Season 4 Episode 7: Lisa Whealy -- Music Education Activist, Social Entrepreneur, Change...

Music is what emotions sound like. It's a language we all understand, regardless of skin color or where we call home. Inside, we all share a visceral pull to beats, notes, and melodies. Sonic spiritual connections to experiences we all share as human beings. Shaping meaning, music helps our human experience make sense. 2001's No Child Left Behind Act attempted to create uniformity in the American education system. However, many feel standardized testing and bias identification were its greatest successes. Now, despite evidence that music improves cognitive skills, increases feelings of accomplishment and well-being, along with enhancing social skills, the benefits of equitable music learning without bias seems a dream. As a result, our young people are entering adulthood without the social-emotional learning foundation that can form barriers between substance abuse, violence, and suicide. Music education is not only about learning to play an instrument. Students learn coping skills, self-esteem, and teamwork. Data shows that YouTube influences our teens through music, as well as providing a sense of escape to feel and be safe. In today's chaotic reality. What if we could connect our kids to resources to help them learn music online free of charge, helping them connect with the tools they need? Together we have the power to change what music learning looks, feels, and sounds like for today's youth and online music communities. Technology is the key. Please join us and #HarnessTheBeat with the Sound of Humanity Music Project.

Welcome back to another episode of The Piano Pod, where tradition meets innovation. We bridge the timeless beauty of the piano with the dynamic pulse of today's world. I am your host, Yukimi Song. Today's episode explores the dynamic intersection of music education and technology, featuring a remarkable guest, who is deeply passionate about this convergence. She is the visionary founder of a nonprofit organization, The Sound of Humanity Music Project Inc. Amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, she questioned the role of streaming technologies in reshaping music education. Firmly believing in the significance of music education, she views it as a cornerstone in building the social and emotional toolkit for the youth. Through her organization, she engineers solutions that leverage technology for social good. Now, without further ado, let me introduce today's guest, Lisa Whaley, music education activist, social entrepreneur, change agent. As the founder of The Sound of Humanity Music Project Inc., she is passionate about advancing music education equity for all youth. Since June 2022, she has been leading the organization Leveraging technology to harness the transformative power of music, collaborating with schools, communities, and artists, she pioneers innovative and inclusive music learning opportunities for young people. With over 11 years of experience as a freelance music and culture journalist with a master's degree in communication management from USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, she has delved into diverse topics including artist management, new media, and social networking. Her writings, such as "How to Think: A Guide for the Wireless Generation," "Passion Plays," and "The Disappearing Man," have graced the pages of esteemed publications and platforms. In addition to her journalistic expertise, she brings a wealth of knowledge in brand strategy, public relations, gained from her tenure as a publicist at Mountain Entertainment from 2007 to 2022. Currently enrolled as a doctoral candidate at USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, she explores the grand challenge of social work to harness technology for social good, explicitly examining its intersection with the music industry. Before inviting Lisa Whaley to this special episode, I want to welcome all our first-timers to The Piano Pod Whether diving deep into a piano career, working professionally in the classical music scene, or simply having a passion for piano tunes, this podcast is your backstage pass to the fascinating piano world. I also want to welcome back and thank you to amazing TPP fans and faithful listeners for tuning in today. Please rate and review the show on your favorite podcasting platform because every rating review will help people find my show. So dear TPP fans and listeners, get ready for an enlightening conversation with Lisa Whaley as she unravels the transformative power of music, technology, and education. Please enjoy the show. You are listening to The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song, where we talk to the brightest minds in the industry about how they are bringing the piano into the 21st century. Hello, Lisa. Welcome to The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Lisa.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.

Oh, same here. So we know each other through Mike Liu, who is the CEO of FreeFuse, which is a digital platform for creating online courses, but it's in a very unique— it's a unique platform where enables creators to build interactive, you know, decision-based learning modules and so much more. And he was mentioning about you quite often. While he was helping me build my own, you know, course. And so I'm, I'm glad I got to meet you.

Yeah, I, I'm just, um, I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface of, well, I am really scratching the surface of what, um, FreeFuse has to offer and building this out, which is really exciting. It is overwhelming too. So I'm just really trying not to get into the overwhelmed space. And just remember that, you know, technology is really the key to unlocking how we can reach communities that have been impacted so, so heavily by, you know, the issues like funding and resources and how do we get access to music learning in different forms. So that's really the work of what we're doing with the Sound of Humanity Music Project.

Wonderful. Yeah. So let's talk about your project, The Sound of Humanity Music Project. That's one of the reasons I wanted to invite you. So you explained to me a little bit when we met the other day on— through Zoom, and— but you have to explain to me again. So what is The Sound of Humanity Music Project?

Well, we're looking to implement programs that— well, actually, program— we're starting with one, which the first one is going to be based with songwriting and composition. But the Sound of Humanity music project— let's see how much coffee and water I have so I can speak— but utilizing technology, you know, like you spoke of Free Fuse, but starting with technology and reaching out to communities. What I watched, and I guess thinking about how this came to be, is that watching during the pandemic, and, you know, I've been in the music industry for 25 years plus, but I have been in the music business side so that I got to watch, you know, professional musicians, obviously with the pandemic, had to come off the road and then pivot to online teaching. You know, friends like J.R. Richards, lead singer from Dishwalla, ended up going and teaching while he— and I found out he had been teaching Guitar and Voice online previously, but they really ramped up, you know, the performance and, and teaching guitar and vocals and, and then piano and all the things that I didn't realize had been being taught, but then reaching communities online. And I know for me, I really began to watch a couple of things, and I think we've talked about it before, is that, you know, kids that were not able to go to school, A, disappeared, or B, were trying to find access to Wi-Fi or what have you, sitting in, you know, McDonald's. They were showing on the news things like that. And, um, that's really what started me thinking about how the music industry, which all of a sudden was making billions and billions of dollars on streaming, how can we put these two pieces together? And try to find ways to help, you know, spark the music education aspect of learning so that, you know, we can bring the, the communities back getting music. Because I realized as, um, I started to dig into the problem that, you know, resources, funding, you know, that's the obvious one, but then also the schools that had had music programs prior to the pandemic often would have like a sports coach teaching choir, something like that. And, um, you know, weren't necessarily paying music teachers. So, um, I guess that's kind of how it started. So, yes.

What's the mission?

The mission is to, to use technology to bring music to students. So that those two pieces, that technology in, in the sense that, you know, like Mike's platform, using technology and the streaming, the use of streaming to reach kids. Because the one thing, as I said, during the pandemic we saw, you know, kids using smart devices, tablets, smartphones, you know, there's mine, to access learning. I know one of the statistics I recently came across was, um, Pew Research found that kids access YouTube at least once daily between the ages of 13 to 18. And they're looking at music, music videos, music learning, you know, music theory, music, all kinds of music things. Um, so why aren't we putting music education content more online? And giving people that don't have access— schools, things like that— more pointed content. Yeah. The mission is to get— use technology to get music education content to kids, and specifically more the 13 to 18, because that's the drop-off point. If they have it, then it tends to be through grade school, and then once junior high ages come along, it just drops off.

I guess I'm sorry if I'm repeating the question again, but what inspired you to create it? Like, is there, was there any specific moments where you realized, oh, this is what's missing? Because, you know, YouTube has been there for quite a long time now. And then there are some, a lot of music content, music education content, obviously, but you realized something was missing, right?

I guess what sparked it for me was watching the kids that were disappearing during the pandemic. And I don't know if this makes sense, but as, you know, as it kept going through the news that, you know, more and more communities, um, you know, kids weren't showing up when there was, you know, like the teachers showing up to try to find Were the kids showing up to the virtual classrooms? Were they doing things to even stay connected in any kind of learning environment? And they were just disappearing, disappearing, you know, in communities that have issues actually being accounted for in the marginalized part of our country that has, you know, and I don't know how to say it delicately, it's the part of our society that really upsets me. And I get very politically incorrect at times, but I, uh, I just started getting angrier and angrier, um, about the fact that music and arts saved me, um, when I was a kid. The fact that I had music and I had that escape as a kid growing up in Southern California. And I, I mean, I recognize my privilege Being, you know, we lived in a suburban area in Huntington Beach. Um, we weren't, you know, we were lower middle class-ish, but I did have music in schools and I was able to start learning the clarinet. I was able to eventually by 12 being sent to the first chair of the LA Philharmonic because my teacher couldn't teach me anymore. But my parents couldn't afford for me to go any further, but I had the chance. And so, you know, that, I guess that was the tipping point for me. You know, that was such a traumatic time for us all anyway. And to realize that there were so many people and so many communities and so many young people that didn't have it. And it started with No Child Left Behind. Started leaving all kinds of kids behind and it just got worse. So, I mean, I guess that was the tipping point for me emotionally and mentally. And I started thinking, what can I do about it? At that point, you know, I'd already been put in a position. I'd been a publicist and, you know, self-employed sole proprietor for some time. And the pandemic killed my business. It was just No way, you know, whatever. No way. Did to a lot of people. And so when I sat there and, you know, scratching my head, what do I do now? Then I ended up, you know, I, since I had graduated from Annenberg at USC, I, I ended up getting, I, I got some, you know, you get the emails, right? And, um, I was given the opportunity to apply to this program that I'm in now.

And, um, which you're getting your doctorate degree.

Yes, I'm currently in the final phases of earning a doctorate in social work. Um, my application was about Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit and how it was actually the first civil rights anthem. And, um, you know, I play clarinet. I wanted to play jazz blues. Oh my gosh, that was, that was my jam. And it really wasn't cool for a girl to play blues and jazz clarinet then, you know, but I listened to a lot. And, you know, I was thinking about it this morning because, you know, this is The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Yukimi Song with Yukimi Song. You know, thinking about because I'm a huge fan of the Harlem Renaissance and Charles Lambert and Duke Ellington and all the musicians that came out of Harlem Renaissance. And, you know, that's, that's kind of the thing that I think about. How did I get from there to here? I guess so.

Yeah.

That, I mean, that was the tipping point is watching kids disappear and then realizing because I had been accepted on this wild, um, you know, I wrote that application thinking they're either going to think I'm crazy or I'm onto something. And, um, yeah, I was given the opportunity to, to, um, form that 501. And, and when we did, that was That was with the IRS. We are a benevolent— the wording of the IRS always boggles my mind, but essentially to use technology to acquire resources and to use technology to develop a program and use those, use it for those that do the same.

Okay, now, so then How exactly does this work? How exactly is your organization and program accomplishing your mission?

We really are just starting out. We received our 501 approval in January of this year. So we are baby, we are a huge baby at this point. But what we are in the process of doing, as I said, with this first phase, putting together, and the thing I need to be mindful of is, you know, the work that my doctorate is doing and the work that the nonprofit is doing are separate at this point, but they are essentially going to be lining up to be what the nonprofit will be doing because the goal is to develop coursework that first we're doing songwriting, composition or songwriting. That's where we're focusing first. And one of the things that I discovered, probably 2, 3 months ago, uh, State of New York did some extensive, extensive work during the pandemic on remote learning and, uh, the work that students can achieve and the connections that music can do during, you know, remote learning in music. And in doing so, how that can really impact positively, especially during times of trauma. I had done previous research with that during my master's program and the connections emotionally that it can, you know, what there's been so much about piano and things like that in the past of what it can do, but really overall how it can lift up just the fact of like composition, songwriting. I know Christopher Amden, who is at USC, has done a a lot of work about hip-hop and how its ability to develop language skills and communicate. That's fascinating. Yeah, real issues during, um, developing the skills of refining, you know, what trauma is going through and having it be put out in word. So, you know, spoken word. Okay, that's a whole nother conversation.

Yeah, exactly. Wow, that is really super Interesting. So can you introduce the team of the Sound of Humanity music project? I understand there are some educators and music industry executives and social workers and producers and so forth.

You know, we have, well, like on the video you spoke about, Billy Tagadoff, who's been a friend of mine for a long time, has been, he's a musician. He's, he actually, I think he just got his black belt yesterday. Oh, wow. Or last week I saw on Instagram, I was like, yay, Billy. But he has worked with Steve Albini of Tool, you know, that has worked with Tool. But he is a digital artist as well as a producer, musician, touring artist. And he is, he's been a friend of mine for a long time. He did a lot of the production work on that. And then Steve, Tom Sareg with Antifragile Records. He is on the board. Let's see. I got to go through them one at a time.

And I can, yeah, Kim, Kim Forbes and Kim Forbes, Tom Sareg, Terrence Fitzgerald.

He is actually the one that came up with the Harness the Beat hashtag. And that was the one that came about during, it was a public discourse course that we had together and thinking about how to use, you know, music. And really we were talking about hip hop at one point. I kind of, um, was really, really amazed and grateful that he was willing to join this organization because he is, uh, yeah, he's, he's a National Council of Wellbeing educator. His credentials are just amazing. And Kim Dancour recently joined. She is a scholar with mainly feminism, hip-hop, rap. I'll probably misspeak her qualifications. She's going to be doing an installation at Harvard at some point at the first of the year, I believe. Yeah, I mean, Kim Forbes is a SAG actress, voice actress. She's done a lot of work on translation and voiceovers for HBO, Netflix, things like that.

Wow, what a, what a, what a team that you have.

Yeah, she's, she's the one that did the voice work on that video. Yeah, so that was, um, pretty exciting to put that together. And that was really the neat part about having Mike come on with this next phase of iterating how we're going to be delivering these things, because, um, you know, thinking about doing something different, you know, what's been done before really hasn't I mean, I guess it's made an impact, but now we're in such a different space as far as delivering things, um, online or delivering things free in a way that, you know, anybody can access, whether it's a school, whether it's just kids on a phone that don't have, you know, do they need to have a music teacher or class? Well, we're going to give them a music teacher and the opportunity to have involvement with professional musicians as well. At the same time. That's the goal of the framework of the courses, so that they'll have an opportunity with the songwriter and composition structure we're working towards is to have us— and this is the doctoral work that I'm doing— to be able to have an artist and a teacher in the same— say it's a week, you know, one week, we'll have a teacher and a mentor so that they get the voice of both. Because I know when I played an instrument, I dreamt of being, you know, a professional at it. You know, I listened to, was it Ludovic the other day?

Oh, Ludovic Zamor.

Yes. If I say, if I say his name incorrectly, I'm sorry. No, no, it's him. No, he was, that was a great, great, great interview. But to be able to listen to, I dreamt of achieving that and to be able to listen to people that actually have. Or if they even just want to play just to have that emotional release, to be able to listen to people that have gone before them, to me is really important. And it's something that's not been done. So, I mean, it's been done in some ways, but nothing's free.

Right. Absolutely. So you're trying, yeah, you're trying to make this as a free entrance, I guess, to Music education.

Yeah. And it'll be accessible. It'll be accessible to schools. It'll be accessible to just kids. So if schools want to be able to tap into the program, trying to create it in a way that, you know, schools, you know, depending on what the framework is, framing it right now as like a 6-week summer program. But in doing it that way, it can be broken into different modules and things like that. So. You know, looking at schools that have either quarter or semester or year-round, it'll be able to be pieced together and expand and grow and scale and things like that.

So these students will watch each module, whether that is the 6-week course or whatnot, and then is there someone going to assist? Like, maybe can they get a little access to mentorship later on or a little bit of a, you know, assistance? Because watching, you know, is great, educational, especially when the content is so good, then, you know, you learn so much out of watching, but sometimes you need some sort of like hands-on instructions. Do they get—

The goal is to do it live eventually once the prototypes are tested.

Through like a sort of like a live stream or something, or just a basic online Zoom classes type of thing.

Yeah. Be able to do it live to where, and then also to provide collaborative space to where, um, the students can collaborate, you know, composition, especially songwriting, you know, when you're able to, to write songs together. I watched an interview with Hoodie, Hoodie, uh, not Hoodie. The lead singer, I'm blanking on his name, from Hootie and the Blowfish. Now he's now singing country. Boy, I'm going to think of his name 5 minutes after this interview. But I know I spoke with Jim Atterbury of the Durango Songwriters Conference or Expo, and collaborative songwriting is what just amazing things come about from that. And to be able to give students an opportunity to be together in an online space and, you know, you may have kids from, you know, students from LA and New York and coming together and collaboratively writing. The magic can happen. And, you know, framing it out and creating something that the end goal may end up being something. And this is, as we were talking about putting it together and iterating on this, having like the final phases be something like an American Idol type. I don't like that, but to where, um, because we do have music industry people involved, that there's an opportunity that your song or composition could end up being published, released. I know we, we had talked about with one of your students had actually released. And so to me, that gives those, those people, those young people, those young musicians, really an end goal because having the guidance and having—

I'm getting chills because, you know, it's like, yeah, you know, so I think I briefly mentioned to you about one of my students, you know, I'm a classically trained pianist and my educational background is a solid pre-conservatory, conservatory kind of education, so 15 years ago, 16 years ago, when I first came to New York, I was— before that, I was already a college teacher teaching, you know, young adult students who already have the mindset toward music, music education, performing arts. But then coming here, New York, teaching young students was a big shock to me. Completely different ballgame. And of course, you know, United States is a big country. So I was in Florida, then came to New York. That in and of itself is a big transformational experience. Then after 10 years, 11 years teaching and raising these young musicians, young students since they were like 5 or 6 years old, being able to produce someone who does songwriting is a— honestly, Lisa, is a big shock to me. What I meant was, as a music educator, I'm thinking music in only one way, you know, classical music, but then there's more to it. This student, especially particular student who writes songs and produces it on Spotify and Apple Music and so forth, it's beyond my— but then that got me realized what is the role as a music educator. Right. So especially because I'm a classical musician, so it's— so I have so many questions about music education. So I know you want to talk more about your organization, but quickly, why music matters, why music education matters.

You know, and that's— yeah, why does it matter? Right. You know, it's like, and you just said it in a way. To me, music's a language we own. We all understand it, right? It doesn't matter. It speaks whether I'm listening to a Latin song. I mean, look at what Bad Bunny's done, you know, right there. That says it really quickly. And, you know, talking about classical versus, you know, a certain type of what, you know, say it's I, I, while you're talking, I think about one of my friends, um, his name's Toby Milford, and he was actually the first, he was my first dip into actually producing and being involved in releasing any music. And he is a classically trained violinist that started playing, um, looping and singing vocals at the same time. And we're actually going to one of the, with the nonprofit, we actually commissioned a music video. By an Italian artist, and it's going to be released as part of a campaign to raise funds for a nonprofit that he likes, uh, affiliated friends with in Phoenix that works with refugees. And so then we're also going to work with international refugees with that. But how the intersection of popular music and classically trained instruments. I mean, it's this anymore, really. I've found that I really can't separate, you know, and that's kind of the thing that I think about when I start trying to do that, because to me, classical, I don't know, it's really hard for me to separate anymore because popular music, what does that mean? You know, and you're classically trained in what you do, and then You know, does it translate into, say, what people listen to? Um, that to me is popular, right? I mean, like, I don't, I don't know how to explain that, and I don't know if I'm being clear, but, you know, it's like, and that's what I realized. I use composition and songwriting pretty interchangeably, and that I need to, like, put out there because a composition can include lyrics. It can, the voice can be a trumpet or a saxophone. You know, jazz speaks. You don't need words, but sometimes there is, you know, um, so that's where I run into difficulty because I'm not, you know, my classic, my classical training ended when I was about 12 or 13 years old as far as being a musician. And then I stepped away until I ended up on the music business side. And now I've fallen back into seeing that I wouldn't be here if I had not had music in my life, starting as a young kid. So I guess maybe that's how the full circle started.

And, and, oh, that's interesting. Yeah. Because, you know, now I am teaching from home. I used to travel to my students' homes. That's a different thing. Then now I am, I live in Brooklyn. Very— I love Brooklyn. Oh yes. It's, it's my jam. It's my vibe.

I would live there if I could take the winter and make enough money.

I love it. I love it. And especially I live in a neighborhood called Williamsburg, which is like really hip and you you see young generations of New Yorkers live here and young successful generations and people that I deal with, the community I try to create is a little different from whom I used to teach. How am I going to be effective or, you know, as a music educator and as I am teaching music piano lessons in a traditional way, hmm, how is this translating to these clients, students? And then, so because I, one, I want to raise the listeners of music, music of all genres, but especially classical music because I'm a classical musician, but also it just takes a certain knowledge and training in order for us to understand symphony, for example. And it has to have a sort of— we— my job is not just train them, but also giving them the context, because some of the music, a lot of them are really old, right? So yeah, that's something that I, I started thinking, especially living in this, you know, very diverse city. And the music, I think one of the website you mentioned, that this country offers so much, you know, everybody— it's such an individualistic country, but the opposite is that, that everybody has their own opinion and a taste and everything. So it's hard to put it, put things together.

Yeah. And to find some way of creating community from that. And that in thinking about this, um, you know, it was interesting. I was at a show, um, what, Tuesday? Both of the gentlemen that played are songwriters that I wanted to speak to about being part of the doctorate work with the songwriting course, one of whom is nominated for Best New Artist of the Year Grammy Award. His name is Abraham Alexander, and I'd had the opportunity to do a write-up on his record when it was released, and you know, when you have a songwriter that can pull you into their story. And, and, and he said something on stage which, you know, I'll eventually— I'm, I'm going to be putting it into, um, like, of starting to create pieces to put into building the community. But, but he said as a musician, he feels that it's his responsibility to help people build, tell his story. He feels it's his responsibility because telling his narrative and telling his truth may give somebody else the courage to do the same. And in so many ways. And then this other gentleman, Philip Michael Scales, I believe I said his name right, had also some, some really, really well thought out comments that he made from the stage too. And his songwriting, I'd never listened to him before. That was my first experience. On a show with them. But both of them as songwriters were so incredible in how they crafted the music and how they sent their message. And, and that was the, like, real through line is that, you know, composition and songwriting, um, can really influence and build resilience for communities, for an individual, help them find themselves and help them give You know, get strength to walk through, you know, and we saw it during the pandemic. That's, you know, like I go back to that. That was a really refining and defining moment for the world. And, and I guess that's the point. Um, you know, I keep coming back to how this whole thing got started was, you know, what are we giving our young people to help get them, you know, build their, build their strength. I'm gibberishing on that because it just. That's my passion point, um, is how many kids out there don't have that foundation right now? How many kids out there are just trying to get by? And, um, how can we do, how can we give them a voice? Because that was something else that Abraham said is he's like, I'm here to be a voice for those that don't have a voice right now. And that just, I mean, it makes me want to cry because And you know, that's what you're doing, being a music educator and helping people to embrace that, that creative side through a piano. Oh, I mean, I watched Emmett Cohen came here and played in Tucson and he plays, he plays jazz piano and he's one of the few that learned the Harlem jazz technique and performs and does tour. And it was amazing to experience live. And it's that continuity of musicianship for me that is history. You know, music is history. You know, it's like Questlove wrote a book. It's one of my favorites because it is, it's defined us. You know, I would have been at the Harlem Culture Fest and not Woodstock. You know, that's where I would have been, but I would have stood out like a sore thumb. Them. I don't know, it feels like it's my responsibility, and that's it. It's my— I don't know, maybe not responsibility, it's my privilege to do this work at this point.

Wonderful. You mentioned several times songwriting. So I think how I was taught was basic, very classical music oriented. So it's more to do with read the notes and produce the phrase of music, not even the sound. We don't say— we say phrase or, you know, expression and whatnot. I think, but the music education these days, they are amazing, really. Educators with progressive ideas says those days are actually over, you know. We have to really emphasize more on, you know, creating their own music by teaching them improvisation. Eventually that leads to composition and so forth, which really you have to have a solid background in learning music, you know, to be able to, you know, write songs. And that's exactly what you're doing. So what's, what sort of genre currently dominating the music education industry? Because I'm a music educator, but I'm solo. So, and I'm, I, I'm a classical musician. So. But when it comes to this big umbrella of music education, this bigger umbrella in the United States, what's dominating right now?

See, and that's the challenge. I can't, I can't necessarily say. Like you said, big umbrella. I'm trying to pull a piece out and really look at dissecting what piece will impact the population I'm looking at, or like the target audience that I'm looking at. And, and that's where I've gone to look at the specific target audience of 13 to 18-year-olds.

That is fascinating.

That's the thing, because, you know, as you say, it's a big umbrella. And how can I impact anything?

I know.

Well, really, it's overwhelming.

But in many ways, it's fantastic. It's a wonderful problem because I grew up very differently, right? I am originally from Japan, although I'm Korean, but I was born and raised there, and the education system is wonderful. However, everybody studies from pretty much the same textbook in one country, so there's only one way to learn that subject. But as opposed to this country, you know, it all depends on— yeah, the region, or I don't know, philosophy of this each family.

I don't know how— yeah, the dissonance of it all, right?

So, but which comes in its own challenges and problems too. But so, yeah, I'm, I'm just curious, what's dominant? Is it hip-hop? Is it rock pop? Is it still classical? Yeah, yeah.

And that's the thing, it's like, you, you know, I could, I could look at the Billboard chart today. Is that what's going to inform my decisions? I don't know if Billboard's, you know, is that what I, I don't know because Billboard's got a chart for Latin music, hip hop, you know, it's like, I don't know, they've got, eh, so is that what's going to inform my decision? I think what's going to inform my decision is the students. And, and that's where, I'm really grateful to Mike and Free Fuse., and to see, I know that the background work that I've been doing to look at and look and say, um, you know, what did the students, or I should say, what did, what does that population like to do? Um, but then also recognizing that giving somebody the freedom to choose when they're there, you know, it's like you provide a space And so these people can go in and, gosh, I have a difficult time calling, you know, teenagers youth. I don't know. There's something about that. I get hiccup. Just me as an adult. And I did that with my daughter when she was that age. It's like, you're a person. But, you know, giving them the opportunity to choose, you know, are you going to, are you going to write hip hop lyrics? It's literally a poem you're writing to beats. Are you writing a song? Are you writing, you know, like you say, a composition that's going to be played on strings? You know, Black Violin merges hip-hop and violin, classically trained violin and viola. So really anything. That's why I say using songwriting composition can be done interchangeably. And I tend to— is it sloppy? I don't know. I need to clarify that in certain spaces when I'm dealing in the academic space. I definitely need to clarify that. And maybe this platform will help it clarify with people, you know, because it's— I'm doing it now, but it can be a tricky thing because like you say, you can have 10 young people in that age group and 3 may want to do one thing. And, you know, that's my reality.

That's my reality as a music educator right now. Like, I— like, sorry to interrupt, but, you know, I have one one or two students who are constantly performing at Carnegie Hall right now. You talk about— yeah, and then they're brilliant. Then I have, on the other hand, I have several who want to write their songs, and one is being successful writing her song and streaming. And I have other group of students who just want to learn, like, more like a comprehensive approach. So, you know, a little bit of everything. So I guess, I don't know, listening to what their needs are and what they want is, I think, the way to go these days, I guess.

I think, you know, and that's the bottom line is you said it, listening to their wants, needs, desires. And, and that's, I guess, you know, for me, that's where my design is focused is You know, I'm, I'm gonna base what I'm building on the background research I've done. And like I said, a lot of what I've, I'm building this on is based on research, State of New York, and then some other research that is done by the Arts Data Research Project. Phenomenal work they're doing in finding out who is doing what, where, and what's missing in arts. And arts is a comprehensive thing, being it's music, it's performing arts, it's visual arts, it's, uh, you know, painting, creation, you know, dance. But who's got what, where, and who doesn't? And what populations are those? And, and what connections between students that qualify for free and reduced lunches and what schools and, and how these all connect. And so that to me, uh, that's where I'm basing my design on to begin with. But you know, it's the students that are going to inform going forward because they're going to say, yeah, I like that, no, I don't care. Yeah, like you say. So I can think as a, you know, a a former mom of a teenager. She's now an adult with a kid of her own, but, you know, I can think of what I think they should do, but what I think they should do may not be what they want to do, right?

Exactly. But that, that's a big change. Hey there, TPP family. The Piano Pod is now into our fourth season, and it's all thanks to you. Since 2020, you've been with my journey with the TPP, exploring this burning question: How do we make classical music resonate with today's audience in fresh and captivating ways? 4 years in, and the journey has been nothing short of magical. The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song isn't just a podcast; it's a movement, a space where pianists, composers, and educators brainstorm, debate, and reimagine classical music's place in our fast-paced world. We're together on a mission to ensure classical music doesn't just survive but thrives in our modern age. But here's the thing: to keep bringing you these insightful biweekly episodes, I need your help. Every bit of support goes into the podcast's essentials, from hosting to high-quality recording tech, and the countless hours behind the scenes. So, do you want to be part of this journey? Click the PayPal link in the show notes or head to thepianopod.com/podcast come to donate. And as a token of appreciation, I will personally mail you The Piano Pod's snazzy logo sticker. So hit the subscribe button, spread the word, and let's continue our mission and journey as classical musicians. Now let's continue with the show. So you studied communications and you know this trend of how, you know, starting with internet, then social media, and obviously 2020 have changed the way we really live our lives and communicate, then also the whole thing that I mentioned changed the way that we can select, we can choose what we want in many ways. We don't have to always take everything that this curriculum offers, for example. Does that make sense? That's why, you know, as we mentioned, Mike Liu's Free Fuse makes sense because it's a really pick and choose that users can choose. So. That's wonderful. But as an educator, that's really challenging.

Terrifying, right? I mean, like, and that's kind of where, you know, looking to build out, you know, and this is like you say, that's terrifying. You know, I'm the one that wakes up at 4 in the morning and went, I need women, you know, because like, yeah, as far as the artists that are signing on to say, do this. So far they're all men. And I went, oh, wait a minute. I need some women. I, here I am a woman and I realize I don't have any female voices in this. What? You know, shimmy Christmas. So yeah, I need to reach out to Kim and say, Kim, I know, you know, women hip hop people. I've watched you interview them. Can you bring one into this? So that's, that's one of the things I need to do today because That's Kim's work. Kim is a media specialist, and she has done some phenomenal interviews with female hip-hop rap musicians, artists, and written some incredible academic work as part of her doctoral work and PhD program. So it's just a blessing. Well, you know, to have people that somehow the universe just keeps putting in the universe of this nonprofit, because none of this could be just my thing. It's become just a we thing. And, you know, like you say, and having the opportunity to build out a community to do this. And, you know, the end goal, I know, I know at one point, um, you know, somebody asked me, you know, yeah, this is on the internet, but the end goal is to really have communities to be able to build their own music programs and bring it back to the community and have, you know, in-person music is really the end goal, but also buffering against the next pandemic is really the end goal. That's the superseding thing. You know, I know when I met with Sean Holt the first time, my faculty advisor at USC. Yeah, yeah. USC. Gosh, who is like When I first met with him and he said, I don't know if I'm qualified to do this. And I'm like going, um, somebody that's worked with, you know, Gloria Estefan and Santana, Carlos Santana. And I'm like looking at Flo Rida and all the people that he has produced, worked with, Sheila E. I mean, I'm like going, huh? But he's got a foundation in music and technology and production and things like that. And I just thought, But I said, you know, my biggest thing with all this had started because of the pandemic. And I had read an article from Duke University that the next pandemic— I don't want to scare anybody, turn your— plug your ears. Duke University said that the next pandemic will most likely be within the next 12 years and probably worse than the last.

Right?

I know.

Aha.

So I want to pandemic-proof music for young people. Give them a place to go. And, you know, starting with songwriting and composition, you know, and I think big. I want to go— the next one will be jazz because I love jazz. I dream big, but I think every, every young person should dream big too that loves music.

Two questions I have from your organization. So one is, How are you funding? How are, yeah, where do you look for these people who have a big pocket and then help you?

Well, the big pockets aren't there yet. But one of the things we've started is for reaching out to people that do, do streaming platforms. You know, if you do Spotify, if you do, you know, if you pay how much money you pay for a subscription for those. We're asking for, you know, 50 cents or a dollar donation for what our work is. And, you know, subscribe to us, and then that helps us do our work. And that's the first thing. The second thing that we're doing as part of this is we're also doing silent auctions for artwork. We've got the gentleman that created our logo. It's actually done in a mixed medium painting as well. So we're going to be doing a silent auction for that. And then also the gentleman that I spoke of, the songwriter that Abraham Alexander that's nominated for the Grammy, a friend of mine that's a professional photographer took a picture of him at the Rialto Theater here in Tucson when he was performing and he signed it, he autographed it. And so that picture has never been published. And he, um, we're going to do a silent auction for that as well, probably close to December. But, um, those are the fundraisings that we've got going on for this year. And at that point, that's like I said, we are such a baby at this point. I've also, also looking to grants that support arts and technology. So there's Arizona's got one, um, but there, there are many. It's just how many hours do I have in the day? And yes, until I have more volunteer staff, that's the challenge is, you know, it's been me and a few of us that have time to do this work and a lot of passion and a lot of them.

So yeah, but you know, passion and love is all you need in order for you to love.

Who said that? Wasn't it a Beatle?

Yes, yes.

John Lennon.

John Lennon. Yes.

I know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

But how can we as educators be part of your organization, The Sound of Humanity Music Project?

You know, as music educators, certainly join in the community, YouTube, Instagram, and that would be of support and just start being part of the conversation. I know that the hashtag #HarnessTheBeat is something that we started, and that would be just raising a voice to this because in the end, you know, it's the students, it's the young people, is what this is all about. And I'm getting there because you guys have been doing the work all along. And in the end, what I'm trying to do and what we are trying to do with this organization is pulling in the music industry as well. Because they as well are recognizing that where's the next generation of David Byrnes coming from, you know, or Talking Heads or Danny Elfman's or, you know, the Tupacs. There's one of them sitting somewhere and, you know, and, and they're going to be discovered. But, you know, are we going to be the ones to do it, you know, or are you going to be You're developing some amazing talent, and I'm sure many other music educators out there doing the same, but there's so many, so many schools, um, and teachers out there that just don't have the ability to reach kids or kids don't have the ability to find you. So that's also the other thing. Eventually we're going to be developing, um, on the website, the ability for kids and parents and communities to have a one-stop shop. To say find organizations that may be able to help them, like Black Violin. The Black Violin Foundation is doing great work. Sounds Academy in Phoenix also doing the same thing. You know, they, they don't believe that your zip code should define whether you have music or not, you know. So there's organizations that are doing this work. It's just how many people can find it and do they have, you know, do they have the data to be able to do it, you know. So That's what we're going to try to circumvent some of that and help in that way. So, you know, just, just joining the movement on social media right now is probably the best way. And then, like I said, we do have the ability to ship in whatever you want. That was the one thing we found with the pandemic and many of the musicians that had to pivot online found they made, um, did better than being out on tour, um, just by asking people to donate what they wanted. It's crazy, but wow.

Yeah, but it's a big vision, you know, to accomplish. It just takes a lot of human force to, uh, financial resource, but, uh, but it's exciting. It is exciting.

We are baby. We are baby. We aren't even a year old. So it's pretty amazing.

But what you're doing is really admirable. And, um, I want to continue to follow your organization and then you have to come back and Let us know how it's going. But I want to talk about who is Lisa Whaley. You have the musical background, quite intense until 12 or so. And then I want to know your journalism background because as an undergraduate degree, I have music and I also have the broadcasting background. Because that's what I wanted to do. And then guess who I became? Yeah, yeah, educator. But anyway, and you studied at USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, which is like a dream school for anybody who wants to be in the field. Yeah, so tell me about your experience. And you have an extensive, you know, experience as a culture, music and culture journalist. And so musical, you have the solid musical background, but you sort of stayed away and studied journalism and ended up being a music activist.

So, yeah. And I mean, it's kind of funny. I jokingly tell people, well, it's not a joke, it's real. When I was a kid growing up in Southern California, I would watch the Rose Parade and see the Trojan Marching Band. And I'd say, I want to go to USC someday. I think, you know, as a journalist, I ended up I, at one point I realized, you know, and it was Thomas Paine, you know, the power's in the pen. And I laughingly say, I'm not going to get him in trouble, but the guy that I write for currently said I started writing music. I started writing in music so I could get free music.

That's kind of clever.

Well, that's not a bad idea. But it really ended up being kind of a pathway into— when I worked with the former business I had as a publicist and booking agent. So, so that's kind of where I started with all of that. I know, you know, part of the journey started as I look at it on the wall when I was 7. My best friend and I wrote to NBC because we wanted to have some stuff put into a TV show. They actually wrote us back, which is amazing. It would never happen today, you know, but—

right.

Yeah. So I have the framed letter on my wall because it's like, if you dream something, you do something about it, something might happen. And so I guess the turning point for all of this, of where I'm at today, is the fact that I ended up going through a divorce and, um, kind of didn't know what I was going to do with my life thing and was at a Less Than Jake show, a real big fish, two bands, and with my daughter. And I was, I like to stand in front by the stage because that's just how I like to do things. And I ended up getting hit in the back of the head by a crowd surfer and hit my face right here on the bar in front of the stage and thought I split my eye open. And so they pulled me out of the crowd so I could go get some ice and ended up standing there with ice on my hand, you know, ice on my face and ended up meeting Tommy Chong. And so, um, I'm looking real hip, slick and cool with a bunch of young kids at this big show. And he's like, what are you doing here? And I'm like, I don't know, I'm standing here with ice on my face. And, uh, he's like, no, really, what are you doing here? And I said, he's like, why are you, why, why, you know, like this existential freaking conversation. And I'm like, well, I don't know. And I said, well, you know, I'd like to do something with music and writing. He's like, well, why aren't you? And I literally had that moment of like, uh, and that's when I ended up going back to school to finish that master's degree. And I ended up falling into the opportunity to start writing music videos. So I collaborated on a music video for a band called Senses Fail and did some other collaborative work on music videos and ended up working with Lionel Martin, who did some of Tupac's— well, actually most of Tupac's music videos, and cinematographer Luke McNair. So ended up working with a really high caliber crew on Project Vertu, which I didn't, you know, I was kind of like, oh my goodness. Yeah, just kind of fell, fell down this path and, you know, realized that music and visual arts, but like you say, what's my jam really was where my passion. I always go back to standing there with that black guy going, you know, how the heck does that happen? You know, where I should have asked him, what are you doing at the show? But he was there with his, he was there with his son and his son's friends. And that's the same thing I was doing. I was there with my daughter, but he was standing by the bar and I was not. I was standing by, well, I was, I was standing by the bar at the front of the stage. But yeah, you just, and it's like music is life. And, and to, you know, I, I guess I always wanted to write for NPR.

Mm-hmm.

You know, that was kind of like my dream too. You know, write for NPR Music, you really get a lot of free music, right? I also realized that, um, as I moved on, I wanted to kind of, I guess I wanted to give back in a different way. And since I'm, you know, I, it's funny, I taught high school as I was doing my, my undergraduate work.

Really?

Yeah, I taught high school Advanced Placement English.

I see. Okay.

Yeah, which was kind of, I mean, I guess the thing is, is like music is dreams to me. Music's release, music is escape, music's my soul. You know, I can tap into places and go, you know, and live music really is like a flushing of, you know, it just is like, I don't know. So. It's something that I really want to give back with, and I'm not a music teacher, but—

That fascinates me. You're, you're not a music teacher, quote unquote, but you know, you're a music education activist and you're trying to connect the dots. That's amazing. I think due to your background as a journalist, you know, you see things differently from the people who are actually in it, right? Right. And so, and with the extensive background in entertainment business, sounds like. So that's really fascinating. You know, honestly, I can talk about this forever. I love this kind of talk because it's not a lot of people talk about these things, but you know, we only have a few more minutes left, so we have to move on. Unfortunately, you have to come back and really talk to us again, but I want to know that I know your organization is still a, you know, really early stage, but what's the next phase?

Yeah, the next phase is really, as we put this work together with what I'm testing with this doctoral program, is putting together this platform to work and launch it, should it all come together, to put the music industry together with students. And teachers to build, you know, triangles are the strongest form of geometry, right? And that's, that's what I'm working to build. And then also eventually I would love to see the streaming business. I've spoken with some parts of, I think it's Bulldog Media is who worked with the National Independent Venue Association when that was going on with COVID And this friend of mine, Steve Chilton, put that organization together, which helped save a lot of the small independent music venues for live performance because they were going under. They didn't qualify for PPE, all that kind of stuff. So they put on a concert across the country and did it live streaming. And so the technology that streaming has, you know, continued to escalate, that's the goal, is to eventually do all this live to where students can tap into things in a live experience. That has not been, you know, to be in a classroom but then yet say have Bad Bunny show up, you know, things like that. But then, you know, to create experiences that hasn't been done yet before and, and to bring music industry into that and then to bring the education piece, to have the music educators there, to have the music industry there, and then also give the opportunity to say have Berkeley School of Music or Juilliard or all these other prestigious schools to be able to participate. I don't know. That's, that's my dream.

Yeah.

I don't know. It's a possibility. You know, anything's possible.

Anything is possible if you really work hard and aim toward, and then, so you've already accomplished a lot. So yeah, you will get there. It takes time, but you'll get there. Right.

Yeah, I mean, one of my favorite quotes, and let's see if I can say it correctly, is a W.E.B. Du Bois. You are not, and yet you are. Your thoughts, your deeds, your dreams still live. There it is. As long as I keep in front of me in a positive direction and then acting in a way that will continue to manifest those things, then the people keep showing up and I keep showing up, I guess. So I don't know, but I really appreciate you having me on.

Oh, thank you for being here. So I would like for you guys to visit the Sound of Humanity Music Project online at sohmusicproject.org to learn more about the organization and about what Lisa is doing with the organization. So before I let you go, we have a rapid-fire question segment. So We're going to end up with a bunch of questions and silly questions, but it's actually really, this is where you can really show who you are, you know? So, um, yeah, let me just ask a couple of questions and you don't have to explain anything, just go with it. And so let's start. Okay. Question number 1. What's your comfort food?

Chocolate.

How do you like your coffee?

With cream.

Cats or dogs? I know the answer. Dogs. All right. Yes, I saw your little puppy on, you know, in the background, although it's blurred.

He's mad at me. Yes. Okay.

Are you a summer person or winter person?

Summer. Summer.

Paper book or ebook? Paper. Okay. Now, what skill have you always wanted to learn but have not had the chance to?

Oh my goodness. Uh, flying.

Yes, I know, right? Yes. What is your word or words to live by?

You are not, and yet you are. Your thoughts, your deeds, your dreams still live. W.E.B. DuBois.

What is the most important quality you look for in other people?

Integrity.

Name 3 people who inspire you, living or dead.

James Baldwin. Maya Angelou. Barack Obama.

Great. Name one piece in your current playlist. Abraham Alexander's "Stay." What do you believe is the key to a fulfilling life?

Peace.

And fill in the blank: music is blank.

Life.

Ding ding! That's it. Thank you. That was great. You won. You won. So this concludes this episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song with Lisa. Thank you, Lisa. For joining my show today and sharing your stories and insights and expertise. You can learn more about Lisa and you can follow her on LinkedIn. And if you'd like to learn more about her incredible work at the Sound of Humanity Music Project, please visit their website at sohmusicproject.org. I will list the links in the show notes. Thank you to my wonderful audience. We'll and fans for tuning in today. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review it on your favorite podcast platform. Remember to hit the thumbs up button and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you're watching this episode. And please follow The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song on social media to get the latest piano news via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I will see you for the next episode of The Piano Pod with Yukimi Song. Bye everyone. Thank you, Lisa. Thank you so much. Thank you.