S2 E14: The Piano Pod Team, Yukimi Song & Clara Zhang, Episode!

You're listening to The Piano Pod, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century. Welcome back to The Piano Pod with Clara Zhang.

Hi everyone, I'm Yukimi Song.

For anyone listening or watching our show for the first time, welcome! Yukimi and I are both classical pianists and piano teachers from New York This podcast is for anyone who plays the piano for fun, loves listening to piano music, or for someone who is currently pursuing a career in piano or works in the industry professionally, or anyone who is simply curious about the world of piano music.

In each episode, we interview a guest speaker who has been breaking exciting new ground in the music industry. Before getting started, we want to thank thank our listeners for tuning in today. Please rate our show or review on Apple Podcasts because every rating review will help people find our show.

So this episode is about us, the Piano Pod. Uh, we are going to talk about why we started, where we are now, where we are going to want to go. You know, Yukimi had a brilliant idea, uh, summer of 2020, when, when the pandemic first started, and she approached me and, you know, former co-host Eric, and it was like, you know, we should do this podcast together. And the first guest was a musical psychologist, and it was amazing experience. So I thought to myself, well, you know, I love podcasts. I, especially before the pandemic when I was traveling a lot, I you know, that's what I listen to when I'm commuting, that's what I listen to when I'm working out. It's like, you know, just something that I just listen to all the time. And so I love the concept of the podcast, and also it's, you know, I realize it's kind of a positive way of bringing the community, you know. For me, I always want to bring positivity into the classical music world. So yeah, that's how, you know, we got started. And Yukimi, what about yours? I know you have huge goals.

Yeah, I think in the previous set, um, interview or episode I mentioned, so there was this one professor approached me. We had a lunch together because of some sort of, uh, meeting, and he's like, you know, your background is communications, and have you heard of podcasting. I'm like, uh, I don't think so. That was back in 2007, so I was still using iPod. Remember iPod? Not before— that's before smartphones. So podcasting, okay, that's interesting, but I wasn't— I was not in the right place at the right time. Not yet. So, but that had been back of my mind, and then around that time I brought this idea to you guys podcasting already was the thing, right? It still is a thing and it's growing. And I didn't realize how much of an impact that we can give to the audience. You know, radio show, we— I used to listen to radio, and radio shows are hosted by professional radio hosts who've been doing this in the industry of entertainment for a long time. But podcasting is for anyone. You can do it. You can do it. Anyone can do it. Oh, by the way, so toward the end of this episode, we want to show you how to start a podcast. 5 simple ways to start the podcast. So, uh, just stay with us.

That's right.

Anyway, so that's the reason. And then one biggest reason that— reasons that I wanted to start the podcast was probably from teaching.

Mm.

So before I came to New York, I was teaching in college. When you're teaching in college and college-level students, it doesn't matter what they are going to become afterward. They may become music therapists, they may become, you know, go to other directions in their lives, but their mindset was already there. But I didn't realize that until I came to New York and started teaching young children that there was this misunderstanding, miscommunication.

Sure.

Or disconnect between me as an educator, but particularly as a pianist, and the market.

Yeah.

The way they think of piano is like, oh, everything is so comfortable and easy and la la la la la, right? As opposed to we pianists, we practice all the time. We don't even have time for anything else. And not even then, so play this, you know, etude in certain tempo, that's really challenging still, right? And then so that really got me. And some of the parents of the students have huge misunderstanding of learning experience.

Sure.

And I thought I needed to do something, but I was— I just felt like I was a little guy at that time. And also I needed to establish my life in New York, so I couldn't dare to say— I could dare to say no or No, that's not how it's supposed to, but I just let them have it because I just did not know how to communicate and I did not know how to set the boundary. So now that I am, you know, grown-up woman and I have more experiences, so I wanted to use this platform to figure out where does this disconnect come from. And, you know, I wasn't teaching, so somebody who wasn't educated. Actually, matter of fact, you know, downtown Manhattan, I was teaching, they are all educated people from very famous Ivy League, you know, graduates from Ivy Leagues, and then they would say something horrendous, right? And I was just— so then when they see classical pianist or classical piano, Or do they even listen to classical music? Do they even know what this piano lesson would bring? I don't know. And I really appreciate them for bringing their kids to lessons, but they have no clue what it takes. So that's the start. Sorry, it's a little long.

Oh, nothing to apologize. No, it's actually— I am learning certain new ideas from you, even just from this talk. I mean, I think that was the main thing for me as well. I obviously am, for those audience that has been following, I'm a talker. I love communication. I have been sort of this personality, I guess, growing up that I was always sort of very bright and bubbly, and I'm not shy of speaking up. I was always into public speaking and motivational speeches also, you know, I have been in that world for a long time. So, but sometimes I do feel like it's also important, you know, like for, so for my personality, like for some people, if they need to solve some problems, they journal, you know, they write things out. For me, it's like I kind of have to speak up and then these sentences I speak sometimes get all the clues together, and then I understand, you know. So I really appreciate your sharing of that, and I had similar, you know, experiences, not exactly the same. I would say that I think for me the challenging thing was always how, as a teacher, I believe that I always want to find this the light, you know, the positive light. And which I'm sure myself struggled as well when I was younger. You know, I started training pretty young, just, you know, all of us. And I went to the conservatory pretty young, but at some point early on, I started to— like, I never had the idea of— like, I was very sure that I was going to be a pianist from very beginning, but it was always this Why, you know, like, why do I keep on going? You know, why do I love it? And I'm always asking why, and it's kind of leading me to places. And I see that some of my two, you know, very young students now are teenagers, and they're still, uh, disciplined. You know, they are still practicing, and despite, you know, they would say a lot of their friends have already stopped, and, and they are not, you know, practicing hours, hours, but they want to continue on. And it's also the why, you know. So I think, and even class, you know, professional musicians like friends of ours, sometimes when we keep on going, working so hard, there's always this why that I, you know. So I think the podcast also gave us a chance to connect with so many musicians or pianists worldwide to ask their whys. So I think that's been A very good—

Sure. And I also wanted to connect the classical musicians to the audience, as in audience of the podcast, but also literally like parents of the students I dealt with, or I used to deal with. Like, this is what it takes, this is their story. But also, I also want the classical pianists to realize you have to come out of your own world to reach out to the audience. They have no clue, but if you tell them or teach them or demonstrate them in such a way that there are so many opportunities down the road of performance, but you can't— you have to engage them, you have to engage with your audience. Right? That's kind of an "it" word or sentence these days, engaging an audience. So yeah, that's what I realized. And that's the reason why I wanted to do. I think it's the both sides. I think before pandemic, everybody was in a very comfortable place, got used to that comfort zone. Pandemic taught us, like, you got to come out of your comfort zone and reach out more people and communicate and create, start creating more, much, you know, meaningful relationship or much bigger community. That's what I felt.

Absolutely.

Yeah. So what do you think about all the guests we invited so far? I mean, we have actually quite a roster of—

Well, I mean, so many, right? So many of our guests that we really just met via social media, which is something I feel that's kind of new, you know, for— and I, again, sometimes I do get, you know, trapped into this. I have this idea that classical musicians were a little more— we're a little old-fashioned, you know, like we like to hide in the practice room, just practice. And but I think through this journey of podcasting and connecting with our audience and I mean, even just the most recent episode with Constantini, you know, with Claudia Constantini. Yeah, that's right. And he's showing us his Bourdonian, right? And The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Yukimi Song. That's quite cool. And the Black Box, that's definitely a fun episode, especially when we were able to connect with Ray, you know, Ray Mack. And so, but again, but so many. And the, the new episode that's coming up this coming Monday with Dr. Nootkin from NYU— oh my gosh, I was so honored to have her, to, to have a chance to speak to her. And so, yeah, what about you? What do you think?

Yeah, I think so. Let's just talk about the social media perspective. So actually, how We found people through social media, started from who? Frederick Chu?

Yes.

That's right. Before then, we had some sort of personal connections.

Yes.

Then, um, but Mr. Frederick Chu, I think Eric knew him. I mean, he studied with him once, but that was like a long time ago and it was just a masterclass. So he wasn't sure, you know, Frederick would remember him, right? So then we just got in touch with him somehow. Oh, creating a playlist.

Yes, yes, I think.

And then he was like, oh, and then, you know, thank you. Then that kind of started the conversation. So yeah, I think that's how we started. And then since then we have quite a— even, uh, first episode of this season, Jeffrey Beagle, Mr. Beagle, I got in touch with him through social media. Yep. Yeah. And so since then, we have quite a lot of people who, you know, we never knew of them, but through social media, especially Instagram, like watching them play, just, I was basically following hashtags like, um, uh, pianist or pianist life or one of those hashtags. And I found, I discovered quite a few, um, pianists.

Absolutely. And it's— I think it's not only showing that, you know, social media can be done, and also, you know, these amazing, amazing pianists who is really like, you know, out there, but yet they are still open-minded enough to be connected with this relatively young platform, right? Sometimes we think of social media as, you know, young people's, but it's really— it's just a You know, I think all of us have the tools, and that is really the positive side of all of it, right?

So yeah, this social media, there it comes with bad, good and bad, and then if you just focus on bad, it's really exhausting and daunting thing to do. And there are so many, uh, even if I, I have been lately quite active on Facebook just because of my business side of the things that I want to do. And there are so many weird messages that I get, so I have to filter. But that just comes with this whole thing of social network. But, but if you use it in such a way that it brings us so many positive things, yeah, of course, absolutely. Okay, so what do you think was the common denominator among guests that we brought? What sort of things you heard in common? You know, although we interviewed so many different people from, you know, from all over the world, literally, and some are psychologists, some are practicing mindfulness, some are practicing, some are concert artists who have been performing constantly, or some are recording artists. So what do you think was the common denominator? Like, what was the reason we invited? What attracted us?

Well, our goal is to interview someone that is not only a musician but also someone breaking new grounds.

Right?

So I do think that is one thing that I experienced, you know, talking with— again, it's very much an honor and to really learn from them that, you know, to me, I realized it doesn't matter how famous or big or how, you know, and they are such warm people and they're just so genuine, you know, like amazing, amazing people. So that is, and then also, you know, the being able to be living in the modern world, you know, connecting us via these platforms that we're on. Yeah, yeah.

And then also I heard stories of struggles and challenges too with each guest, and you not only this the COVID period of time And I guess everybody really struggled because their performance opportunities were stripped away. But during that time, all these artists that we interviewed, they were able to— or they struggled, but they found another passion project.

Yes.

And that actually brought their artistic expression to another level, you know, that was quite inspiring. And also, I think to me, the common denominator I found was their passion. It's not really about ability. You also, of course, have to have the ability, but more than talent, I think they, because of the passion, they have the reason of hard work. They have the reason to practice hard or create something new. Or, and I also remember, uh, Minh Quan, Dr. Minh Quan.

Yeah, I was just gonna say, yeah, yeah, mentioned about mission.

Yeah, it's not about just loving, you know, this musical instrument or music, but you have to have the mission. Like, what is your mission? And that really spoke to me, huh? That is very interesting.

So yeah, I think also part of this bringing back, you know, bringing things back. Minh Quang was, you know, one. Alexandra Lee, I think, was another pianist I've interviewed that, you know, it's like a nonprofit. It's a part of their mission as well, you know, aside from being this concert artist that they are. And yeah, and they, you know, again, Professor Min, that she created this project, American Beautiful, right? And then she had all these composers writing new compositions and, you know, celebrating instead of— and, you know, again, us being foreigners, being international, you know, proud that we understand that there has been some bad things happening in the world, and then absolutely, but Instead of just complaining about it, we can do something to perhaps inspire the world to see the brighter side of it and taking some actions to change. So yeah, that I found very meaningful.

Yeah, same, same. I have been— I don't know about you, but I have been very blessed to have all these guests who are willing to— were willing to be on the show, and more to come, and more exciting guests to come. And plus, I'm very grateful for you, Clara, and to sticking with me and to be here. And, and I, I'm hoping that we can continue this for a long time. Yes. And, uh, with our own tempo. But, um, I, I have, I have a plan for the summer with this The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song, so that's to be continued. What are so far the challenges, do you think?

You know, when we approach any sort of project, I'm sure there is always the up and downside. You know, if nothing is— if everything is plain, then it's— there's no fun. So, uh, for me, I feel like the challenges for, you know, our podcasting— and I was thinking quite hard on this and Well, you know, honestly speaking, I do, you know, Yukimi does so much work in our project and it's really inspiring. But for me, sometimes I am a type of person that I do enjoy fresh ideas. Sometimes, you know, when we have a format so that sometimes it's a little hard for me to stick with it, but I also find that's actually a way that actually works really well, you know, especially with our project. So yeah, that's one thing that I, I wouldn't call it struggling, but you know, as some of the audience probably could see, I don't know if you do follow our— like, I used to do a lot more social media stuff, you know, content. And then, but then once in a while I would back off a little because when the— when I don't have fresh ideas, I don't like to post. So I feel bad for Yukimi, but she just pick up all the, you know, but she is amazing. I mean, you're really amazing that I like your, you know, your way of approaching things, you know, we just keep on going. So yeah, I think in that way that we are balancing each other out for sure. What about you? What do you think?

My challenge would be, I, all the things that I spend time with editing and finding guests and creating content, writing scripts, um, writing newsletters, writing, a lot of writing. And I didn't realize how much I love writing. And also, yeah, so any tedious work I do, I am enjoying it actually. And I guess that's how much I love doing this show. Yeah, however, the challenges always, always would be social media, right? I mean, as I said, I just, just talked about positive and negative, and I try not to sound negative, but I think social media, to be consistent, you really have to plan your week, you know, ahead of time, and when you want to post and what do you want to post. And I'm also creating all the content, like the writing part of the social media ahead of time, and even creating hashtags and everything is— so it was when, when I post it, it's just a matter of cut and paste so that I don't have to create it on the spot, right? And, um, I don't know if it's working or not, but at the same time, because of that, I was able to contact with other artists. So in that sense, to establish the presence or profile of, uh, of in social media, absolutely, it's been rewarding. But I wouldn't say it's the best thing ever. I hate it, honestly.

I—

it's, it's a really daunting task. Sure. And then, you know, I can't, uh, I don't deny it.

Yeah, yeah, I know the consistency that you keeping It's— that's really the positive side, you know. I, I mean, we talk about this a lot. Like, for me, when I used to be doing it quite a bit, sometimes on one day I would spend hours and hours, and then if I can't come up with something fresh, then I get so beat up, and then I just don't want to do anything for a couple few days, you know. So these sort of things are also not great, and that's, I think, one thing I'm learning, you know, from working with you with the podcast that Sometimes it's just like as a pianist, you know, some days are good days. Like if we talk to our students, some days you want to practice so much, some days you don't feel like it, but you push yourself anyway, right? Because with piano playing, it's just, it's a lifelong event. So I think this is the same thing.

Yeah, so you don't want to, you really want to minimize the ups and downs, you know, and otherwise I think That's what happens with— to me, that's what happens with celebrities or Hollywood, right? So I mean, we just had this thing of Oscars, that big drama slapping and everything, and the person who won the Oscar, he was the one who caused this problem. And then so it's like good and the best of the best in in his whole life, entire life, happen, and the worst thing in his life happened at the same time, like in a split second, like simultaneously. I can't even imagine it, you know. That's a very hard way to live. And having to be consistent, even good and bad, we go through this waves of good and bad, but we want to minimize the differences, right? Otherwise it's just extremely difficult to live. And yeah, I'm just saying this because it just happened like this past weekend. So sure, anyways, um, but, uh, yeah, that's— that social media has been a really drama for me. But other than that, all the things I do, I love. And I can't— I'm— to me, I'm so happy I am sticking to it.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

So, well, let's now talk about the lessons we learned from doing this Cup Podcast, especially during this COVID time.

The— I don't know about you, but going into COVID was not really difficult for me, right? Yeah, because I felt like everybody was going through this bad situation together. I mean, bad things happen in life, and then I have plenty of bad or really, you know, tragic things to happen to me. But that time I was alone. But this COVID situation, um, I know there are some families went through some tragedies, and I can't even think of what they're going through right now. So I, I'm not taking this very lightly. But as I was getting into this COVID, I just, I felt like I wasn't alone. Everybody is on the same boat. Everybody was confused, right? And a lot of us lost jobs, and I lost some students and everything. But, and then, so while during lockdown, as anybody else Right. There were periods of time of reflection. So what have I done? What I'm going to do from now? Right. And especially the change was happening so quickly during the COVID with this, you know, how we even do this podcast together is everything is online and things are changing so rapidly. I realized that during the COVID and but everybody was on the lockdown, and only thing I could do was to take classes and learn more about different things, and I discovered so many different things during that time. So it's been great, but also it's been challenging. So now you're coming out of COVID what have I done this past 2 years? Okay, I have this wonderful podcast I created. I'm very proud of. And of course, I created with my teammate, you know, Eric and, um, and Clara, of course. And you guys have been such a great support and team. And also, you are part— like, we are teammates. I'm not just doing this alone. So, but then, now what? You know, that's— that has been quite a big, big question for me. And I want to go. I'm seeing where I want to go, but it's going to be a big, big, big journey, you know. Yeah, for sure.

Absolutely. Especially, I think, for both of us, you know, we had one common thing. We both became American citizens during this time. I know, during this time, which is, uh, in a way, you know, it's, um, yeah, now we have it and we— it almost doesn't feel like that big, but for years that was like One, you know, as musicians especially, or artists, you know, that's— and a foreigner, obviously, that we fight so hard. And it's, you know, it's really one thing to prove to the world that I am capable of doing what I do, because then it has to gain me a new citizenship, you know, which is quite an interesting thing. You know, we don't really think about it. So for me, yeah, I mean The beginning of pandemic, yeah, like you said, that was not difficult, not too difficult. I think especially personally, I kind of had a tough year, the year before the pandemic, and so which brought me to a meditation retreat center upstate right before the pandemic even started, which was my first time. I've been to this mountain to just like calm my mind rather than, you know, normally I travel quite a bit. And so when the pandemic first happened, I remember this, I had a concert at Lower East Side and the next day, basically the world kind of like went into a pause. And I had this brief moment and I was like, am I gonna be okay? You know, I'm like, are my students are going to like continue online? Like, is this even, A lot of our students are still relatively young, right, at that time. But what I, I guess, was very amazed in the very beginning, I would say that maybe 95% of my students just switched to online automatically, you know, except a few. Like, I have a few students that are over 80 years old, and they, they really had a little hard time with technology. And, you know, they went to their house up in the mountains, so, which is understandable. But, and so that was, and then, you know, I was also very involved with volunteering in this personal development world as I was doing. I was, you know, it was kind of cool also in a way that I am a person that's very active, you know, before pandemic, I'm just out like 24/7, you know, I only come back to sleep, basically, you know, or practice, I guess. So it was a way for me to kind of just quiet down for a little bit, and yet I was still, you know— but then I start to feel like, you know, this year 2022 is my— finally my year of reflecting. After I came back from Europe last year, I started to realize Great, I'm busy. I've been busy my whole entire life. And then what? You know, it's like, so I'm actually appreciating this time. I'm forcing myself to work not as crazy hours as I, you know, used to. It's, I guess it used to be sort of a norm or a comforting, you know, I always call myself workaholic and everything. And so this is the, you know, so I think that's one main thing for me that I learned I can be happy not going out to a million places, doing a million things all the time, and I can be happy to just have a calmer life for a little, you know, for a little change. Obviously it's not going to be forever, but I'm appreciating this experience, this new experience, you know.

So hey, I think our audience wants to know who Clara is, like really. So what's your personal story? Is it any challenges in your life or success or hobbies or any, any, I don't know, trivia, right? Like interesting story, hidden talent maybe?

I love to eat very spicy food.

I noticed that when we went to the restaurant, she was like, you know, pouring all these hot spices over and it was already a hot spicy meal. It was Thai food, and I was like, whoa, girl.

Well, you know, I, again, I am not shy for sharing myself, and sometimes I, I almost feel like I— that's one thing I have to learn to, um, you know, as this platform that we are bringing in the podcast. And as much as it's, uh, you know, it's fun, engaging, but because I think that, you know, you had the communication background where I kind— I never had these training, but it's kind of just— well, I mean, I take a lot of courses. So I realized one thing I had to sort of learn is not to— well, how do I put this? You know, I— so again, one thing I learned is that for me, some people, when they are shy, they stop talking. For me, if I'm a little uncomfortable in a situation, or if I'm shy from something, then I start to talk so much, which is something I had to learn to watch out, you know, during our interviews, some, you know, especially some I really, really, you know, like admire, and I feel like, oh my gosh, and then I start to go on and on and on. So that was a very interesting thing that I learned about myself, which I find that to be kind of fun as well, you know, just we have to learn about ourselves, But what I do, you know, I am, you know, so everybody has known I'm a pianist and classically trained. And I grew up in China and I moved to the United States, Topeka, Kansas, actually, when I was 17 years old, after I came to the East Coast on a 10-day tour, or I guess 14-day tour, we played 10 concerts, you know, including traveling. So it was a fun experience, but I didn't speak English, and I just happened to meet this teacher who gave me a scholarship. And then so I thought, all right, why not? So that was the beginning. And then eventually, I always sort of knew I wanted to move to New York. And so right after graduating, I got a full-time gig, and I moved here. And that was a cool thing. Again, I'm someone who always feel like I'm very blessed with what I have in life. And so I do think a lot of good things has happened. And, you know, I met Yukimi really not long after I moved to New York, and we have had this really beautiful, dear friendship that really inspired me to keep on going and eventually, you know, opening up my own business as a piano teacher and performing and, you know, now podcasting. So yeah, that's basically where I am and still where I, you know, that I think it's an ongoing exploration. It's, you know, being a classical musician, really, I think we will retire the day we leave the world, maybe even more. You know, yesterday was Bach's 337th birthday, right? My students were all so excited. We have this little Bach, you know, statue here. So, It's really— I find it to be a privilege to be a classical musician, you know, living a life this way. So yeah, what about you, Yukimi?

Wow, that's deep into your conversation. So I was gonna really just say something really light, but to me, I guess I hardly talk about myself, but that's why, you know, the other day we had a piano salon at Clara's home, beautiful studio, and we— I got to play on, you know, Clara's beautiful Steinway piano, and there were some really nice Clara's friends came and we were able to play and we were able to talk about music. That was very nice. And then that's, you know, people ask, so, you know, people usually think 'Are you Japanese?' or 'Your last name sounds really different. Is that a stage name because you're a musician? That's why you use your last name Song?' Actually, no. Then I started talking about my identity, you know, I'm Korean but I was born in Japan, then, you know, all the stuff. And then Clarice was like, 'You know, I really never knew who you really— what your nationality was until we started the podcast.' So I hardly talk about myself because even just explaining that portion of my life takes about 10 minutes. So I'm like, I try to stay away. I'm just like, make it really simplified. And so, I mean, without making things too complicated, so there's a book called Pachinko. It's a novel somebody gifted me, but it's about my background. Nationality. So I'm still not being able to read it because I think I'm gonna see what my mom— mother's generation, my parents' generation, or my grandparents' generation went through. My uncle, you know, or my friends, my uncle's friend, or my father's side of friends went through. And I know the fact because I've seen them. And even so, all these things will kind of affect generations to come, you know. Yeah, so my thing was, yeah, I was blessed, but also it was— I mean, it's, it's been hard work, honestly. Uh, I, I did a lot of impossible things, so to share that, sometimes you really have to be careful what you share, you know, as you said. Um, so So I tried to keep it to myself. But I guess if you want to find out my parents' generation went through, you can read the book. And I think it's becoming a movie. So, but that doesn't mean my parents owned a pachinko store. It's a gambling place. But no, my parents never did, went into that route, thankfully. But They have plenty of stories. I mean, they're both passed away, but they both passed away a long time ago, but stories where they went through some, you know, quite tough, tough things. And yeah, so without being too deep and dark into this story, but I am so grateful for for, uh, where I am. And just getting a green card was so incredibly difficult, you know. Yes, citizenship just came, the, you know, US citizenship just came like this.

Of course, of course.

And I was like, is that it, really? So, but I am very grateful, and I, I look forward to more opportunities and more opportunities to come from this podcasting and meeting more people. So to end this part of this conversation, I want to tell you about, um, hobby. So, so yeah, let's end on a positive note. So Clara, what is your hobby?

Uh, well, I, I do enjoy motivational speaking, you know, where personal development works. So that's One thing I would sort of call it as hobby, I dance ballet recreationally. So I tell everybody I am only 20 years, this is my 20th year as an introductory to ballet student. So that's also another thing I do on the side. So what about you?

My biggest hobby would be yoga, although lately I'm a little sluggish. And I also love Pilates, but those two— I got to the point where I was kind of intermediate, I would say. Well, yoga I became quite advanced, but now these days I work out from home, so I'm a little sluggish. But I love yoga, I love Pilates. Those are my two hobbies. And I also love cooking. Although I am terrible.

No, that's not true.

It is true.

This is your food.

No, no, but I'm not good at it, but I love— there's something about the process that comforts me. It used to be very big stress, you know, but now these days cooking is, um, so— and oh, I want to tell you something, another new discovery. For now, it's a hobby, is crypto and NFTs. NFT, right? Yeah, I know, Web3. Hey folks, Web3 is coming, and then we really have to be educated with this. And then there is a lot of, you know, resistance or stigma. But remember when the internet came, right? I remember what people would say. Why? You can buy things without going to the store and somehow going into the computer and buy stuff? But hello, we, we, we, we, every single person has Amazon account and Amazon Prime, you know. And so those things, we, you know, have this resistance, but actually things are really moving forward and advanced. And so I'm hoping to learn more about NFTs because NFT may help musicians to have more ownership of creation, right? So I am still new to this idea, and— but I'm part of this, uh, community, online community. And there's, um, eventually I want to invite the creator or director of this community and to talk more about crypto. And you have to know, have the knowledge of crypto in order for you to have the knowledge or experience with NFTs. So I, um, yeah, I want to invite her eventually. We'll see how—

for the next season, right? Yeah, guests coming to our show.

Yeah, but don't get me wrong, there are a lot of scammers out there, but scammers are out there for anything. Even like, I got an email from today from, oh, I want to give out my piano. I— have you gotten these emails? Gosh, crazy. I know, right? But they look real people, but they are not. So scammers are everywhere, so you just have to be educated, knowledgeable, and open-minded. So yeah, that's, that's my hobby anyway. Yeah, yeah. So Clara, any encouraging words to the audience?

Yeah, well, you know, I was thinking that I think, I think one thing is that if you're not sure of something, just do it, you know, just try it and do it. You know, that's really taking the action is everything, right? And a lot of times we are, you know, again, it's nothing bad of being a musician, but that means we were also taught to be very disciplined from early on, and we tend to become more or less a perfectionist, you know. And I can even see it from some young students that Well, I think one huge thing I learned that sometimes it's really not about being the best, which we often strive for, but it's really if we are just being willing to put ourselves out there and just keep on going. And that's—

yeah.

What do you think, Yukimi?

I agree. I think just try it. Exactly, and we really don't know who we are until you— we try it, right? And we just get stuck in our own ideas, especially classical musicians, because we're so self-critical, which is sort of important. You don't want to be always, "Oh, I'm great." Of course. Doesn't work that way. But however, you really don't know until you try it to see what you got, what it takes, you know. So I think that's a very good advice, and I concur that.

Yeah, I think, you know, again, like another thing I feel like that I have been thinking quite a bit, you know, in the last some years, you know, but it's don't always say no first, you know, which I do think we do, we have this tendency, right? Like we have different teachers and different methods we go through, but again, sometimes we are more like we're trying to be safe. It's like, say, if we're going to play a recital and we normally don't want to play something we're not 100% sure yet until it's like 300% sure. But that was also my thing when I was younger, but then little by little, as I grew older and older, I started to a lot more informal concerts, which I could not even imagine, you know, when I was younger. I just— so many concerts I play, and it doesn't matter if I'm playing in a nursing home or, you know, playing in the 3,000, you know, audience auditorium or concert hall, that I always felt like if it's not perfect, I should not play, which is something I learned to almost respect myself. It doesn't have, you know, it's not that if it's not like, you know, for me, I used to not perform anything if it's not memorized. But then I had this teacher in grad school and she was very amazing in playing contemporary music. And so she says, if you have to spend that much extra time to memorize versus if you can learn to play all these other pieces, with music, what is wrong with playing with music? And these days that we have the technology like iPad, for example, and I think that's sort of a new thing that I have adopted to appreciate and then accept, and it's okay. I don't have to be a pianist who memorizes everything, and yet we can still bring beautiful music to the world.

Sure, definitely. That's a great message. Yeah.

Well, so Yukimi, tell us, there's any promo that we, you know, we could do? Sure.

I mean, for me, okay, I am obviously a pianist, but I love to teach. So, but I teach students who can commit. Doesn't matter what your level. Their level are. So I have actually quite good group of students, young and old. And one performed, just performed at Carnegie Hall, who was 14 years old. Another high school student, she, you know, composed her own song, wrote her own song and produced on using software like Logic Pro, very complicated audio, you know, software with her friend, and now her songs are streaming on, you know, Apple or iTunes or Amazon, and she is— her music is pretty much a big part of her life. And although she is going to go to college studying something else, but, you know, music will be a big part of her life, and I'm very proud. And I have an adult student who, you know, who had this decades of corporate experiences, and then all of a sudden he quit. But along the time, we have been doing the piano lessons, and then recently he became a pilot. And he was a pilot, but he was just doing the pilot thing on his own for hobby, but he became a licensed— I mean, commercial pilot. And so all these people, then he plays Chopin Prelude, for example, you know what I mean? And then I have another student who just be on a show, a morning TV show called Today's Show. Yeah, this morning, yeah, on NBC. And then she was— her artwork was displayed at the Rockefeller Center in Midtown, and so she was interviewed by this news anchor, and but she actually plays piano really well, Chopin Étude and all that, and she is competing different competitions this year. So I love students who really find some— I want to help students find something in music, something meaningful, and it's— which means piano lessons could be quite intense sometimes, and that's my personality too, but You know, I want to help them, you know, to find what music means to them. So that's a goal as a piano teacher. But also, I want to— I am starting to coach piano teachers too, and how you're going to establish your own piano studios, how are you going to market yourself, how are you going to combat with some impossible parents, or how are you going to write, you know, studio policies, for example, or so many other things. What are the piano literature out there? I am very good at that. Or how are you going to teach technique? Yeah. And how are you going to teach students per student? Like, this different student has different abilities. What are the resources out there to help students, let's say, to prepare for big performance? And how are you going to prepare? How are you going How are you going to prepare your students to be able to play on the stage in the flow? And I want to help, you know, music teachers, piano teachers to equip. So I am doing that. So if you— whoever wants my help, please let me know. And also, obviously, I want to make this platform of podcast to much bigger. Eventually, and inviting more guest speakers, and eventually having to have this, a week of seminars where musicians or piano teachers or pianists can equip financially, you know. And one, one big lesson COVID taught us would be the finance, right? So yeah, so I want to bring those expertise experts to teach us and also mental wellness and marketing, for example. So I want to really develop that sort of platform eventually. Yeah, that's my promo. How about you, Clara?

And don't forget to check out www.yukimisong.com, right? Is that your—

yeah, and yukimisongstudio.com. Both, both, both.

That's right. That's amazing. Yeah. So thank you for sharing that, Yukimi. Um, yeah, for me, you know, I, I'm sure most of the audience have come to know that I don't have a namesake, you know, after me for my studio, but my studio is called Rational Music Studios. So, you know, again, rationalmusicstudios.com is my website. And, you know, I started my studio, my teaching studio, really, you know, it came from this philosophical standpoint, you know. I guess it was sort of a— I wouldn't call it obsession, but it was something that I always loved Bach's music from early on. And growing up, it was almost— I was kind of shy to even talk about it because it was not cool enough. It was not like Rachmaninoff. It was not like Scriabin. It was not the most flashy contemporary things. But yeah, as I grow through life, I just, I had this sort of, you know, as musicians, we do obviously have to work very hard and then we obviously have to have some talent, but I always, you know, feel that, you know, it's a sort of a new discovery, I guess, between ourselves and from our students and, from the generation above us or below that we see that, you know, like for me sometimes I do get these, you know, people who are not musicians may say, oh, you're talented, or, you know, and then my teacher and I still talk about this, but talent is only just 2%. What is, you know, sure, if you can, if you're not tone deaf, if you have 10 fingers and you can, you know, understand, you have some certain emotional ability to understand that you are basically talented, you know, that, but yet the hard work really comes. So I always kind of mix with the philosophy and Bach's, you know, way of living, you know, I read all of his biography. So yeah, so that's where I started my teaching studio. And again, I feel very blessed that, you know, I guess one thing about my students is they tend to stay very long term. And some of them have been, you know, have a couple of 80 years old, and one of them, he's been trained for over 65 years. Well, actually, we just found his journey from 1947. So, oh my goodness, he's been trained for about each of them longer than that. And the dedication they have, you know, he was never a professional pianist, but You know, he plays Chopin etudes and, or movie music, or, you know, whatever Bach. And to me, it's inspiration to be able to connect with them, you know, like, and then obviously I also have very little student, you know, I talked about the one 4-year-old, now it's 6 years old, you know, and yet we did over 2 years online and it's 1-hour lesson grueling with this age that I'm very inspired, right? And then I also have some students that are, you know, they obviously piano is not the most biggest part of their life, but it can, it continue with them. Like one student, he was like, I'm sure everybody knows everybody except they don't know me. He would have his lesson like 9 or 10 o'clock at night. He's graduating from pre-medical school and he got like almost full score into medical school. And after all these years, and, you know, because of pandemic, he actually had to move back home, which allowed him to continue lessons because his sister studies. And he was like, you know, I feel like piano is the most interesting thing in my life right now. You know, those are the inspiring, you know, stories. And then a lot of high schoolers, you know, again, they, they, they're often asking me, you know, they are, you know, it's the, the weak you know, weekly. A lot of the kids that I teach, they don't take breaks at all. So if there are 52 weeks in a year, they would take 52 lessons, you know. And that is something that almost drives me forward as well. And it doesn't matter if they are, you know, super good in a lot of other pursuits, but this is something almost like fundamental that grounds us. And so, yeah, so that's obviously The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song, and I've been very blessed to be having And then also one last thing is that as of last week, we start this— we restarted my concert series at Rational Music, you know, with Mr. Stanley here. So every— so for those musician friends or, you know, anyone that's interested, please contact us and we're gonna have every last Friday of the month, we will have a Rational Music Salon. So we will be playing for each other and have some beautiful wine and Good time.

We want to show you 5 basic steps to start a podcast. 5 simple steps, really simple. So step number 1, what is it, Clara?

Message. What is the message that you want to bring?

Exactly. What is it so important to you? Why do you want to start a podcast show, right?

That's true.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's the problem? What is the problem for us? What was the problem, Clara?

Well, what is— what are the top, you know, experience of our— for us, we, we want to connect, you know, with the different audience from different part of the world. And, uh, you know, and we, we wanted to continue our teaching but with also, you know, a fresh understanding, you know, from different aspect.

Yeah, sure, sure. And the solution was the podcasting. Then what, what's so unique about us was bringing the groundbreakers of our industry into this podcast show. Not, not there because yes, classical music is traditional, very traditional. Conservatory teaching is traditional, but people have different aspects and experiences. So that's what we wanted to bring. All right.

Yeah.

Then step number 2 is audience.

That's right. So who are our audience, or who is your audience if you're getting ready to start your own journey as a podcast host? And also the styles, right? It's, do we want to have, you know, again, we are both, I think, very into podcasting, listening as an audience ourselves, right? So there are very casual, you know, conversational podcasting, and there are also much more serious, formal, you know, and I love both, you know, personally.

But yes, you have to, depending on the, you know, how you want to carry the message. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

And number 3, format.

That's right.

Yep. Format is so important. So what is format? So what's the length? How often do you want to do?

That's right.

And yeah, those things. So that's something that you have to decide.

Mm-hmm.

Right?

And once you decide, you commit to it, you know?

Exactly. But although we went through some changes, right? Right. Depending on what the audience wanted, how audience wanted to listen to us. So sometimes we went, we split the episode in half, sometimes we didn't. So we're still figuring out, but that's something, something that I guess we change along the way. But format is important. And Clara, what is number 4? Step number 4?

Branding. So we have to have your name, you know. I remember when we gave our name, The Piano Pod, and then the 3 of what else we're thinking. And I think I was in Jersey Shore that day, and I was just like, all right, let's do it, you know. It was really cool. And the music— so for our music, um, you know, Eric actually wrote our theme song, and yes, and that was beautiful. And logo, you know, and that was so many choices. I remember, you know, you're so good with researching, and which stick with it. And then it It was beautiful, really.

Yeah, became our logo. Yeah, that's right.

And then what is our number 5, Yukimi?

Step number 5 is technology. Or yeah, so that comes with all the gears we have. So Clara has really nice microphone. What is that brand?

The Blue Yeti, even though—

Oh yes, yeah, that's a nice one. I have this one. I got got this whole set with the headphones from Amazon. It was cheap, but it works, so it's okay.

Very professional. Yeah, and then you have to learn, you know.

Yeah, exactly. And plus, we also have to find a podcasting— a hot hosting platforms. And, uh, we kind of went through, uh, tried to figure out which platforms work best for us. And then so far Simplecast is working.

That's right. And we are really appreciating every time when we check our data, you know, from our audience from the world, and it really, um, it brings this warm feeling, you know, that the hard work is being paid when we see different audience from different part of the world, um, that listen to us.

So I know, I know. Yeah, so it's great. So with this whole hosting platform, you can broadcast your platform, uh, podcast to iTunes, to, um, you know, uh, what is it, Amazon, to, you know, Spotify. That's right, that's right.

iHeartRadio, Pandora, right? Those are, you know, some of the top, top. And Google, I think there's a Google Podcast, and there are probably many more. You know, I remember one time we did we did the research and we found out even just that one research, and this is a year and a half ago, it's like at least 30-something. Wow.

Yeah.

So yeah, we're out there.

So yeah, yeah, these 5 steps. So let me just review. What's the first one? Message.

Message.

Second one?

Audience.

Audience. Number 3?

Format.

Format. Number 4? Branding.

Yeah.

Number 5, technology and hosting platform. Yes, that's right. So that's all it takes. Easy peasy.

That's right. So that concludes this episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Yukimi Song.

Everyone, thank you to our wonderful audience and fans for tuning in. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review on whatever podcasting platform you use. If you're watching us on YouTube, remember to hit the thumbs up button and be sure to subscribe to our channel. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. The links are in the description below.

That's right. If you're interested in being the guest or recommending someone to be on our show as a guest, or if you like to sponsor, collaborate with us, or shoot out, you know, or even giving us some, uh, ideas, new ideas, inspiration, or even criticism, you know, we welcome them all, really. Shoot us an email at thepianopodnyc@gmail.com or send us a DM via social media.

Yes, so we'll see you for the next episode of The Piano Pod. Bye everyone!

Ciao!