoconferencing platforms built from the ground up specifically for music lessons and performance, ROLL has the potential to change the way we do business. Mike explains the philosophy behind his software and describes the many features that differentiate it from competitors such as Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype.

[Season 1 Episode 3]

0:00:00 - Intro

[Rock Out Loud Live!]

▶️ To find out more about Rock Out Loud Live, 👉 https://ikilledzoom.com/

👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RockOutLoud/

[The Piano Pod]

👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Piano-Pod/

The goals of The Piano Pod are to examine the traditions of the piano and help expand what it is capable of in the modern era. To this end, each month we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the industry.

In case you missed the first episode of TPP, Dr. Jon Skidmore--Psychologist and Performance Coach, you can catch up HERE:

In case you missed the second episode of TPP, Vera Anselmo: How a Russian Pianist Developed One of NYC's Most Successful Non-Profits, you can catch up HERE: