Shows
All The ThingsMusic as a community practice w/ Jonathan RobertsChangemakers aren't always on the frontlines doing gruesome and backbreaking work.
Sometimes changemakers are piano teachers like my friend, Jonathan Roberts. Jonathan is the founder of South Shore Piano School. He is teaching and running his piano school his way - challenging the culture of high-brow, inaccessible music and creating a new culture that is fun and open for everyone.
Tune in to learn how Jonathan is turning the old ways of music on its head. (Spoiler alert: it includes holding two recitals a month!)
About the guest
Jonathan Rob...2021-11-0844 min
South Shore Piano023. Alison Barr, Independent Piano Teacher and Local Celebrity0:27 Introductions1:42 Alison shares her very beginnings in music.2:40 Alison shares her memories of those early piano lessons. 4:12 Alison reflects on the transition to lessons at the New England Conservatory prep school. 6:20 Alison shares what music meant to her childhood.8:26 Alison tells us the story of how she decided on a career in music.10:50 Alison shares her career path through school that led to her independent studio.13:15 How Alison puts the "I" in "independent."16:09 Alison reflects on how she first became involved with MTNA....2021-06-1829 minSouth Shore Piano022. Jad Kiriaki, Aspiring Pianist and Video Game Music Fan0:30 Introductions1:17 Jad answers a fun question.2:14 Jad reflects on this beginnings in music lessons.3:30 Jad explains what sustained him through the early "make it or break it" years of piano lessons.3:48 Jad shares his favorite types of music to lesson to and play. 5:14 Jad tells us how he approaches handling challenges in his music.6:00 Jad reflects on his passion for video game music.7:23 Jad shares what music has meant to him during the COVID-19 pandemic.8:41 Jad talks about how he sees music being p...2021-06-0711 minSouth Shore PianoEpisode 021. Gita Brown, Professional Musician and0:30 Introductions2:07 Gita shares her beginnings in music.6:00 Gita shares how she discovered yoga and meditation while in music school. 8:00 Gita tells us how she discovered her passion for teaching, leading to a certification in music therapy, which led to finding the intersection of teaching music and yoga, and yoga to musicians.10:15 Gita's reflection of how our teachers along the way make such a profound difference on our lives. 12:03 Gita reflects on how she meets students where they are when incorporating meditation concepts in lessons. (Most notably by not calling it...2021-06-0441 minSouth Shore Piano020. Hannah Benjamin, 11-Year-Old Music Lover and Aspiring Pianist0:30 Introductions1:02 Hannah answers a silly question. 1:56 Hannah shares her earliest memories of piano lessons.2:50 Hannah reflects on her first experience performing piano in public. 3:36 Hannah talks some of her challenges along the way, and how she enjoys challenges.4:33 Hannah shares more treasured memories of her music journey. 6:57 Hannah talks about her process for making up pieces.9:21 Hannah discusses how she tackles challenges in her music.11:47 Hannah shares her thought process for getting through repetitive process.12:30 Hannah reflects upon what music has mea...2021-05-2820 minSouth Shore Piano019. Kim Nguyen, Dentist, Adjunct Professor, and Adult Piano Student0:28 Introductions1:14 Kim shares what motivated her to start piano lessons a short year and a half ago.3:33 Kim tells us what led her to pursue dentistry.4:36 Kim reflects on how she has made steady progress over the past year, juggling work, life, and piano.6:10 Kim shares her experience at the outset of COVID, and how piano became an outlet.7:59 Kim discusses her experience performing virtually.10:32 Kim talks about how she has enjoyed Zoom lessons to the extent that it still feels like it's in person. 11:13 K...2021-05-1716 minSouth Shore Piano017. Isla Shovilin, Aspiring Pianist, Singer and Actress0:30 Introductions1:32 Isla answers a fun question.2:29 Isla discusses her beginnings in music.3:37 Isla talks about how she got started in acting.4:49 Isla reflects on the aspects she loves about acting.5:49 Isla talks about the overlaps between music and acting practice.6:27 Isla tells us about one of her inspirational figures on Broadway.8:02 Isla talks about how she handles challenges in music and acting.9:37 Isla digs further into untangling challenges.10:35 Isla reflects on what the arts have meant to her over the COVID-19...2021-05-1015 minSouth Shore Piano016. Rob Flax, Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer, and Educator0:27 Introductions3:10 Rob creates a tune out of thin air based on three random words from the Random Word Generator.6:25 Rob talks about what happens in his head when generating the awesomeness that just happened.12:10 Rob talks about the years of work that has gone into his ability to create spontaneous music like this.13:43 Rob shows us a game you can play to practice your free-style rapping.16:10 Rob talks about his beginnings in music.22:27 Rob discusses his chess background and how it plays into his music.31:50...2021-05-071h 08South Shore Piano015. Axel Peña, Aspiring Pianist and Violinist0:30 Introductions1:11 Axel answers a fun question.2:05 Axel tells us about his earliest memories playing music.4:48 Axel talks about how he enjoys playing music with other people, especially in harmony. 5:50 Axel talks about how he handles musical challenges.8:13 Axel reflects on what music has meant to him over the course of the COVID pandemic.9:57 Axel reflects on how music will likely be a part of his future.For more about how music is changing people's lives, check out https://southshorepianoschool.com!2021-05-0311 minSouth Shore Piano012. Dr. Anita Collins, Educator, Researcher, and Author of "The Music Advantage"0:29 Introductions2:00 Anita talks about her beginnings in music and the impact music had on her self-identity as a learner in addition to her reading ability. 6:07 Anita reflects on the other skills she developed as a child in the face of reading challenges.8:04 Anita discusses her original career track and how that evolved with time.11:00 Anita tells us the story of how her work teaching led to her research on music learning and cognitive development.15:38 Anita explains the three major areas that music learning develops in children and adults.2021-04-2359 minSouth Shore Piano011. William Kaplan, 12-Year-Old Aspiring Pianist and Creative0:28 Introductions1:40 William answers a fun question.2:28 William talks about his earliest memories with music.3:50 William discusses what it was like transitioning from playing around on the piano at home to formal weekly music lessons.4:35 William tells us his favorite types of music to listen to and play. 6:20 William talks about some of his favorite aspects of being a musician.7:16 William reflects on his experiences performing in public. 10:18 William tells us how he deals with and overcomes musical challenges.13:20 William talks about what music ha...2021-04-1919 minSouth Shore Piano008. Lisa Chin: Mother, Writer, and Coach0:18 Introduction1:38 Lisa explains how her work mothering mothers began.5:01 Lisa talks about her initial experiences asking the question "Who am I?", starting her journey of stepping into an inspired life.10:16 Lisa discusses the Western identity of motherhood, and the mindset of the martyr versus self-discovery.12:32 Lisa talks about the importance of self-awareness to children.16:54 Reflections on healthy trauma for children.20:28 Lisa talks about her work coaching mothers.27:00 Lisa discusses some of the changes she sees in mothers as they begin stepping into the world of...2021-04-0942 minSouth Shore Piano007. Brady McLoughlin, 11-Year-Old Creativity Machine0:30 Introduction2:20 Brady talks about his earliest memories creating music.3:54 Brady talks about the beginning of piano lessons. 4:54 Brady tells us how he deals with challenges, both in creating music and working on his piano music.8:38 Brady discusses his two YouTube channels.9:50 Brady talks about what music has meant to him during the COVID pandemic.10:54. Brady talks about his process for creating music in GarageBand.12:46 Brady shares his recommendations to people thinking about starting up with GarageBand.14:18 Brady talks about the possibilities of music i...2021-04-0515 minSouth Shore Piano005. Sophie Smith, 12-Year-Old Aspiring Pianist, Singer, and Creative0:25 Intro1:30 Sophie answers a silly question from Jonathan. 2:20 Sophie talks about her very first experiences in music.4:02 Sophie talks about some of her favorite music.5:30 Sophie tells us what has kept her going in music for the past seven years.8:37 Sophie reflects on how her learning has improved over the years.9:35 Sophie discusses her regular practice routine.10:35 Sophie talks about how she tackles difficult challenges in music.11:40 Sophie reflects on her musical experiences when she was very, very young.12:35 Sophie tells u...2021-03-2920 minSouth Shore Piano004. Kyle Wrentz and Healy Sammis, Co-Founders of Break a Leg Theater Works0:30 Introductions1:50 Kyle talks about the experiences he and Healy had with children's theater as kids and how that ultimately led to forming Break a Leg.3:30 Kyle and Healy discuss the impact children's theater had on their lives as kids.6:42 Kyle discusses his career path from high school to Break a Leg.7:47 Healy discusses her career path from high school to Break a Leg.8:46 Kyle explains how Break a Leg theater was started five years ago.12:26 Kyle talks about the variety of children that are part of their...2021-03-2639 minSouth Shore Piano003. Alexander Yi, Aspiring Pianist, Guitarist, and All-Around Creative0:26 Introduction0:47 Alex playing a cover by The Weekend.1:22 Alex talks about his beginnings in music.2:44 Alex talks about how his early experiences led to playing on a regular basis. 3:45 Alex talks about what inspires him to play. 4:29 Alex talks about what resonates with him in the music he loves. 5:10 Alex talks about his ongoing routine with music. 5:58 Alex talks about how he began learning video editing, delving into creativity, and more. 7:18 We discuss how Alex deals with musical challenges.7:50 Alex talks about...2021-03-2214 minSouth Shore Piano001. Travis Greenberg, Aspiring Pianist and Champion SailorIn this episode, Travis shares his practice routine and how he breaks down challenges in his practicing. In addition, Travis discusses is background as a champion sailor and the parallels between breaking down music challenges and sailing challenges. Travis also talks about what piano has meant to him and his family over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.Check out the video version on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbcOm8yHL3Wgsr86XBCXGQAAnd please join us on our website and other social media to learn more about how music becomes a...2021-03-1516 min