Oct. 5, 2026

The Sound of Gold with Tony Solomon

Show Notes
Transcript

Join me today in welcoming, Tony Solomon! He is the founder and event entertainment director of Fullhouse Entertainment Co. of theTreasurer Coast.

The Sound of Gold is broadcast live Mondays at 4PM ET / 1PM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). The Sound of Gold TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

The Sound of Gold Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-sound-of-gold--6696013/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:24.329
Hi welcome to the sound of music it is so

2
00:00:24.370 --> 00:00:27.390
good to be back here with you and we are

3
00:00:27.429 --> 00:00:31.160
broadcasting live on television and on radio so for those

4
00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:33.780
of us uh out there that can watch and see

5
00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:36.159
us great and for those of you that are listening

6
00:00:36.179 --> 00:00:39.719
in thank you as well and it is monday here

7
00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:42.960
presently uh when we're as we're broadcasting and if you're

8
00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:47.299
watching this today or you're watching this replay um either

9
00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:50.210
way you're getting the best of the show and um

10
00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.969
Today is a very special day. And not only am

11
00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:58.289
I here with you, it is my birthday. And I'm

12
00:00:58.329 --> 00:01:00.250
not giving away my age, but I have been playing

13
00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:02.750
piano for over 45 years, and I'll leave it at that.

14
00:01:03.490 --> 00:01:06.750
And I would love to play some piano for you,

15
00:01:07.090 --> 00:01:11.680
as I usually do, and a little birthday medley. Before

16
00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:14.879
I get to that, however, I wanted to mention, I

17
00:01:15.060 --> 00:01:20.879
wanted to share some ideas with you that I think

18
00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:24.459
help as we move along in life. I have relatives

19
00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:27.840
that are in their nineties. I have piano students that

20
00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:31.269
are in their nineties and seventies. And you know what?

21
00:01:31.810 --> 00:01:34.709
I think the older we get, at least for me,

22
00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:38.829
I love getting older and I find that age is

23
00:01:38.870 --> 00:01:41.109
a gift, right? There's so many of us out there

24
00:01:41.129 --> 00:01:43.890
that I hear, Oh, you know, it's miserable getting older,

25
00:01:44.390 --> 00:01:47.019
but I don't know. Maybe I'm just the strange one,

26
00:01:47.090 --> 00:01:50.790
but I love getting older and I love, I love

27
00:01:51.469 --> 00:01:56.340
life and I love music and I love the harmony

28
00:01:56.420 --> 00:01:59.799
and the melody and, and just all of it coming

29
00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:03.379
together and music unites us. And so it's truly is

30
00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:07.010
a gift to have this show and to focus on

31
00:02:07.049 --> 00:02:11.189
music and to share my birthday with you. And yeah,

32
00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.199
we keep going and we inspire each other. And so

33
00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:17.400
before I bring on my very special guest, Oh, one

34
00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:20.120
more thing. My mom, I saw her, my mom, thank God.

35
00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:22.780
And she gave me as a gift. I had to

36
00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:26.580
wear it. She bought me this beautiful necklace and I'm not,

37
00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:29.590
I'm not like showing off the necklace to say, Oh,

38
00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:32.789
look at me. I'm showing this off to say, check

39
00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:36.349
this out. This is piano. These are piano strings. I mean,

40
00:02:36.430 --> 00:02:39.629
how creative can you get? It's a beautiful necklace. And

41
00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:43.379
I was just so impressed with my mom's pick or gifts.

42
00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:46.599
And thank you, mom. I don't know where she got

43
00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:51.870
it other than a private seller, I guess, at a market.

44
00:02:52.909 --> 00:02:53.330
Very cool.

45
00:02:53.770 --> 00:02:57.370
Sit back, relax. It's Monday and whatever day you're watching

46
00:02:57.389 --> 00:03:02.229
the replay, it's that day. And just take a couple minutes,

47
00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:06.189
take a breath and just join me in a little

48
00:03:06.610 --> 00:03:10.960
life celebration of being in the day today and my

49
00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:11.250
day too.

50
00:03:21.289 --> 00:04:01.439
So so Â© transcript Emily Beynon.

51
00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:53.019
Today is October 5th, and welcome to my show. If

52
00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.180
you've been here before, you know the focus is on

53
00:04:55.220 --> 00:05:00.500
music and how important it is in our lives. And

54
00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:03.500
if you are a musician, if you're thinking about getting

55
00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.899
involved in learning an instrument, if you just like sitting

56
00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:12.060
back and listening to music, we all connect. No matter

57
00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:17.259
what level we're at, we all connect through music. And today,

58
00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:21.220
as every week, I'm so blessed with so many wonderful

59
00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:26.550
connections and so many beautiful guests. Today, I'm so excited

60
00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:31.480
to welcome Mr. Tony Solomon. from South Florida. Tony, I

61
00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:36.360
know you're behind the scenes. Come out and join me, please.

62
00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.660
Hey, how are you there? And happy birthday to you, Lisa.

63
00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:41.720
Thank you.

64
00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:46.370
It's fantastic celebrating your personal holiday, and I'd like to.

65
00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:48.050
Play a little piano for you real quick.

66
00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:48.550
Okay.

67
00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:09.209
Happy birthday.

68
00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:10.230
I love it.

69
00:06:10.310 --> 00:06:11.810
Thank you. Thank you.

70
00:06:11.850 --> 00:06:12.129
Thank you.

71
00:06:12.209 --> 00:06:12.560
I love it.

72
00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:13.490
All that jazz.

73
00:06:14.089 --> 00:06:14.430
Yes.

74
00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:15.329
Yes. Yes.

75
00:06:15.389 --> 00:06:16.050
Good to be here.

76
00:06:16.610 --> 00:06:16.949
Yes.

77
00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:22.050
You know, Tony, we we have common friends, mutual friends,

78
00:06:22.149 --> 00:06:26.709
and we haven't met before today. And it's such a

79
00:06:26.750 --> 00:06:29.439
privilege to have you on the show because you have

80
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:33.420
such a huge reputation. I don't know that you know that,

81
00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.600
but you are so well known here in South Florida

82
00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:40.029
and And before I get into like asking the questions

83
00:06:40.069 --> 00:06:43.420
that I have for you, please share with the audience

84
00:06:43.449 --> 00:06:46.879
a little bit about who you are and what you're

85
00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.699
doing right now with your life.

86
00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:50.560
Okay.

87
00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:55.620
Well, that's an easy one because as complex as it

88
00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:59.819
may seem from the outside, it really boils down to

89
00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:00.240
one thing.

90
00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:01.680
I do all things music.

91
00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:06.500
The thing is, is that I differentiate my studio life

92
00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.899
from my performance life. So in the past, I've been

93
00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:15.490
known to travel the world playing internationally for B-listers, Brian

94
00:07:15.509 --> 00:07:22.009
McKnight and Nessa Williams and other notables from my era.

95
00:07:22.529 --> 00:07:24.949
They were relevant and they're relevant to me too, because

96
00:07:24.970 --> 00:07:28.350
some of the lessons that I've learned from working from

97
00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:32.649
such professionals is indelible in my mind. And what I've

98
00:07:32.709 --> 00:07:35.670
done is I've taken those skills that I've learned for

99
00:07:35.709 --> 00:07:40.209
playing with and for and like a Copeland Davis, which

100
00:07:40.269 --> 00:07:44.480
is a local boy done good. He's my musical mentor.

101
00:07:44.500 --> 00:07:46.040
That's the one that bit me if it was a

102
00:07:46.060 --> 00:07:50.279
vampire story. It gave me the bug. But the thing is,

103
00:07:50.339 --> 00:07:56.939
is that I take those experiences and different journeys and

104
00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:01.350
I bring them into a view of younger people so

105
00:08:01.389 --> 00:08:03.500
they can get some of the exposure that I was

106
00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:06.980
blessed to get. And it's almost a pay it forward

107
00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.819
type thing. So the hats that I wear, Lisa, I'm

108
00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:17.199
a music instructor. I have a music boutique academy here.

109
00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:22.629
And we teach differently and different things than you would

110
00:08:22.649 --> 00:08:25.430
think of. Or what I even would think of my

111
00:08:25.449 --> 00:08:29.490
piano teacher, who actually founded the Stuart School of Music, Joanne.

112
00:08:29.170 --> 00:08:33.919
Grosso, The thing is, I teach keys, not piano. It's

113
00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:34.559
the difference.

114
00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:37.720
There's a different way to do synth and piano. I'm

115
00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:39.799
not a piano player. I can make it sound like

116
00:08:39.899 --> 00:08:43.200
I am, but a pianist would be like, he's a keyboardist.

117
00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.639
So I teach, they know. So I teach keyboards. I

118
00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:51.039
teach drums. I teach production and how to make music.

119
00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:55.100
And I teach vocals. I teach DJing, if I haven't

120
00:08:55.139 --> 00:09:00.700
said that. And I also teach film scoring. So You

121
00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:04.139
find yourself not seeing a whole lot of that type

122
00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:07.370
of action. And instead of me teaching just notes, I

123
00:09:07.409 --> 00:09:11.149
pride myself on teaching not only the notes, but a

124
00:09:11.210 --> 00:09:14.190
hybrid form where I teach how to play by ear

125
00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:18.509
because that's organically how you get music. I have to

126
00:09:18.549 --> 00:09:22.220
tell you something and I'm sorry, the run on sentences,

127
00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:26.240
but I'm so excited. I just came back from doing

128
00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:30.009
some work in Canada and, um, When I was there,

129
00:09:30.029 --> 00:09:32.269
I saw a music.

130
00:09:32.009 --> 00:09:34.929
Store and I had to stop and just- Of course.

131
00:09:35.389 --> 00:09:37.889
So when I stopped in, I went and tested out

132
00:09:37.929 --> 00:09:40.879
some pianos and played whatever, like I was when I

133
00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.440
was 12. And there was a little kid and the

134
00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.000
kid was looking at me play keyboards. And then I

135
00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:49.320
got up and I said, your turn. And he went

136
00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:51.899
over to the piano and he says, I take piano lessons.

137
00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.559
And I was like, great. So I was waiting for

138
00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:55.019
a show.

139
00:09:55.610 --> 00:09:58.389
And he sat down and he thought about the fact

140
00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:00.860
that he didn't have his sheet music. And he didn't have,

141
00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.720
he says, and this is actually my latest prompt on

142
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:10.399
my Full House Music Studios website. He says, I can't,

143
00:10:10.580 --> 00:10:12.980
I don't, he says, I don't have my book. And

144
00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:15.539
I said, well, just play what's in your heart. And,

145
00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.889
you know, based on what you have knowledge of. And

146
00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:21.590
he says, when I don't have my book, I don't

147
00:10:21.629 --> 00:10:24.590
want to play. And I said, why not? He says,

148
00:10:24.649 --> 00:10:27.129
because I don't know what to do. And that is

149
00:10:27.230 --> 00:10:31.350
exactly why I teach the way I teach. Because generally speaking,

150
00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:35.950
that is 98% of what people's reaction would be if

151
00:10:36.009 --> 00:10:38.990
put on the spot to actually play a song based

152
00:10:39.110 --> 00:10:41.129
on additional teachings.

153
00:10:41.610 --> 00:10:43.149
And the thing is, as I always said, I'm never

154
00:10:43.169 --> 00:10:47.789
going to teach the way I was taught. Amen. Yeah,

155
00:10:47.929 --> 00:10:50.509
there's growth in being creative yourself.

156
00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:51.889
Yes.

157
00:10:52.149 --> 00:10:55.000
That's just a little bit of what happens musically.

158
00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:59.200
The second hat I wear is that I have an

159
00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:04.039
entertainment agency. We have 20 black bands. We have 47 DJs.

160
00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:08.450
We have an Indian wedding elephant. We have quinceanera tigers.

161
00:11:08.529 --> 00:11:12.370
We have all the good stuff, like acrobatics. So we

162
00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:15.840
make it so that we can elevate a curated experience

163
00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:20.539
as opposed to, hi, anybody know or cheat DJ? We're

164
00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:25.419
not that guy, but we make experiences for our clients.

165
00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.759
And the last thing I do is I am IMDB

166
00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:35.490
certified for filming. So I do independent movies for Netflix,

167
00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:40.129
Amazon Prime, Tubi, Fossum, a little bit of everything that way.

168
00:11:40.570 --> 00:11:45.769
No, we'll have to talk after. I want, there's so

169
00:11:45.789 --> 00:11:49.090
much I want to ask you. Let's, before I ask

170
00:11:49.129 --> 00:11:51.769
all these questions, let's go back. Let's go back to

171
00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:55.470
when Tony was growing up. What was your, who influenced you?

172
00:11:55.610 --> 00:11:58.269
What was your influence? Where, when did you start? How

173
00:11:58.289 --> 00:11:59.570
did you start with music?

174
00:12:00.450 --> 00:12:03.450
So that's kind of a colorful story and I'll try

175
00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:07.490
to make it more brief than it was because I'm.

176
00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:09.330
Old and that's a long time ago. That's a lot

177
00:12:09.370 --> 00:12:12.309
to be done. So The thing is, is that I

178
00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:16.009
started playing or taking lessons, I should say, when I

179
00:12:16.029 --> 00:12:20.139
was five years old. Me too. Yep, you as well.

180
00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:20.860
Good stuff.

181
00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:25.659
Actually, I started from the aforementioned Joanne Grasso.

182
00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:29.419
She would give me piano lessons in the morning.

183
00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:32.330
And like a second mother, she would take me on

184
00:12:32.419 --> 00:12:34.850
to whatever grade I was in to school.

185
00:12:35.830 --> 00:12:37.169
And that kept happening.

186
00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:42.129
And I didn't like the practice aspect of things, neither

187
00:12:42.149 --> 00:12:45.970
did you. No one really enjoyed that. So I was

188
00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:51.730
given a choice to either taste the lick of the

189
00:12:51.809 --> 00:12:57.149
spoon or to practice. And I took, hey, listen, let

190
00:12:57.190 --> 00:13:00.590
me quit. I'll take a whipping. And I ended up

191
00:13:00.629 --> 00:13:04.210
getting the bonus plan. So I got both of them.

192
00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.960
So we did that. And then MTV came out and

193
00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.450
it was like, cool to be a musician. I was like,

194
00:13:13.850 --> 00:13:17.250
there's some gold in them heels because girls like musicians.

195
00:13:17.330 --> 00:13:19.570
And I was like, this might be a good place

196
00:13:19.590 --> 00:13:21.590
for me to be. So what I would do is

197
00:13:21.629 --> 00:13:23.149
I would take, and on top of that, I was

198
00:13:23.190 --> 00:13:27.769
always kind of a business minded type person in the

199
00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:29.779
sense of if I have something that I can sell,

200
00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:32.200
whether it be cutting your grass or painting your fence

201
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.919
for a Montessori school, I needed to do something to

202
00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.419
get my hustle up. So what I would do is

203
00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:40.200
take those piano lessons that were $ 8 a half hour

204
00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.700
from Joanne, turn around and sell them back to the

205
00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:46.159
bus drivers that couldn't afford it for five.

206
00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:49.419
And that way I started my own. I started teaching

207
00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:50.519
when I was 12.

208
00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:51.220
Good for you.

209
00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:54.159
And right around then is when I met Copeland Davis

210
00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:57.179
here in Stewart at the Foxfire Lounge.

211
00:13:57.580 --> 00:13:59.590
Yes. goes way back.

212
00:13:59.649 --> 00:14:02.090
And that's, like I said, he's the one that, that,

213
00:14:02.169 --> 00:14:04.490
that gave me the bug to do this professionally.

214
00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:08.629
Copeland Davis. I, I don't think I've met personally. However,

215
00:14:09.190 --> 00:14:11.889
Avery Summers is a very dear friend of mine for

216
00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:15.860
over 10, 15 years. And she's very, she works very

217
00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:18.299
close with Copeland Davis. I don't know if you know Avery.

218
00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:21.279
I've heard the name before. She's a South girl.

219
00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:22.100
Yes.

220
00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:22.379
Yes.

221
00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:25.539
And she has a voice. I mean, just one of

222
00:14:25.580 --> 00:14:28.840
a kind. She is just so blessed. And I'm so

223
00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:33.250
blessed to call her my friend and dear friend. But yes,

224
00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:38.309
Copeland Davis is, gosh, he's so well-known and so gifted

225
00:14:38.350 --> 00:14:41.289
at what he does and such a gift to everyone

226
00:14:41.309 --> 00:14:42.330
that gets to listen to him.

227
00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:44.169
100%. Yeah.

228
00:14:45.250 --> 00:14:46.649
I'm sorry, were you going to say something?

229
00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:50.690
I was going to say, to give him his flowers,

230
00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:54.450
Copeland not only wrote for the Fifth Dimension and other

231
00:14:54.789 --> 00:14:58.429
popular groups of his time, and did all the Philharmonics

232
00:14:58.450 --> 00:15:00.690
and all that kind of stuff as a pianist. But

233
00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:04.809
he came to little ball-headed 12 year old middle to

234
00:15:04.850 --> 00:15:10.029
low income Tony's house in his Rolls Royce on my

235
00:15:10.070 --> 00:15:14.149
12th birthday. Speaking of birthdays, we're talking about birthdays. On

236
00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:17.250
my 12th birthday, he knew when it was. He pulls

237
00:15:17.330 --> 00:15:19.750
up and the neighbors are like, what is this Rolls

238
00:15:19.789 --> 00:15:21.490
Royce doing? And who's in that car?

239
00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:25.700
Comes up, comes into my house. He says, happy birthday.

240
00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:30.870
And he comes to my house and he hands me

241
00:15:31.169 --> 00:15:37.750
a plastic music stand. And I'm just touched because you

242
00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:40.980
can't stand on anything. I was just, you gave me

243
00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:42.559
something you knew my birthday was.

244
00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:43.940
Oh, how sweet.

245
00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.519
Well, it was sweet of him, but it was also

246
00:15:47.029 --> 00:15:49.620
something that made him know that I wasn't that bright

247
00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:51.399
because he says, you're about as dumb as you look

248
00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.220
because there's more to that than that stand.

249
00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:56.139
Come out of the car.

250
00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.120
And he came out to the, he took me out

251
00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:00.100
of the house to the car. He says, this is

252
00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:03.039
what it goes to. And he gave me a Stevie Wonder,

253
00:16:03.059 --> 00:16:08.279
Hannah Clavinet D6 key, my first professional keyboard. And that

254
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:10.850
was the stand that goes to it. So he's not

255
00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:14.889
just an awesome, awesome musician, but he's an awesome person.

256
00:16:15.419 --> 00:16:19.190
He's a humanitarian. He's just a good man.

257
00:16:19.250 --> 00:16:21.190
Yeah. 100%. I just had to say that.

258
00:16:21.629 --> 00:16:24.730
Yeah, I love that. I love that. Now, for our

259
00:16:24.769 --> 00:16:27.860
listeners out there, whether our listeners are piano players or

260
00:16:27.909 --> 00:16:31.860
play other instruments, to me, I'm partial. I love the piano.

261
00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.759
I play guitar. I play violin. The piano, and I've

262
00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:38.340
taught for over 20 years, to me, it's just literally

263
00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:42.210
black and white and just the easiest instrument to learn on.

264
00:16:42.629 --> 00:16:42.940
I do, too.

265
00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:46.610
So I have my way of teaching and I have,

266
00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:50.230
I teach more or less. I tell my kids, kids

267
00:16:50.250 --> 00:16:51.669
that are starting out, if you're going to start on

268
00:16:51.690 --> 00:16:55.230
the keyboards, you know, don't make the huge investment until,

269
00:16:55.730 --> 00:16:58.750
you know, you're in it for a little while, but

270
00:16:58.850 --> 00:16:59.990
actually I say that to the parents.

271
00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:00.570
Not the kids.

272
00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:04.710
And, and, you know, it's a gift that keeps on

273
00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:09.329
giving when, when there's an investment in the student, in

274
00:17:09.369 --> 00:17:14.420
a child, even adults, even today, I had my oldest

275
00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:16.960
student and I always brag about her. She's 95. Yeah.

276
00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:22.349
I went to her, her home and she, she doesn't

277
00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.450
live in an assisted place, but she lives in a

278
00:17:24.490 --> 00:17:28.369
senior facility and they have their little apartments and you

279
00:17:28.410 --> 00:17:31.170
walk in and there's her baby grand, you know, and she's,

280
00:17:31.529 --> 00:17:34.839
she just plays in the, I guess just the regular

281
00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:38.660
standards and she's happy doing that. And today she's like, okay,

282
00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.599
I want to jump to the Christmas music. I go, okay,

283
00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:44.660
whatever you want at 95, I'm not going to argue.

284
00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:49.980
But I want to get into a little bit more

285
00:17:50.339 --> 00:17:54.839
into the idea of your approach for teaching, because I

286
00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:58.910
think perception of people that are thinking about getting involved

287
00:17:58.990 --> 00:18:01.990
with learning an instrument, no matter whether it's piano or

288
00:18:02.069 --> 00:18:06.150
something else, um, They're afraid sometimes to make the first step.

289
00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:08.990
But if you and I kind of ricochet off of

290
00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:13.160
each other and kind of give the invitation to say, hey,

291
00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:15.559
this is kind of like what you step into when

292
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.759
you start taking lessons, because it's not like you come in,

293
00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:21.670
you learn, you know, microwave. It's done in five minutes

294
00:18:21.769 --> 00:18:23.670
and you can sit down and eat it. You know,

295
00:18:23.789 --> 00:18:26.410
it's we break it down. And I would love to

296
00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:29.250
hear a little bit of your perception as to how

297
00:18:29.289 --> 00:18:33.480
you go about learning. Teaching, whether it's a beginner student

298
00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.329
or an advanced student. What's your take on it?

299
00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:39.930
Fantastic. Thank you for that question.

300
00:18:40.390 --> 00:18:40.849
Yeah.

301
00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:46.069
And basically what I do before anything, before there's an instrument,

302
00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:49.630
is I want to know little Heather and little Hunter

303
00:18:49.829 --> 00:18:52.640
and find out what makes them tick. And then we

304
00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:55.839
turn our backs to anything that's instruments. So that way

305
00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:59.180
it takes the intimidation away. And now it's just Coach Tony,

306
00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:02.970
which is my name. um, professionally is coach Tony. And

307
00:19:03.109 --> 00:19:05.150
I'm just talking to you and I'm having a conversation

308
00:19:05.190 --> 00:19:08.640
and my conversation would sound like, all right, Lisa, um,

309
00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:10.480
you're here in regards to music.

310
00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:11.180
I like that.

311
00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:14.140
I love music, all different types, but it doesn't matter

312
00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.799
what I like. And that's the first thing that disarms

313
00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:21.400
them is because generally most traditional teachers without, uh, offending anyone,

314
00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:26.019
but I know been one, I've seen that with the

315
00:19:26.059 --> 00:19:28.279
air of my ways, But the thing is, is that

316
00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:33.000
they're about Bastion and the Red Book and that type

317
00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:36.559
of thing. It can be intimidating for me. I'm not

318
00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:38.380
even making it about what I want to do because

319
00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:41.269
it doesn't ultimately matter what I want to do. What

320
00:19:41.509 --> 00:19:44.150
matters is what Heather and Hunter want to do. What

321
00:19:44.190 --> 00:19:49.410
listening patterns and passions and artists and types of genres

322
00:19:49.470 --> 00:19:52.640
that you like. what are you into? And then when

323
00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:56.519
they tell me, invariably, it'll be something that's pop, which

324
00:19:56.579 --> 00:19:59.190
is going to be four chords. So without them seeing me,

325
00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:04.390
I'm like a big, because it's, that stuff is just

326
00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:09.069
based on redundancy and four chords. So nothing too hard

327
00:20:09.089 --> 00:20:13.400
to tackle. individually, and then nothing to tackle as a

328
00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:17.079
group learning. So what I do, I'll let them pick three.

329
00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:19.400
That's my homework for every student. I don't care if

330
00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:21.960
it's my youngest, which is three, and my oldest is

331
00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:25.829
almost as old as your oldest. Mine is 89 years

332
00:20:25.930 --> 00:20:30.069
old as my oldest. She just learned jazz, yes. And

333
00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:36.269
she's also in an ALF type situation. So at any rate, yeah,

334
00:20:36.289 --> 00:20:39.190
for sure, 100%. And they always have an audience, a

335
00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:43.950
captive audience. So the thing is, is I'll ask for

336
00:20:43.990 --> 00:20:46.539
three songs and I'll be like, Hey, you got, you know,

337
00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:48.519
give them the free consultation. When you come back and

338
00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:50.640
see me on our weekly, I want to know those

339
00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:52.559
three songs that you're interested in learning.

340
00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.039
Let me worry about the difficulty.

341
00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:58.339
Let me worry about the instrumentation, but coach, it's a

342
00:20:58.380 --> 00:21:00.480
guitar song, Jimmy crack corn.

343
00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:01.400
And I don't care.

344
00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:03.599
I just want to know what that song is to

345
00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:06.519
you that you like and whatever it is, we're going

346
00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:08.720
to learn it. Whether it's, you know, back in the

347
00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:12.190
days of let it go, Disney or whether it's Olivia

348
00:21:12.230 --> 00:21:14.289
Rodrigo now or whatever.

349
00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:16.670
So that's how I approach.

350
00:21:16.789 --> 00:21:19.250
And then what we do is we take a listen

351
00:21:19.289 --> 00:21:19.869
to the song.

352
00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:22.470
And what I want to do is show them how

353
00:21:23.529 --> 00:21:23.930
I work.

354
00:21:24.269 --> 00:21:27.339
And for me, I don't have perfect pitch, but I

355
00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:31.440
do have a, I guess a gift of being able

356
00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:35.359
to discern musically what's going to come next. So I

357
00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:38.160
can kind of hear something once and I'm that guy

358
00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:40.640
that can sit and like, give you a rendition that

359
00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:40.980
makes it.

360
00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:43.440
So at least it's recognizable. Yes.

361
00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:47.460
If not spot on. So the thing is, is I'll

362
00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:50.480
do that and I'll take their little tune. I'll play

363
00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:52.529
it on YouTube. Cause I have like three or four

364
00:21:52.569 --> 00:21:54.289
screens that you don't see on that side of the

365
00:21:54.309 --> 00:21:57.849
camera and play it over here. And then I'll run

366
00:21:57.930 --> 00:22:01.250
over to the piano and I'll meet out whatever it is.

367
00:22:01.789 --> 00:22:03.930
And then I'll tell that, that, that, that, that, and

368
00:22:03.970 --> 00:22:05.750
then I'll show them how they can do it. And

369
00:22:05.789 --> 00:22:09.299
the thing is, is that, and I haven't really, excuse me,

370
00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.700
considered doing anything more scholastic or book-wise, but I could

371
00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:16.170
kind of write you a synopsis on how.

372
00:22:16.170 --> 00:22:17.109
Everybody can do it.

373
00:22:17.230 --> 00:22:22.210
Bobby McFerrin, if you Google him at MIT, he's not

374
00:22:22.250 --> 00:22:26.190
only a musician, but a very, very heady and lofty

375
00:22:26.430 --> 00:22:31.140
musical instructor as a professor. And he believes that everybody

376
00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:37.059
is born with the pentatonic skill embedded. And he has

377
00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:40.440
a video of that, a clip, and I used it.

378
00:22:40.569 --> 00:22:43.569
I've been using it for the last probably 21 years now.

379
00:22:43.990 --> 00:22:45.789
But the thing is, I believe that. And I can

380
00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:48.650
play just about anything I hear if I slow it

381
00:22:48.690 --> 00:22:51.329
down and I learn the notes chromatically.

382
00:22:51.609 --> 00:22:54.759
It's either too high or too low. And you just

383
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:57.859
and that it sounds simplified because it really is.

384
00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:02.220
But I challenge anyone to challenge me with being able

385
00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:03.859
to play whatever it is.

386
00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:06.839
While using that methodology.

387
00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:10.160
I love it. And please share, share again, um, for

388
00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:14.079
our audience, if they want to find the YouTube video, um,

389
00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:17.529
what is the name? You don't have to share the specific.

390
00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:19.049
I'm going to look at that. Oh, okay.

391
00:23:19.190 --> 00:23:21.809
I'm just, well, Bobby McFerrin M at MIT.

392
00:23:22.250 --> 00:23:26.650
Right. Um, I've seen some of his videos and he's also, um,

393
00:23:26.829 --> 00:23:29.490
another one. Yeah. I see his face. In fact, I

394
00:23:29.529 --> 00:23:34.019
listened to him last night. Um, uh, gosh, I, um,

395
00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:39.170
He's a young gentleman from England. I know, I'm sure

396
00:23:39.210 --> 00:23:44.980

The Sound of Gold with Tony Solomon

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes