Student Interviews – Ridley Academy

An Interview With Ridley Academy Student Moe Tilus

Nick James — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 18:11:43 +0000

Student Interviews

Who is Moe Tilus?

Moe Tilus is an accomplished individual with a diverse range of interests. He is currently running an insurance agency and a digital marketing agency. Moe also teaches a course on emotional intelligence. In addition, Moe has a deep passion for music and recently embarked on a journey to learn piano through the Ridley Academy. Let’s dive into Moe’s experiences and how music has impacted his life’s dive in.

What's your musical background?

I was born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents, and I am the first generation from Haiti. I was raised in New Jersey.

I took piano lessons as a child. I wanted to honor my parents for their investment in me and finally learn how to play properly.

I knew only five chords as they related to the songs I played in church. I didn’t really understand what I was playing or why I was playing them

Tell me about your experience with traditional music lessons.

I took music lessons when I was younger, and I used to come home late intentionally on those days so I wouldn’t have to go.

This resulted in an “ass whooping” from my parents, which I had already calculated I would be getting for being late. It was still better than the lesson.

Long story short, I didn’t enjoy those traditional lessons.

How long did you try to learn with lessons or alternative methods before joining the Ridley Academy?

I spent countless years being a beginner and picking up little things from YouTube here and there. But now, I hear and understand music totally differently.

The Ridley Academy, on the other hand, is completely different. Learning how to play so many different songs in such a short time is a game-changer. It has revolutionized my approach to music.

And you ended up giving up the piano, and music, right?

I grew up in the church, and my father was a reverend. He was also a music director in his country, and his passion for music has always been one of my prime motivations for pursuing it.

I started with music singing in the choir, and then when I got old enough, I learned piano. Eventually, that passion turned into rap.

I actually gave up music because I thought it was the “mature” thing to do.

I went without music for over a decade. Almost 15 years.

What made you want to get back into music?

I decided to learn piano again to honor my parents, and the next day I saw an ad for the Ridley Academy. It felt like a divine sign.

I wanted to play for them on my 40th birthday this year, and I’m on pace to do pretty well!

As I’ve improved, the possibilities have expanded. It’s become so much more than that.

How was your journey through the Ridley Academy?

I have been with Ridley Academy for five months. It has been amazing from the start. I quickly learned so much and in such a short period of time.

The extent of what I learned far outweighed the investment.

I was able to learn every major and minor scale in less than 10 minutes, something I thought was impossible and never dreamed of achieving.

One of my favorite aspects is the online group where we can post videos and receive encouragement from others on this journey.

Tell me about the Facebook group. How did it change your learning experience?

The Facebook group has allowed me to have a library of my progress in one place. I receive positive comments from other participants, and I learn from others who share their videos. It’s also a great way to listen to different styles of music.

And hearing the testimonies of others and understanding their motivations has been inspiring.

Where are you at now? What is your relationship with music like?

Playing the piano has become therapeutic for me. It’s like instant meditation in motion.

I see myself performing very soon and everywhere possible. I want to share this gift with the world. It has opened up new possibilities and potentially another source of income.

If someone wanted to learn to play music, what advice would you give them?

I would tell them that I learned more about music and piano in 30 days with the Ridley Academy than in all my previous music experiences.

So, go for it, take it seriously, and enjoy the results.

You can find Moe’s YouTube channel here.

The Ridley Academy has thousands of successful students from all over the world.

Check out some more Ridley Academy Student Reviews here.

An Interview With Ridley Academy Student Shaowei Lai

Nick James — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 19:15:14 +0000

Student Interviews

Who is Shaowei Lai?

Shaowei Lai was a career investment banker, until her children inspired her to drop everything and change careers.
She realized that she had gone off from the dreams she had as a child, and decided to revisit some of her earlier dreams, goals and ambitions.
When she isn’t running her household and raising her two children she spends her days making fine art through the mediums of paint, ceramics and sculptures.
I had the chance to interview her and find out about her experiences with Stephen Ridley and the Ridley Academy.

What was your life like before the Ridley Academy?

How was your experiences with learning the piano before the Ridley Academy?

I attended a few in-person piano lessons a few years prior to Stephen’s course but didn’t continue after having my children. I enjoyed playing the piano then but found the learning part quite confusing and the progress was very slow.

How was your journey with the Ridley Academy?

The journey has been AMAZING! Everything in Stephen’s course makes so much sense.

The teaching was very focused and to the point, the practice was very fun. Even though it was suggested by the course to practice a few minutes a day, I very often sat there and practiced for much longer because it was just so fun.

I was loving the challenge and it was very fulfilling to see my progress every single day.

What I found also fascinating is that I actually learned a lot about life through Stephen’s course – how to focus on the task at hand and not pay too much attention on the end goal, how to make large and difficult problem into much smaller and solvable ones.

Stephen’s course provided me with another medium to be creative, to have another way out to express myself.

I am so grateful to be able enjoy playing other people’s beautiful music, and to also creating my own.

I just feel so alive and peaceful every time I finished playing piano!

What are some of your favorite aspects of the Ridley Academy?

I like best about how the course is structured and designed.

Also, Stephen’s Q&As and the opportunity to share your work and progress with other students in a safe and encouraging environment!

Have you had any big changes as a result of your improved relationship with music?

I feel like I am living my life when I am playing, also when I listen to music. Now, every time I do I have goosebumps all over me, like waves going through my body.

It’s an amazing sensation that I never had before the course.

Making art and making music is the way I want to live, I am so grateful I get to do these.

I actually started to make my own music and I am planning to incorporate the music I make into the exhibition of my artwork.

How has the academy, or your new level of skill with music, benefited your life now?

I have more joy and more peace in my life so far.

Perhaps in the near future I can provide for my family through music too, but I don’t know how yet. Right now I am just enjoying playing and making music.

What are some of the successes you have had with the Ridley Academy?

I actually found my soul mate and best friend through the Ridley Academy Facebook community!

I wanted to read sheet music comfortably and I can now.

I wanted to play music with more complexity and I can now, and I also now have the confidence to know that however complex the piece of music is, through breaking it down and putting in effort to learn it, I will be able to play it and play it well.

I couldn’t improvise before. Now I can easily improvise, especially with chords from songs.

What makes the Ridley Academy different than other methods of learning the piano?

The key difference is that it doesn’t try to get the students to learn a simple song to begin with and then a more difficult one like how the traditional piano teaching is.

You are not asked to play any song but just learn each component of the skills you need in order to play a song.

Once you learn all the skills at the end of the course, you can play ANY song, however complex it is.

This reduces a lot of confusion coming from the traditional way of learning.

Additionally the pattern recognition on scale is amazing, it completely transformed how scale was learnt into how it should be learnt.

If you knew someone who was thinking about doing the program, what would you say to them?

I loved the Ridley Academy, and I would definitely recommend it.

For more information about Shaowei, or updates on her journey as an artist, check out her Instagram page HERE

The Ridley Academy has thousands of successful students from all over the world.

Check out some more Ridley Academy Student Reviews here.