Ray Chen
Life at the Best Music School in the World
updated
Who has the best Beethoven Violin Concerto? I personally love Henryk Szeryng’s GOLDEN tone.
In this video I go through what makes the Beethoven Violin Concerto so epic and review 4 soloists and their musical choices they make to best bring forth Beethoven’s S-Tier Concerto 🎵
Let me know if I didn’t cover YOUR favorite performer 🎻 Drop a comment of others who you want me to review!
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - David Oistrakh
3:54 - Hilary Hahn
7:04 - Augustin Hadelich
10:10 - Janine Jansen
So are you Team Ray or Team Jasmine? 🎵 Let us know in the comments!
Do you know which Paganini Caprices are the most difficult/which one you’ll need to spend the most hours on? Watch this video to find out!
0:00 - Intro
00:47 - Power scaling
01:34 - No. 1
01:57 - No. 2
02:26 - No. 3
03:20 - No. 4
04:08 - No. 5
04:50 - No. 6
05:16 - No. 7
05:59 - No. 8
06:25 - No. 9
06:51 - No. 10
07:17 - No. 11
07:59 - No. 12
08:30 - No. 13
09:43 - No. 14
10:15 - No. 15
11:14 - No. 16
12:07 - No. 17
13:17 - No. 18
13:48 - No. 19
14:56 - No. 20
15:46 - No. 21
16:43 - No. 22
17:42 - No. 23
18:30 - No. 24
Hope this video was helpful :) Click here for the performance version: youtu.be/XvGxb1-YpQE?si=Wvvngej1TXHEvNO2
CHALLENGE ON TONIC BEGINS MARCH 18TH
Big thanks to @KennedyViolins for making this possible and for letting us prepare those violins in such "interesting" ways 🎻 Also huge thanks to @ColburnSchoolLosAngeles for supporting the event 🙌🏼
How important is an expensive instrument? You might think other people who play the SAME instrument can tell, but could a professional musician who plays a a DIFFERENT instrument tell apart a $1,000 and $50,000 instrument? 🎵
In this video I challenge flutist @JasmineChoi to see if she can tell the difference between my violins and if I can tell the difference between her flutes. Also check out the video we did on her channel where we battled out Flute VS Violin on Flight of the Bumblebee 🐝 youtu.be/6H4jmP74cWA?si=-PvmDffY9jboNRM_
0:00 - Intro
0:37 - Introducing our instruments
2:06 - Round 1 Flute
4:14 - Round 2 Flute
8:26 - Round 1 Violin
10:38 - Round 2 Violin
Who has the best Brahms Violin Concerto? Janine Jansen? What about David Oistrakh?
In this video I go through what makes the Brahms Violin Concerto so epic and review 4 soloists and their musical choices they make to best bring forth Brahms’ music 🎵
Let me know who is YOUR favorite performer of the Brahms Violin Concerto 🎻 Drop a comment if you have others who you want me to review!
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - David Oistrakh
3:54 - Hilary Hahn
7:04 - Augustin Hadelich
10:10 - Janine Jansen
Have fun practicing! I've used this piece for encores all over the world and now I'd like to share it with you, so more people can hear this beautiful Australian melody 🦘
0:00 - Intro
0:40 - The Introduction
1:52 - "Once a jolly swagman" - First theme
3:54 - "Rivers of Australia" - Variation 1
5:33 - "Waltzing Matilda!" - Chorus
6:43 - "Kangaroos & sheep" - Variation 2
8:54 - "Hey my sheep!" - Minor key 1
10:05 - "Not-so-jolly" - Minor key 2
12:55 - The ghost
Let me know who is your favorite performer of the Bruch Violin Concerto 🎻
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - Yehudi Menuhin
4:24 - Maxim Vengerov
9:59 - Itzhak Perlman
12:41 - Janine Jansen
Ok this one was tougher than I thought. Might need to practice more.
Let me know if there are other excerpts you think I should try!
Level up your music playing with Tonic: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together 🎵 Engage in fun events with the community and earn rewards for practicing and sharing music.
0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Listening & analyzing
2:46 - Fingerings & markings
4:11 - Practicing
6:25 - Performance
8:45 - Outro
Reuploaded for HD version (and perhaps crediting the “Spring” Sonata to the wrong guy XD)
Recorded with pianist Julio Elizalde (instagram.com/juliothepianist) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
"Presto" from Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" Summer (3rd movement)
Rockport Music | Shalin Liu Performance Center
rockportmusic.org
Big thanks to @shawnwasabi for giving a classical musician a taste for EDM - I mean, Electronic Music 🤣
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - Shawn's instrument: Midi Fighter 64
2:45 - Collab concept
4:15 - Rehearsal / learning the piece
6:49 - Performance
Big thanks to @IsabellaEgawa for providing the sheet music arrangement. Download the Tonic app and search for the ‘Ray Music Arrangements’ Group, and have fun practicing it with the community!
Let’s see if I can learn Rush E in 30 minutes and play it.
0:00 - Intro: What is Rush E?
0:51 - Reacting to original version
2:39 - Free sheet music
8:36 - Performance
I can’t believe I hadn’t seen this before. Fun to watch but Jubilee really does their folks dirty with their content. TwoSet reacted to this but I thought I'd add in a bit more from a professional musician's perspective on why I believe they gave themselves those rankings.
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - What is talent?
3:17 - Ray ranking the musicians
3:52 - Musicians ranking themselves
10:17 - Results: Average ranking
10:34 - Results: Public IG ranking
12:10 - Comparison: IG vs Musicians vs Ray
13:00 - Conclusion
Can you guess who the mystery musician is based on the thumbnail?
I already know we’re going to need a Round 2 for this so just go ahead and list out and vote for the people you want me to include in the next round of Tchaikovsky SHOWDOWN
0:00 - Intro
0:31 - David Oistrakh
3:14 - Itzhak Perlman
5:52 - Alena Baeva
8:00 - Mystery musician
Work on perfecting your vibrato with these 4 easy exercises!
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Step 1
1:06 - Step 2
2:24 - Step 3
3:47 - Step 4
4:36 - Additional tips
Do you think Brett & Eddy have improved? I rank them to see how well their technique, musicianship, and confidence have changed over the years.
Join the Henle Challenge to win prizes: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together
0:00 - Intro & skill ranking explanation
1:04 - Early days (2016 - 2018)
5:46 - Years of improvement (2019 - 2021)
11:57 - The last few years (2022 - present day)
This was a fun one to practice! It's a lot harder than it looks :)
Practice on Tonic and win cool prizes together with the community: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together All instruments and styles welcome! 🎸
Sarah Chang or Hilary Hahn - who's style do you prefer when it comes to the Sibelius Violin Concerto? What about Joshua Bell? Or do you prefer Maxim Vengerov’s smooth legato lines?
Let me know if there are other performance versions of Sibelius you love in the comments below.
0:00 - Intro
0:25 - Joshua Bell
2:03 - Negative comments
3:49 - Sarah Chang
7:00 - Hilary Hahn
10:55 - Maxim Vengerov
0:00 - Intro
0:20 - Item 1
1:19 - Item 2
3:40 - Item 3
4:15 - Item 4
5:22 - Item 5
6:04 - Item 6
6:45 - Item 7
7:27 - Item 8
8:05 - Item 9
8:37 - Item 10
9:09 - Item 11
9:58 - Item 12
Perfect for any holiday gathering. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is a wonderful addition to the festive spirit. Let me know in the comments below what other pieces you’d like me to teach! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 🎄
0:00 - Intro
0:25 - Tutorial
12:58 - Performance
How real or fake are some of these TikToks? Some were good. Others were sus.
Ps. This was the original video that caused me to fly to Paris to CALL OUT a TikTok musician for his video.
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - String
0:56 - Water
1:29 - 1 to 17 years
2:51 - 5 vs 15 years
4:22 - Raising money for lessons
5:24 - Conductor 1
6:50 - Classical music is boring
7:38 - Shots fired
7:55 - Falling asleep in concert
8:41 - Conductor gets pranked
9:17 - Conduct us
10:29 - Mozart Lacrimosa
11:45 - Interstellar
12:53 - CALLING OUT TIKTOKER
Maxim Vengerov vs Hilary Hahn - who's style do you prefer when it comes to Mendelssohn? What about Janine Jansen? Or do you prefer old-school Jascha Heifetz?
Let me know if there are other performance versions of Mendelssohn you love in the comments below.
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Jascha Heifetz
2:31 - Maxim Vengerov
7:13 - Janine Jansen
10:10 - Hilary Hahn
Use this sheet music to practice on Tonic: https://tonicmusic.app/goat
Backing track: youtu.be/CmrVUkURY9Q?si=2w68Gk5MzfV6pM-8
PS. If you don't know @Polyphia or @TimHensonW6RST, go check them out! Also, huge thanks to @ColburnSchoolLosAngeles for letting me perform sacrilege in the renown Heifetz Studio 🙏🏼
Brahms vs Paganini - which one's more difficult? Is Lalo Symphonie Espagnole easier to play than Mozart Violin Concerto?
Let me guide you through my thought process for which violin concertos you'll get the most bang out of your buck for your practice time!
0:00 - Intro
03:29 - Tchaikovsky
07:17 - Brahms
09:17 - Prokofiev
10:45 - Barber
12:40 - Beethoven
15:53 - Conclusion
Time to test our listening skills to see if we can play these famous passages after only hearing them once.
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Rather Be (Clean Bandit)
1:12 - Binks' Sake (One Piece)
2:55 - Golden Wind (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
3:51 - Fantastic (Henry Lau)
4:52 - Shut Down (BLACKPINK)
5:58 - Black Angels (George Crumb)
7:44 - Succession (Nicholas Britell)
9:05 - Married Life (Up)
10:25 - Tears of the Kingdom (Zelda)
11:24 - Jhin the Virtuoso (League of Legends)
12:15 - BONUS track
Changing strings doesn't have to be a painful experience. Learn how Ray does it and never snap a string again!
0:00 - Intro
0:39 - Removing old string
1:59 - Preparing the new string
2:21 - Applying new string
3:51 - Tuning the string
5:09 - Changing the E string
5:40 - Removing the ball end
7:41 - Q&A String Changing
0:00 - Intro
0:21 - Getting started
1:27 - Musicality
2:44 - Composers
3:43 - Communication
6:25 - Motivation
7:41 - Conclusion
Backing track to the "Evolution of Anime Music" (Can't wait to hear you practice this): https://tonicmusic.app/anime
Big thanks to @RobLandes for surprising everyone. Check out the other video we did: youtu.be/_UszrVji7y0
Let me know your favorite animes in the description below and which ones you think I should play!
This video helps you learn HOW to identify pitches to tell which one is higher or lower as well WHAT to listen for, so you can tune quickly and efficiently.
0:00 - Intro
0:15 - Identifying strings VIOLIN & VIOLA
1:07 - Methods of Tuning
2:26 - LISTENING TEST - Which pitch is higher?
3:09 - HOW to know if a pitch is higher or lower
3:46 - Tuning: Method 1
4:26 - Soundwave method
6:02 - Tuning 5ths method
Yeah, that's right. I made a video where all I do is play open strings. Perfectly in tune.
Don't know how to tune or determine which pitch is higher/lower? Watch this video first: youtu.be/qkoz-oLNq7s
0:00 - Intro
0:01 - A 440Hz (US / UK tuning)
1:16 - A 441Hz (US / UK tuning)
2:34 - A 442 Hz (European tuning)
3:51 - A 415 Hz (Baroque tuning)
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Mistake 1
1:59 - Mistake 2
2:28 - Mistake 3
3:00 - Mistake 4
3:34 - Mistake 5
4:02 - Mistake 6
4:27 - Mistake 7
5:01 - Mistake 8
5:23 - Mistake 9
6:02 - Mistake 10
Do you use a toothbrush when you rosin? No? Better learn this trick then!
Ever wonder why you sound different to the pros? It starts with how you apply ROSIN to your bow.
Tips on how to apply rosin from an international concert violinist so that you can start sounding GREAT on your violin / viola / cello 🎻
0:00 - Intro
0:39 - How to hold the Rosin
1:30 - Application technique
2:35 - How to evenly distribute the rosin across the hair
3:40 - Testing the sound (how much is enough?)
4:29 - Daily maintenance
4:51 - Dark vs light rosin?
5:38 - Is it OK to switch rosins?
PRACTICE THIS: violin sheet music of "Playing God" with my bowings & fingerings (Can't wait for you to practice this on Tonic): https://tonicmusic.app/playinggod
Backing track: youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8U1b4mRL0
PS. If you don't know@Polyphia or @TimHensonW6RST, go check them out! Also, huge thanks to @ColburnSchoolLosAngeles for letting me perform sacrilege in the renown Heifetz Studio 🙏🏼
I use it all the time and it’s been so helpful to make my practice sessions more efficient and effective.
0:00 - Intro
0:44 - Step 1
1:29 - Step 2
1:57 - Step 3
02:43 - Step 4
03:50 - Step 5
Who’s style do you prefer when it comes to Bach?
0:00 - Intro
1:08 - Jascha Heifetz
2:28 - Nathan Milstein
3:54 - Rachel Podger
7:10 - Hilary Hahn
9:53 - Conclusion
In this video, I try 8 different instruments to find which Amazon violin is the best value (so you don't have to!)
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0:00 - Intro
0:22 - Unboxing ASMR
00:45 - $23
1:00 - $39
02:47 - $90
04:15 - $130
05:23 - $170
07:16 - $340
09:57 - $575
12:06 - $740
Start practicing on the Tonic App to build your confidence (like Karolina and Ray): https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together 🙌🏼 Feel supported and motivated by the Tonic community while you practice. It’s the BEST feeling in the world and it’s FREE!
🔔 Subscribe to Ray’s channel for regular updates to vids and livestreams: youtube.com/@RayChenViolinist?sub_confirmation=1
0:00 - Who is Karolina Protsenko?
1:00 - What to do when busking
2:53 - Karolina’s turn
03:21 - Intrusive thoughts
04:57 - Ray’s turn
08:56 - Audience interviews & reactions
Now go practice. But where?
Go join over 70,000 other practicers and download the Tonic App and PRACTICE with a community of other musicians: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together
Tonic, the largest live practice community in the world.
With over 70,000 people practicing, it’s the largest live practice community in the world. Download today for free: https://tonicmusic.app/join-in
🔔 Subscribe to the channel for regular updates to vids and livestreams: youtube.com/@RayChenViolinist?sub_confirmation=1
0:00 - Intro
0:34 - Contestant 1
04:03 - Contestant 2
05:50 - Contestant 3
08:47 - Contestant 4
With over 70,000 people practicing, Tonic is the largest practice community in the world!
With so many self proclaimed “prodigies” out there, who are the real ones?
🍿 WATCH NEXT:
youtube.com/watch?v=T0s-zHvfOC0
0:00 - Intro
0:29 - Prodigy 1
2:03 - Prodigy 2
03:21 - Prodigy 3
04:23 - Prodigy 4
06:00 - Prodigy 5
07:37 - Prodigy 6
09:50 - Prodigy 7
Waltzing Matilda - the "unofficial" anthem of Australia 🐨🦘Superb arrangement by Stephan Koncz with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Tianyi Lu
Recorded live at the Sydney Opera House
Hey ya'll! Had fun making this video. Here we rate movie scenes which have musicians and analyze why some do it better than others.
By the way, Tonic is a free music practice app that hosts the largest live practice community in the world. Designed to make your music journey accessible, connected and fun for a global community of musicians and learners. It has 100% changed the way I practice where everything from my approach to the music to performing has now become so much freer and enjoyable. I hope to see you in your practice room soon!
📲 Download Tonic: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together
🔔 Subscribe to the channel: youtube.com/@RayChenViolinist?sub_confirmation=1
00:00 Intro
00:25 Movie "The Red Violin"
03:57 Movie "Amadeus"
05:44 Movie "The Pianist"
07:33 Movie "Whiplash"
10:19 Conclusion
11:14 Hank Chang cameo
Spent a fun afternoon with my buddy Joel Link (Curtis Faculty and 1st Violinist of the Dover Quartet) picking out violin bows and sharing feedback to each other.
Thanks to Frederick Oster Fine Violins for hosting us for the occasion!
*UPDATE: Joel bought the $2,500 bow. They’re on a musical honeymoon now 💕
Moo! 🐮 These cows were so friendly and the brown one (Mr Brindle) in particular was by far the most curious out of the and wanted more. Always so fascinating to see how different audiences react to music and definitely less lonely when you have others accompanying you while you practice.
Let's practice together: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-together
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Do you think Mozart was arrogant or just confident in his skills? Dive into the world of Mozart as seen on the big screen with 2 very different portrayals of Mozart's character 🎬 From the iconic 'Amadeus' to the riveting 'Chevalier,' we explore the portrayal of the maestro and the influential Joseph Bologne, a figure long overshadowed in history. But do these films capture the intricate balance of playfulness and mastery in Mozart and his music? Let's find out! 🍿
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It's over. The machine overlords have made their way into classical music.
Today I'm embarking on an unprecedented journey where I'm inviting Chat GPT to be my violin teacher to take on Antonio Bazzini's famously difficult piece, "Round of the Goblins."
Have to say, I was not expecting to receive such a humbling experience but as they say, it's always good to keep learning! 💪🏼
Keep practicing. Join the practice community on Tonic: https://tonicmusic.app/practice-now
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