Chris W Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Hi everyone, For the month of October, the PWJ member spotlight is...... Ido Bernstein!! Ido is a very talented piano player and posts videos regularly in the PWJ Facebook group. He also offers lots of encouragement to fellow piano players in the PWJ community and adds a lot to the group. So here is his member spotlight! 1. Where are you from? I was born in Israel, but moved to Los Angeles when I was three years old. I currently live in Marina del Rey, which is a coastal community in Los Angeles. 2. When did you start playing piano? I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 years old. 3. What got you interested in learning music? My mom used to play the accordion and as a little kid I used to try to pick up that heavy instrument and try and play it. I usually would just put it on the floor so that I could squeeze it and make some sounds on the keys. When I was 7, we got an upright piano. My parents made me and my brother take piano lessons from a neighbour who lived a few houses down. After 6 months they gave us the option of sticking with the lessons or quitting. My brother stopped playing, but I kept taking lessons, because I absolutely loved it and have been playing ever since! 4. What is your favorite style of piano music? That’s a hard one, as I enjoy many styles. My first love was classical music, because that’s what I studied. In Junior High I discovered Ragtime, so I really enjoy ragtime, as well. PWJ has opened my eyes to many other styles that I never played. I’ve really enjoyed learning how to play basic blues and would really like to explore that style further. 5. Do you have any favorite pieces to play? I don’t necessarily have a favorite piece. My favorite composer is Beethoven. As a composer/musician, hearing is probably the most important sense to have and Beethoven lost his hearing and was still able to compose brilliant music. In fact, he was completely deaf when he composed the “Ode to Joy” finale of his 9th Symphony. That’s just amazing and inspiring to me. And here we are, some 200 years later, and I’m learning Jonny’s Ragtime/stride version of “Ode to Joy.” 6. What has most helped you most in improving as a pianist? Keeping an open mind, checking my ego when learning a new style, and having patience in trusting that if I put in the work, eventually I will see the results. 7. Do you have any tips for other PWJ members? Be patient with your progress, try not to compare yourself to others, and post videos. Posting videos is key. When I first started at PWJ, the thought of posting a video of myself and sharing it on a forum like Facebook terrified me. When I finally posted my first video, the support and encouragement that I received from the other PWJ members really helped motivate me to practice more and post more. The other cool thing is that now that I have a few years of videos that I’ve posted to look back on, it’s like having a video diary of my musical journey on PWJ. So cool to look back and hear how I sounded, what I was working on, and how much I’ve improved. 8. What is your favorite part of the PWJ Membership? Besides the variety of all the courses offered and Jonny’s teaching style, it would definitely have to be the online community. Without the community, I don’t know that I would have the continued motivation to practice and progress as much as I do. There are fantastic people in the PWJ community and I’m fortunate to have gotten to know and meet some of them. It’s actually more than just a community. Having a PWJ membership feels like being part of a big, supportive family. 9. What are your future music goals? My future music goals are to learn new styles, get more comfortable improvising, and most importantly, just keep playing piano. There is no greater joy and stress relief for me than just sitting down after a long day and playing. 10. Do you have any words you try to live by or a favorite quote? Be kind to other people and live life to the fullest. One of my favorite quotes: “Where words fail, music speaks.” ― Hans Christian Andersen 9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas R Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Congratulations Ido! You are very deserving of this ! You offer so much support to all of us in the community 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Thank you @Chris W for your kind words and for the great honor of being October's Member Spotlight! 🙏 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Douglas R said: Congratulations Ido! You are very deserving of this ! You offer so much support to all of us in the community Thank you so much, @Douglas R! 😊 We are all like one big supportive piano family. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Toal Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 Congratulations @Ido B Well deserved spotlight. You are a great asset to our PWJ family. Great to get some insight into you and your journey 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Paul Toal said: Congratulations @Ido B Well deserved spotlight. You are a great asset to our PWJ family. Great to get some insight into you and your journey Thanks so much for your kind words, @Paul Toal! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe S Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Congratulations Ido. You and your posts are very inspirational. ☺️ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Joe S said: Congratulations Ido. You and your posts are very inspirational. ☺️ Thank you, Joe!! 🙏 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanti L Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 On 10/2/2019 at 4:33 PM, Chris W said: Hi everyone, For the month of October, the PWJ member spotlight is...... Ido Bernstein!! Ido is a very talented piano player and posts videos regularly in the PWJ Facebook group. He also offers lots of encouragement to fellow piano players in the PWJ community and adds a lot to the group. So here is his member spotlight! 1. Where are you from? · I was born in Israel, but moved to Los Angeles when I was three years old. I currently live in Marina del Rey, which is a coastal community in Los Angeles. 2. When did you start playing piano? · I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 years old. 3. What got you interested in learning music? · My mom used to play the accordion and as a little kid I used to try to pick up that heavy instrument and try and play it. I usually would just put it on the floor so that I could squeeze it and make some sounds on the keys. When I was 7, we got an upright piano. My parents made me and my brother take piano lessons from a neighbour who lived a few houses down. After 6 months they gave us the option of sticking with the lessons or quitting. My brother stopped playing, but I kept taking lessons, because I absolutely loved it and have been playing ever since! 4. What is your favorite style of piano music? · That’s a hard one, as I enjoy many styles. My first love was classical music, because that’s what I studied. In Junior High I discovered Ragtime, so I really enjoy ragtime, as well. PWJ has opened my eyes to many other styles that I never played. I’ve really enjoyed learning how to play basic blues and would really like to explore that style further. 5. Do you have any favorite pieces to play? · I don’t necessarily have a favorite piece. My favorite composer is Beethoven. As a composer/musician, hearing is probably the most important sense to have and Beethoven lost his hearing and was still able to compose brilliant music. In fact, he was completely deaf when he composed the “Ode to Joy” finale of his 9th Symphony. That’s just amazing and inspiring to me. And here we are, some 200 years later, and I’m learning Jonny’s Ragtime/stride version of “Ode to Joy.” 6. What has most helped you most in improving as a pianist? · Keeping an open mind, checking my ego when learning a new style, and having patience in trusting that if I put in the work, eventually I will see the results. 7. Do you have any tips for other PWJ members? · Be patient with your progress, try not to compare yourself to others, and post videos. Posting videos is key. When I first started at PWJ, the thought of posting a video of myself and sharing it on a forum like Facebook terrified me. When I finally posted my first video, the support and encouragement that I received from the other PWJ members really helped motivate me to practice more and post more. The other cool thing is that now that I have a few years of videos that I’ve posted to look back on, it’s like having a video diary of my musical journey on PWJ. So cool to look back and hear how I sounded, what I was working on, and how much I’ve improved. 8. What is your favorite part of the PWJ Membership? · Besides the variety of all the courses offered and Jonny’s teaching style, it would definitely have to be the online community. Without the community, I don’t know that I would have the continued motivation to practice and progress as much as I do. There are fantastic people in the PWJ community and I’m fortunate to have gotten to know and meet some of them. It’s actually more than just a community. Having a PWJ membership feels like being part of a big, supportive family. 9. What are your future music goals? · My future music goals are to learn new styles, get more comfortable improvising, and most importantly, just keep playing piano. There is no greater joy and stress relief for me than just sitting down after a long day and playing. 10. Do you have any words you try to live by or a favorite quote? · Be kind to other people and live life to the fullest. One of my favorite quotes: “Where words fail, music speaks.” ― Hans Christian Andersen Congrats Ido. If I was asked the same questions, half of them would be similar like yours. Of course I wasn't born in Israel 😂😂 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam A Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 This is awesome @Ido B! Great to hear more about you. Always enjoy seeing your posts and comments in the community. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 5 hours ago, Shanti L said: Congrats Ido. If I was asked the same questions, half of them would be similar like yours. Of course I wasn't born in Israel 😂😂 😂 Thank you, @Shanti L. I really find that many of us PWJ members have so much in common. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 4 hours ago, Sam A said: This is awesome @Ido B! Great to hear more about you. Always enjoy seeing your posts and comments in the community. Thank you, @Sam A 🙏 Always enjoy seeing your posts too!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry H Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Ido I always watch your posts and I always learn something from them. Thank you. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 12:26 AM, Terry H said: Ido I always watch your posts and I always learn something from them. Thank you. Thank you so much, Terry! Love watching your posts!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellen M Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Congrats, Ido! You were born in Israel, cool fact 👍🏻 Enjoyed reading more of your story. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 On 10/9/2019 at 3:00 PM, Ellen M said: Congrats, Ido! You were born in Israel, cool fact 👍🏻 Enjoyed reading more of your story. Thank you, Ellen! 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian SIMIAN Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 Congratulations, Ido Bernstein, Nice, I liked everything you answered and your story Good luck in the future! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 10 hours ago, Sebastian Marius Simian said: Congratulations, Ido Bernstein, Nice, I liked everything you answered and your story Good luck in the future! Thank you so much @Sebastian Marius Simian! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny May Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Woohoo!! Congratulations @Ido B on beating featured in the October Student Spotlight!! I really enjoyed reading your responses, especially #7: Keeping an open mind, checking my ego when learning a new style, and having patience in trusting that if I put in the work, eventually I will see the results. You are such a valuable part of the PWJ community and you bring so much life, positivity, and encouragement to this group. Thank you for being such a dedicated student and member. You deserve this highlight! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Thank you, @Jonny May! Much appreciated! 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvonne Y Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 How did I miss this!!! Congrats on your October spotlight, Ido. I really enjoyed reading about you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiram L Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Congratulations Ido! Thanks for sharing your story. You are an inspiration to the PWJ family! Blessings, Hiram😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 21 hours ago, Yvonne Y said: How did I miss this!!! Congrats on your October spotlight, Ido. I really enjoyed reading about you! Thanks, Yvonne! I cried myself to sleep when you didn’t congratulate me. I know I’m not a Duke, but I still have feelings. 😂🤣😂. Ha ha. Just kidding. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I do appreciate it. 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ido B Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 21 hours ago, Hiram L said: Congratulations Ido! Thanks for sharing your story. You are an inspiration to the PWJ family! Blessings, Hiram😊 Thanks a lot, Hiram! I really appreciate your kind words! 🙏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel L Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Thanks for sharing. You are amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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