You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Myth or Fact: Is It Easy to Play Other Instruments If You Start With Piano? - #70

Episode Date: November 30, 2018

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Hey, Peter. Yep. You have any interest in playing the oboe? Nope. All right. I'm Adamas. I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear at podcast.

Daily Jazz advice. Coming at you. Coming at you today. Happy Friday, everybody. We've had a great week around here. And good time making the podcast with you, buddy. That's right. It's good.

Now, just, what was the question about the obo for? Because I didn't want to be so negative, but I can tell you why I don't have an interest in it. Well, we have a question from an open studio staff member. We accept questions from staff members? I try not to make eye contact. First of all, we have a staff. Rachel Morgan, who is, I would call her a wonderkin. Yeah.

She's young and talented. Isn't that what a Wunderkindekind? She's a valuable member of our... She's not German, but that's okay. She's still a Wunderkind. Valuable member of our orchestra. What do we call our team? Should we do it?

Team O-WAS! What's up? We soid. I'm going to stop there. She actually asked this question. Myth or fact? Yeah. Is it easy to play other instruments if you start with piano?

Fact. Fact. You'll hear it. Well, I think that's an interesting question. First of all, I think it's easy to play other instruments if you start with any other instrument. Yeah. If you know music, it's obviously easier to pick up other instruments because you kind of have a head start of learning all about music. Yeah, yeah.

And I mean, so I guess the question, yeah, they're, there. I think there's no dispute about that, multiple instruments. You get into a whole other trajectory of development. Whether or not the piano is more important than others, I think we're saying as a primary instrument or as a starting point, we're very biased here at the you'll hear about podcasts. And we're controlling the mic. Well, not only we control on the mic, you're actually engineering and producing

because our producer engineer is not with us today. So it's pretty amazing. You're man in the cameras and everything. So we can say whatever we want. Yeah, I'm a one-man wrecking crew in here, and I'm going to spout off about, myths and facts. No, you know what?

It's definitely a cliche that like, oh, you know, you need to learn piano, even if you play another instrument. And I think that's actually, it's a cliche for a reason, because the piano gives you this visual guide to music, to harmony and to counterpoint. It's like a cliff notes of tonality. It really is. I don't know if it's easier to pick up other instruments. Listen, all instruments have their own challenges, physical challenges.

I can't buzz my lips in a trumpet in my life. You know what I mean? It's just something that I've never been able to really do well. But was part of the question, it was really about doing it first, right? Because now we're talking about kind of two different things. I think we know, well, let's put it this way. Name me a great musician that you know. That's not a pianist.

Okay. That cannot play the piano. At all? Yeah, it's hard. That tells you a lot right there. Yeah. Like we can talk about our opinions as pianists, but sometimes it's good to just kind of go to the,

Let's go to the tape, John, and see what it says. And I mean, so now whether or not they started there or not, that's a different question. But especially as far as jazz players. I mean, I'm thinking about, like, all the great jazz musicians that I've been around. Drummers, bassists, yeah, sure. I mean, I just, I'm not saying that there isn't one, but I haven't, I can't think of them. And you can't either. Yeah, it's hard to learn music, you know, the general rules of music without the piano.

And it's not hard, but the piano just makes it easier to see, I think. and to hear everything at once, you know, that's what's so brilliant about it. Now, I think there's all different interesting orders, though, and a lot of this depends on when you learn, too. Like, if you, like, I started at a super young age just because both my parents are musicians, but also because my mother is a Suzuki violin teacher.

She still is, and like, this is a method that is based upon starting at a super young, I mean, I was two years old, I started the violin, but it was mainly because I was around my mother, I wasn't in school yet. Yeah, she knew exactly what to do, too. Yeah, but it was also just kind of like stick of violin in my hand while she was teaching.

And I saw it and I was around it. So I picked it up actually even before piano, although I was playing a little bit at the piano. But the violin, I definitely was kind of like primary there for a minute. And so that, it's interesting, I kind of, I still come from like a point sometimes. Like when I pick up a violin now and play, in some ways I'm more intuitive.

Like that's stuck with me all my life than piano because I did, I mean, I kept playing it for a long time and I kind of know the instrument. But I can play certain things by ear in a way. the violin. Like, I don't even think about the nose. I'll just, like, like, I can go to the pitches and stuff in a, in a intuitive way that harkens back to a little two-year-old Peter in a way. Yeah. Bad sounding and immobile, but, you know, it's, so I mean, I think that there's not a right or wrong way outside of the, like, no matter if you start or not on piano, especially for a jazz player, you're going to get a lot out of adding that piano into a mix or starting there.

Yeah, I really think that the more instruments you can at least get some kind of handle on, the better it is no matter what instrument you play. Yeah. I was just thinking about, like, is it easier to pick up other instruments if you start on the drums? Like, because that has a lot of advantages. Yeah. With rhythm and dexterity and independence, you know?

Independence to the limbs and. Totally, man. Definitely applications for piano and guitar to. Absolutely. I actually think it's really important that, as a pianist, that you learn to play a little drums. And also, I think it's important that you might learn to play, you know, a single note instrument.

because that's something that we don't ever think about, but it's so important to learn phrasing and how to get around with just one note. I mean, I think, thinking back to the violin, even though, now that I'm so much that I started, because I actually played it for quite some time, like the insights that gives you to intonation in a way that if you only played piano and,

I don't know, are there any other instruments that, I mean, piano is important for intonation. It's just that we can't do anything as we're playing. Yeah. But I think having an understanding of intonation and pitch control and stuff is so important, even if you're a pianist,

and you don't ever get that if you don't. I mean, if you play drums, you get a little bit of it, you know. But I think that, you know, to be able to play with a bass, to be able to play with a trumpet and all this, of vocals. I mean, it's helped me so much,

I think the violin playing, just understanding intonation, to work with vocalists and to understand pitch and that kind of a thing. It's really important. Yeah. And that's great, man.

I'm going to go ahead and say that this is both a myth and a fact. Really? You kind of straddling the line there. I am so undecided. Rachel, I'm sorry. But because I think it's a fact that it can help, but I think it's not the only thing that can help. Right. You know what I mean?

There are other instruments can help. So actually what you're, I think we'll really say, it's neither a myth nor a fact. Is that what we're saying? I think so. Well, because a fact, read the question again, please. Myth or fact? And she also, she bolded these, which I was. I was like, all right, well, that's a little heavy-handed.

Is it easy to play other instruments if you start with piano? I mean, yes, that's a fact, but it's not the only... No, no, it's not a fact. A fact would mean, it's easier always. I mean, the implication is that it's always easier. You know what? She didn't even put easier. She put easy.

That's a myth, because nothing is easy. Right. So it's not a fact or a myth. Something in between. Well, I hope you enjoy this episode. You'll hear it podcast. Yeah. Sometimes we just like to talk at you.

And, no, this was a... I actually do think that there's some value in talking about getting around other instruments. No matter what instrument you play, there's so much value in learning the drums, there's so much value in learning the piano. There's so much value in learning the trumpet or an ear instrument, ear focus instrument. And it doesn't have to be like a big, I mean, people think, oh, I have to get a teacher or buy a course. Although we do have several available. No, but I mean, it really can be, get some drums. There's a guy I know that's been trying to sell me this acoustic bass, but actually I should get it because we could.

We had one here before. We kind of could use one. It's really good, and it was like a couple hundred dollars. It's almost to the point of like... Yeah, I know. I know. So, I mean, but I mean, you could do that and just learn, you know, teach yourself a little bit or whatever. Yeah, totally.

It gives you a whole other approach and perception. All right. I'm going to save this episode with some rave reviews. Oh. Are we still getting reviews? We are getting reviews. It's Friday, so I wanted to make sure that we hit on these reviews. That's right.

We've got a couple of new ones. And there are a lot of stuff. stars Pete? Well, the first one. Well, this is minimum seven. The first one, they, this is so good. So it's five stars officially, but in the title, they've actually added

seven stars. Like little emoji stars? Star symbols, yeah. And parentheses, seven star review. Now, you don't get to review your own review. I feel like we're about to. I give them seven stars for this. No, no. I think, I wonder if like they're giving themselves. It's a seven star review of the review interest will be the judge of probably

i'm sure it's great so okay this has become a favorite podcast of mine peter and adam are fun to listen to and have some great practical jazz knowledge to drop on you we try not to hurt you we drop a knowledge up in here yo you don't need to be a jazz pianist or musician to come away with something serious jazz fans will enjoy this too by saxonomous from the united states of america right thank thank you is that via the uh the apple podcast system i believe Is that where it comes to? It's nice. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for that.

And we just remind folks that we are descending into a level of review desperation. It's rarely seen since last week here because we made it all week without shrilling for additional reviews. But we are accepting them. We've reopened the system. We are locked out by Apple Podcasts for several days, right? We don't know what was up with that. What do we do? It had something to do with the spiraling stock price.

We feed off of seven-star reviews. We're a dying star taking in elements of the universe. But we missed a few days of reviews, and since we feed off of them, you lost a bunch of weight, which kind of worked out nicely. But now it's time to be nourished with your love and affection for us.

No, look, this is the thing. You leave a, sir. I have one more. I have one more. Oh, okay. This is the one I was kind of. We're going to actually have reviews instead of talk about reviews.

You'll hear it. Five stars. But then they immediately say, giving this a rating of five stars is not enough. Obviously. How about five quadrillion stars? Well, let's not overdo it, but okay. This is in my humble opinion, obviously.

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