{"id":10074,"date":"2021-03-15T12:04:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T19:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/info\/?p=10074"},"modified":"2021-11-13T10:34:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-13T18:34:13","slug":"blogpostbobathayde","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/info\/blogpostbobathayde\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Bob Athayde, Pianist and Music Educator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWe all play together\u201d has been pianist, bandleader, and chorus director Bob Athayde\u2019s motto since he began teaching at Stanley Middle School, in Lafayette, California, in 1986. We\u2019ll have a chance to bring that motto to life on March 20, when Bob leads our \u201cAnyone Can Improvise!\u201d online workshop<\/a>. We reached Bob at his Orinda, California, home to learn more about his career and his approach to teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bob Athayde<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little about your background. Is yours a musical family?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife is a musician and music teacher, and all four of my kids play music. I guess they grew up thinking everyone plays music. My son Kyle, who plays trumpet, is my artist-assistant\u2014he\u2019s three times the musician I\u2019ll ever be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve devoted your professional life to teaching young people. What do you find most satisfying about teaching?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most satisfying thing is seeing that light bulb switch on in a student\u2019s mind, whether it\u2019s a fourth-grader or an adult. When I can get people to feel joyful about what they\u2019re engaged in I know I\u2019ve gotten the concept across!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re teaching remotely now. How is that going? <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We closed the school, of course, so I\u2019ve been teaching remotely for a year. But I still go into my classroom, because it makes me feel more businesslike. I have a Steinway grand piano there\u2014it\u2019s in mint condition\u2014plus two computers, an extra camera, and a state-of-the-art microphone with audio interface. I have a big screen and put all the kids\u2019 faces up there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any tips for Zoom learning?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m used to being in person with large groups of people, so at first, Zoom was strange. After a year of Zooming, I\u2019ve gotten used to it, and am grateful to have that platform. I keep track of teachers around the country who are doing great things with Zoom, and I learn from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides teaching remotely, what else have you been during during the pandemic, musically and otherwise?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Covid, I had a weekly gig playing piano at La Finestra Ristorante in Moraga. That went away, but I now stream a set via Facebook Live<\/a> every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 7 p.m. I\u2019ve attended a lot of online master classes and listened to [jazz pianist] Herbie Hancock\u2019s Harvard lecture series<\/a>. And I\u2019ve walked our dog more\u2014and met a lot of neighbors on my walks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some classically trained musicians, improvisation can feel a little scary. What can you tell them to make it less daunting?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d tell them to be more like kids. To remember that this is your<\/em> expression\u2014that just as no two people have the same fingerprints, no two people play music the same. You\u2019re making a contribution to art, to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I look at the piano and tell myself to play something I\u2019ve never played before. Of course I\u2019m filled<\/em> with ideas of things I\u2019ve done before. But then I might come out with something new and interesting. Listen, I make so many mistakes that if I were leading a band I probably wouldn\u2019t hire me! But I don\u2019t care, because I\u2019m batting .500, which would get me into the major leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember: it\u2019s playing<\/em> music, not working<\/em> music!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
REVISIT THE WORKSHOP<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Photo of Bob with students: Kerwin Lee<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The secret to improvisation, says the veteran teacher, is “to be more like kids.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,18,22,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mentors","category-piano","category-musictalk","category-workshops"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Bob Athayde, Pianist and Music Educator - Amateur Music Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amateurmusic.org\/info\/blogpostbobathayde\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Bob Athayde, Pianist and Music Educator - 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