Jon Schmidt is none other than the “piano guy” from The Piano Guys. He is a pianist, composer, piano teacher, and author, and I’m delighted to have him join me on the podcast for this episode.

The Piano Guys are known for their incredible pop and classical arrangements. In 2016 they passed 1 billion views on YouTube with their amazing videos with unbelievable backdrops like cliffs, forests and even the great wall of China!

In this interview Jon gives us the inside scoop on those awesome videos, as well as his thoughts on tampering with the classics, and what we can do to inspire the next generation of creative pianists.

You don’t want to miss this one!

Transcript

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In this episode, you’ll learn

• The magic behind their incredible music videos
• What it’s like to be inspiring so many piano students around the world
• How Jon got his start with traditional piano lessons
• Where the inspiration for Waterfall came from
• How Jon approaches teaching chords to students
• How they go about choosing and creating new arrangements
• Jon’s views on “messing” with the music of the great composers
• The essentials of Jon’s own practice routine
• What we can do to inspire the Jon Schmidts of the future!

Links Mentioned

• The Piano Guys
• The Piano Guys YouTube channel
• Waterfall

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How do you think Mozart would feel about these mashups of his music?

Do you think he would want us to set his music in stone? Or do you think variations would have been welcomed by the great composers?