Teaching Ears James Vincent

In this episode we speak with music school owner, Jessica Truong who is founder and director of Learn Music Queensland, a piano teacher, entrepreneur and businesswoman. We talk about taking lessons while being a teacher, circle of 5ths training, starting out as a piano teacher, female role models in music performance, creating bands from your students, concert preparation, rote learning, twice weekly lessons and increasing music immersion, teacher retention, transfer teacher processes, student concerts, teaching online, adapting to a post COVID teaching landscape, new ways of dealing with missed lessons, studio policies and contracts, teaching philosophy changes from when starting out, music learning apps.

In this episode we speak with music artist, producer and music workshop facilitator, Andrew Stephens who has founded many Brisbane Bands including the renowned “Kingfisha”. We talk music workshops, cricket, 4zzz, the Zoo, dub, touring and workflows in a recording studio environment. A lot of Brisbane music history is discussed here particularly in the 90’s and 00’s and was great to have this man come in to enlighten us on his role and perspectives of both the Brisbane Music scene and the importance of music education in a youth work capacity.

In this episode we speak with music educator and musician, Kellee Green who is a Jazz Pianist and Head of Music Department at a prominent school in Brisbane, Australia. She currently plays in bands such as The Andrew Butt Trio and the Pockets.

We talk the state of music education in schools, gigging as a teenager, wonder boy, Brisbane Music History Excursions, Rock School, Anita Collins, John Farnham, Ukuleles, The Albany Creek Tavern, Parenting, Kodaly, Suzuki, Music Teachers as practioners, The Triffid, 4zzz, Cloudland, Powderfinger and John Collins serving lunch.

Fred Leone A.K.A Rival MC is a Butchulla Song Man of Kgari also known as Fraser Island. He’s a very respected community leader, musician, educator, curator of culture, performer, dancer as well as family man. He is a Project Manager, Creative Producer, Artistic Director, Indigenous, Youth and Community Engagement Consultant and also an award Winning Australian Indigenous Hip Hop artist with his group Impossible Odds.

On this episode we talk the origins of his learning as hip hop artist in many elements, involvement in hip hop workshops, song lines, Zillmere Multicultural Festival, Pig City, Stylin Up, Bowraville, Aboriginal role models, Bass X, Willing and Able, John Butler, Visible Ink, Contact Ink, Taiko Drums, Kingfisha, Impossible Odds, Malcom X, Youth Work, Ask Jeeves, Stealing Dictionaries, Sega, The Creative Assembly, Video Games, The Amato Brothers, Mattriks and the Book of Kin, Graffiti, Recipe for Disaster, DJ Daddy Dupe, Records, Promiscous, Murders, Wild Time, Aboriginal Linguistics and Languages, Embala, Massacres, Yellow Paddy, King Plates, Sweeny Brothers, Australian Slavery,  His new song with Birdz Bagi-La-M Bargan, Ted, Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, Black Arm Band, Dance, Assimilation and Aboriginal Stockmen.

Episode 5 of “Teaching Ears” is now up featuring the very talented Bass man himself, Craig Kickbush A.K.A Craig Croonbush A.K.A one of the founding members of the Radsters with a musical career spanning many decades. We talk music teaching, Pink Floyd, Monk, Spyra Gyra, Sting, Ralph Hultgren, Bass Guitars and Ukuleles,  Wurlitzers, Cruise Ship life, The Lazy Leis, Ecliptic, Scratching, The Organ, Bruno Brucnano, The Bankok New Trio, Carrying the Percussion, Sigmas, Mutley Laughs, Kelvin Grove School and QUT, Alan Clarke, Moist Crew, Stravinsky, Record Collecting, Korg Delay Units, Casio SK1, Ellaways, Bribie Island, Gordon Park, The Serenity, Alex Crook, Transcontinental Hotel, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees, The Funk Rats, Roy and HG, Mr Do, Wonderboy 2, Transcriptions, Bill Frisell, Trichotomy, Level 42, Spontaneity, Moccasins, Tasmania, Tablas, The Warana, Ravi Shankar, John Farnham, A Country Practice, B.O.S.S Productions, The Press Club, Seven Step Fetish, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and perhaps more!

Declan McMahon is a Piano Teacher, Producer, Composer, Recording Artist from Brisbane who also happens to be one my old piano students from 9 years ago. We discuss piano teaching, Pink Floyd, producing, wave forms, compression, the Italian language, Tame Impala, engineering, physics, travelling and more!