Description:

Don Friedman from NYU talks about his different teaching methods and his view of different musical styles. He describes how he has a certain set way of starting a student on the piano that has little or no experience. He explains that he has learned a lot about music by teaching and feels he became a better teacher by analyzing and solving problems for his students. He plays for his students and with his students, and gives assignments which includes transcribing music to work on ear training. Mr. Friedman advises that the best way to advance as a musician is to play gigs. This experience teaches a musician how to adjust with an ensemble. He discusses how he listens to jazz and classical music and the differences between them. He believes with jazz there is no limit to what you can do and with classical music you can intrepret the music but must also play a particular set of notes. Mr. Friedman also talks about how he has left himself open to new things and has a wide variety of influences to draw from.