Full Transcript
Matthew:
Hi, my name is Matthew Whitaker, I’m 20 years old, I am a musician who happens to be blind, I play piano, drums, organ, keyboards, and percussion. I love jazz, but I love all styles of music. Yeah, it’s an honor to be here, with Mr. Jeff, and everyone else on the team, thank you so much for having me.
Jeff:
Well, Matthew, it’s so great to have you one here, I’ve listened to your music, actually someone sent me some music, and I listened to it and I said wow, this is really good, so I dug in a little deeper, and had to give you a call-
Matthew:
Thank you.
Jeff:
-get ahold of you, and thanks for taking the time, I know you’re sitting in your studio, is it the basement studio?
Matthew:
Yes, it is, actually, yes.
Jeff:
Oh, you got organs all over the place, you’re like a transplant place, there’s organs all over the place.
Matthew:
Thanks.
Jeff:
I saw you on American Foundation for the Blind, they were celebrating the 100 years, and they had [unintelligible] on there, that was a good interview, I really enjoyed it.
Matthew:
Yes, again, happy anniversary, yes.
Jeff:
Matthew, you started out at age three, playing the piano. Where’d that come from?
Matthew:
My grandfather was the one who started all this. My grandfather gave me my first keyboard at three years old, and I taught myself nursery rhymes with both hands. I then started taking classical piano lessons at five, with my piano teacher, Dahlia Sattress, and I’m still working with her today, you know, we still work on different songs and classical technique.
Jeff:
She must have been really good, I mean, you’re still doing it today, it’s like sometimes people just surpass their teacher, like the lady down the street giving lessons to the kids, you would have surpassed that really quick, I suppose. But that’s really neat, to build that relationship over all these years.
Matthew:
Yeah, the relationship and connection with everyone, you know? And I started getting into jazz when I was seven, my dad first played a jazz- we were in the car, listening to it on the radio, and ever since then it’s been my favorite genre to play and listen to. At nine, I taught myself how to play the Hammond organ, at 13 I became the youngest endorsed Hammond artist and at 15, youngest endorsed Yamaha artist in the piano division, and later on I became endorsed in the keyboard division as well, so.
Jeff:
Wow. Well, Matthew, before we go any further, with us in the studio is the other cohost, Pete Lane.
Pete:
Hi Matthew, this is Pete Lane.
Matthew:
Yes!
Pete:
I want to welcome you also to Blind Abilities-
Matthew:
Yes, thank you!
Pete:
-and thanks for taking time out of your very busy day. I wanted to take you back, I’ve always had this question, as I understand it, you were able to play notes on your keyboard by ear. You’d hear a song, and then in recognizing notes and distinguishing a high C from a C sharp or something like that, but how do you translate that to which keys on the keyboard play those precise notes? Are you familiar with the keyboard at that early age or did somebody have to show you how the black key works versus the white key?
Matthew:
Yeah, good question. And this goes back to my first lesson I had with Dahlia, and in that we first went over the black keys first, because you know, on a piano you have two sets of black keys. You have one set where there’s two keys in the group, and then you have another set where there’s three keys in the group. And what we did was we started at the top, so we went with group one which is the group of two keys, and we just played, so I’m just moving my hand down, down an octave, and we just went through.
Pete:
And they’re all exactly an octave apart.
Matthew:
Exactly, and then we went to the next set of keys, you know, we just played a pattern over and over going down the octaves.
Jeff:
And you remember all that?
Matthew:
Yeah! It’s really a hands-on experience, you know, because we as blind individuals, you know, we love hands on, and as far as the white keys, I just memorized-
[piano scale plays]
-you know, I just memorized how many notes, you know, before you get to the next octave.
Jeff:
Sometimes I hear a song, and it sinks right in, like I’ve heard it before, but I’ve never heard it before. Is that what it was like for you when you started playing the music on the piano, you’ve heard a song and all of a sudden you can just almost replicate it because it’s that connection between your hands to your mind to your memory, all connects?
Matthew:
Yeah, I think that’s a great way of explaining it, like I’m able to just hear a song and play it. Depending on the difficulty, you know, I may listen to it a few more times, obviously, but I’m able to just do that. It’s just a matter of just me just continuing to work on that, you know, and practice that still.
Pete:
It’s almost like a muscle memory, it sounds like you’re describing, you keep listening to those notes, and it becomes ingrained in your head, and you learn to identify a note that you hear externally with a note that represents a key on the keyboard.
Matthew:
Yeah, and even musically, like, let’s say, like, I was listening to, I don’t know, Art Tatum, who was a jazz pianist.
Pete:
Oh yeah.
Matthew:
And I love when this, like, taking ideas from different artists and applying them to my own style. Even like stylistically, like taking like Latin, like let’s say like if I was an emotion, you know, like that-
[piano plays]
-you know, that came from, you know, my mom’s side, because she’s Dominican, and I’m half Dominican, so you know, I had all of that language.
Pete:
The Latin flair.
Matthew:
Exactly. And the R&B, gospel side, from my dad’s side, because he’s from Virginia, so, you know, down south.
Pete:
Good stuff.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Jeff:
Going from age three to five to seven to 15, like you mentioned, getting all the recognition, what is an everyday life for Matthew Whitaker today?
Matthew:
Good question.
Jeff:
Or what has the journey been like? I mean, your day, it can’t be 24 hours piano.
Matthew:
I take breaks in between, you know, and I love doing other activities besides music, you know, I always, you know, don’t let my disability stop me, you know, so I love doing things like rock climbing, I’ve done that before, I’ve done skiing, I’ve done bowling, audio games, video games, and like you said, you know, muscle memory. Muscle, muscle memory. You know, just hanging out with friends and with family, you know, and getting ready for my third year at Juilliard, August 30th.
Pete:
What do you think that will bring, the third year, that’s different from your one and two?
Matthew:
I hope to, you know, still learn musically, you know, like different skills relating to jazz piano and being able to work with the students and staff and all that, so I’m excited. I’m really excited. I’m also about to release my third album right now, August 13th, called Connections.
Pete:
Connections, right. Saw that on iTunes.
Matthew:
Yeah. Available everywhere, wherever you listen to music. Currently there’s already two singles available, “Stop Fighting” and “A New Day.”
Pete:
Both of which are really nice, I listened to the samples over there.
Matthew:
Oh, wow, thank you.
Jeff:
The music seems to have come naturally for you, and you know, congratulations on your new album-
Matthew:
Thank you!
Jeff:
How about your blindness skills, as a blind person, did blindness skills come naturally too? Does everything fall into place, just like the music did?
Matthew:
Yeah, I mean, I’ve been learning Braille since I was like, I think two? And mobility skills, like around like- I forget the age I started, but like, very young age, we’ll just say that. And like we’ve been saying, you know, muscle memory, and like, you know, just remembering where everything is and what to do and what not to do, I do use a cane, I also use Sighted Guide as well, you know, things that you’ve mentioned on your podcast before, with that one episode. Yeah.
Pete:
I was wondering, Matthew, on the blindness skills topic, you’ve been travelling a lot over the last few years, Europe, all over, internationally, lots of international travel. How do you do that, who goes with you other than your group? Do you have- does your mom or dad or both of them go with you, is there an aide who travels with you to help you navigate those unfamiliar areas?
Matthew:
Yeah, good question. My dad travels with me everywhere, and my mom sometimes does as well, especially when it comes to the overseas trips, but my dad always travels with me and always makes sure that I’m able to get onstage and do sound check and set up everything in advance, like with the backline and stuff, equipment, and what we have to carry, you know, for the planes and travel. For example, I carry one of my small keyboards that I travel with onstage, I put it on top of the piano and I’m able to play different sounds, so that’s pretty cool. Sometimes my manager does as well, now that my band and I are able to travel more, you know, due to the season that we’re going through.
Pete:
Yeah. We’ll see how that pans out.
Matthew:
We’re travelling, yeah, exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly.
Jeff:
There’s no reason to master an airport or a certain venue if you’re just gonna be there once in your lifetime, in a sense, you know.
Matthew:
Especially when you’re connecting flights.
Jeff:
Yeah, I mean, efficiency and you know, getting things done, schedules and all that stuff, it’s really different.
Matthew:
But I’m grateful that we have the opportunity, you know, like from our point of view, to be independent if you will, because I remember, you know, watching a few episodes where, you know, you guys talked about Aira and talked about different, you know, services that are being offered, you know, especially now, like since people are starting to be more open to us, and how we operate, and what we have to do or what people have to do in general to make things accessible for all of us, so.
Jeff:
Yeah. Building independence. Before we got going on here, you mentioned that you went from school to school to school growing up, how was that shifting around and learning about accommodations and getting your needs met through your educational journey?
Matthew:
Every area, I feel, is different, and people are gonna offer things that you want and people are not gonna offer things that you want, you’re gonna have to just deal with that, and just think on the positive side and be like okay, what can be accomplished, what can the school provide? And if they can’t provide it, you have to do the best you can, you know, until they find somewhere to provide whatever you need.
Pete:
Well, you sound like a very confident young man, and do you have any trouble advocating for yourself and stepping up and saying well, I really need this or that?
Matthew:
Well, I always tell people, like, especially when it comes to like now, when I’m in Juilliard, you know, I need an MP3 with descriptive commentary, I need you as a student to send me an MP3 of your track so I can learn it and not get it in like two hours before the class time, so I won’t be embarrassed in front of people, that’s been a thing. So it’s really, you know, up to the staff and students, you know, at times to provide what I need specifically, so I can function and be able to participate in whatever it is, because if I don’t have what I need, how can I participate, you know?
Jeff:
Who was your greatest advocate, as you were growing up?
Matthew:
That’s a really great question. I think because of my parents, you know, they have really been very vocal in like telling people, this is what my son needs, this is what Matthew needs, and I’m still starting to do that on my own now, so I thank my parents for doing that.
Pete:
Yeah. And I imagine Dahlia’s been your strongest advocate and mentor musically?
Matthew:
Yes, for classical needs, yeah. And speaking of mentors and artists, there’s a lot of people in the jazz realm that I admire, for example, like I mentioned, Art Tatum, also Arthur Peterson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Smith, Roy Hanes, Art Blakey, Cory Henry, Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa, rest in peace, and-
Pete:
Thelonious Monk?
Matthew:
Yes, Thelonious Monk, yes, yes, yes.
Pete:
Did you say Art Blakely or Art Blakey?
Matthew:
Art Blakey.
Pete:
Art Blakey, yeah. Phenomenal.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Jeff:
Matthew, tell me about how Juilliard came into place, and tell the listeners what that is, who may not know.
Matthew:
Mm-hm, so Juilliard is a conservatory and they offer music, dance, and drama, and in the music side, they offer classical and jazz. I auditioned, which was a whole process, but I was able to get in, which is very- it’s very tricky, especially when it comes to the pianists, because there’s only six or seven pianists in the whole jazz department now, like student-wise. I actually auditioned for both Juilliard and Berkeley, because the reason why I chose those is because accommodations and the way they work for people with disabilities. We talked to other colleges and they said oh, we’re not sure if we’re able to help this person out, so I only applied for Juilliard and Berkeley, and I got into both, thank god. But we decided on Juilliard because one, we’re in Jersey and Juilliard’s in New York, two, everything’s all in like close proximity, so you can walk around and you know, you can memorize and get mobility and orientation down, like fairly easily.
Pete:
Not as spread out as Berkeley.
Matthew:
Yeah, exactly. Whereas in Boston, it’s like New York. There’s different buildings all over the place, and if it’s bad weather, you have a hard time remembering where you’re going, you know, so there’s different pros and cons for that, but I’ve been working at Juilliard with the disability department, and shoutout to Mr. Dan Stoats, he is the head of disabilities and also my counselor too, so we chat about ways of improving and you know, he’s really nice, so shoutout to him.
Jeff:
Being that there’s- only seven make it, they must be pretty good, and that must, you must, I’m not gonna say inspired, but you must cock an ear towards the others playing sometimes, and so what are the challenges that you meet now that you’re at this level, while you’re there? Is it challenges that you want to accomplish something and you’ve gotta work through it, or what’s it like at that level?
Matthew:
Mm, that’s a really good question. I would say, like, oh man.
Jeff:
Like pushing yourself?
Matthew:
Yeah, you know, I love pushing myself, like earlier before we got on this Zoom, I was actually working on an original, and seeing what I could come up with on the piano, I see myself doing more of that, especially, you know, like when it comes to the ensemble classes where you have to arrange for different scenarios and write tunes and stuff. I love pushing myself, but I also love pushing other people musically, like last year we did a song that I wrote where it was challenging for the other students. It was fun teaching them and working with them to get what I needed musically out of them, so.
Pete:
I’m thinking of Logic, Matthew, does Logic generate a standard sheet music or a musical chart that the sighted folks can follow if you compose? Do you actually do your compositions on Logic, and does it generate something that they can read and follow along with you?
Matthew:
So, Logic does have a notation feature, but it’s not that. We’ve experimented with it, but say, I was doing everything on my MIDI controller. All the sighted people would see were the piano keys, and like what I played on that, not the notes for the specific instrument that they’re reading. But that’s where something like Sebelius comes in, where you’re able to do that, input the notes. I can even export the MIDI out of Logic and dump it into Sebelius.
Pete:
Is Juilliard providing instruction for you in Sebelius?
Matthew:
Unfortunately no. See, that’s the one advantage of Berkeley, is that they have a disability team and they are able to offer, you know, assistance with Logic and Portunes and Sebelius, and different software like that, you know.
Jeff:
But you got a direct connection to Apple because you do test some of their products and work with accessibility at that point, so Logic, the tool of your choice right now, that works pretty good for you.
Matthew:
Yes, yes, shoutout to Apple for making Logic accessible, and they continue to make it accessible, and I’m able to record whatever I need, if I need to record this keyboard here, or whatever instrument or MIDI, I’m able to do that and control everything, even from my phone, I can just open the [unintelligible] app and be like okay, hit record, boom. Let’s go.
Jeff:
So being able to record, I’ve heard that you want to get into some producing and work with others and all that, so having that skillset, that really helps.
Matthew:
Exactly. I want to get into that, you know, film scoring and producing and even, you know, music directing, and I’m also the minister of music at my church as well. That’s always fun, I’ve been going to New Hope Baptist Church in Hackensack, New Jersey since I was very little.
Pete:
Is that where you picked up the love for the Hammond or the organ, specifically?
Matthew:
I first heard the organ like in the jazz context, but since you mentioned it, I guess hearing it in the church setting, you know, really piqued my interest.
Pete:
Yeah, I heard a few of your tunes from one of your albums, like “This Little Light of Mine” and a couple of other, the religious-
Matthew:
Yeah, oh, thank you!
Pete:
-on the B3, really nice.
Matthew:
Thank you so much!
Jeff:
On your song “Emotions,” that was the first song that was, someone shared with me, that I really dug into. It moves all over the place, and the transitions from this, could you explain how you got that idea in your head, and brought it to our ears?
Matthew:
Yeah, of course! So, like, I had this pattern in my head, in 5/4, so [piano plays], and I was thinking, you know, where could it go from here? I had different transitions to where not only the meter would change but the tempo would change as well, like let’s say for example we’re in this section [piano plays] and in my head I was like oh, that could work, so I just put it that way, I wanted to put that section in there, and later on I had [piano plays], you know? And since you mentioned transitions, you know, I was trying to figure out how to transition from this [piano plays] into the main theme or melody, if you will, so [piano plays], get the melody back.
Jeff:
There’s a drum solo in that, and I heard you playing that in Germany on a YouTube channel, and did you come up with the drum solo, like does all this, when you’re done with it, then you give the music to the other people and they play?
Matthew:
When I first composed the song for the event I mentioned earlier, I said, you know, hey, why not have a drum solo towards the end of the piece, and then we’ll take it out into this kind of big band type style, you know, again, you know, like you know connecting those styles and getting inspiration from other artists. So the drum solo is in 5, so [piano plays], and he’s soloing, and then we go back to the 6/8 time, [piano plays], 4/4, and then we have [piano plays], you know? There’s that big band sound, you know, so-
Pete:
Oh yeah. Wow.
Matthew:
He knows it already, so-
Jeff:
All part of being creative and having fun, huh?
Matthew:
Exactly.
Pete:
And a little bit of talent thrown in.
Matthew:
Yeah, and I always tell people, you know, that like, I feel like I’ve been blessed with a gift from God, so.
Pete:
Yes, you have.
Matthew:
Yeah, and I thank God for giving me the gift at a very young age, and I love sharing my talent and gift and inspirations with other people, and I hope to inspire other people, no matter what disability he or she might have. Whatever you do, if it’s art, music, dance, whatever, sing, play, whatever it is, just go for it, don’t give up on your dreams, just have fun!
Jeff:
Go home and practice.
Pete:
Practice, practice, practice.
Jeff:
Now, with your third album, you probably have the chance to work with producers and musicians, as your journey progresses, what’s it like working with the level of producers and musicians that you’re working today with?
Matthew:
Oh, man, like, the recording process was amazing. Shoutout to everyone involved with Connections, you know, Derek Hodge, producing, Chris Allen on the mixing and recording engineer, Steve, also doing the recording, shoutout to all the musicians who have been a part of this album, I’m very honored and grateful for you to be on here, and to work with everyone was- it was amazing, and again, you know, my connection with Dahlia, you know, the connections we have with people and relationships, that’s really the main thing with this album, you know? The connections, that’s why I named it Connections, because of the connections I have with people, and connections people have with me, and we had everyone layer that description, basically, we were able to record original pieces, I did some arranging, I have another song with different time signatures, so.
Jeff:
Being the musician and the creator of the songs, writing them, and you mentioned you’d like to become a producer or you’d done some producing, but what does a producer do for you that you just mentioned? What do they bring to the table for you?
Matthew:
Well, in this case with Derek Hodge, we had a conversation over the phone, and on Zoom, and we came up with some ideas, you know, when we were going through some of the music that we were gonna record in studio, we were saying oh, what if we did this idea, or what if we try this out, you know, and him and I just immediately just connected together, and most times, you know, like we were agreeing with different ideas, you know, like he would come up with something, or I would come up with something, and we would just try it, and it just worked, you know? And there’s always gonna be times when, you know, things may not work, but that opens the opportunity to experiment even more.
Pete:
I’m wondering if he contributes to your, to the evolution of the album musically, does he suggest, well, try this riff or this time signature change or something rather than this one?
Matthew:
Derek, he helped with everything, musically, like there’s a song that I arranged where I have a different ending in the demo track compared to what he was thinking in his head, and what he told me to do worked better, so if I were to play like what happened in the demo, let’s say [piano plays], so this is the demo version, but he said-
Pete:
You heard it here first on Blind Abilities.
Matthew:
Yeah, exactly! And he was like, hey, why not take a section that you played before earlier in the arrangement and just move it onto the ending, and then do this after that and do this after that? So like, you know, it’s really like layering different ideas together, you know, so like [piano plays]. Totally different [piano plays]. And then he said, do this [piano plays]. You know, and just had that idea looping. And then he said, you know, just freely just do your thing. And so we recorded that, and then a few days after, just me and him in the studio, we had different instruments and like, we had all my keyboards set up, and I was able to do stuff like this [keyboards play]. You know, and [keyboards play]. You know, and this is the way I get super excited, you know, the possibilities of layering different sounds and different instruments [keyboards play]. You know? You know, and you know, it’s just really fun, you know, just experimenting [keyboards play]. You know, and it’s very hands-on, you know. I love it when companies make products that are very hands-on, and from a blind person’s point of view, you know, it’s really cool just to play whatever and just not be limited.
Pete:
Sure. This reminds me, Matthew, of an interview I did listen to the other day, where you were asked why you prefer jazz, the genre, to other genres, and you kind of articulated in the way that it’s less constraining, it gives you more opportunity to- why don’t you explain that a little bit?
Matthew:
Yeah, with jazz I feel, you know, you’re able to just be free and just be you, musically, and do what I’m doing now, which is just having fun, whereas other styles, you know, you can do that, but you, nine times out of ten you have to do what is on the recording or how the sheet music is presented if you’re sighted, you know, just, you have to play what it is, and even, you know, when it’s in a jazz type of setting, and they say do this exactly, it kind of is good in a way because you know, like, you get to really hone in on whatever the person is telling you to approach certain things, you know?
Jeff:
Yeah.
Pete:
Yeah.
Jeff:
There’s certain musicians out there that I’ve heard that they say they play note for note, every night they play the same song note for note, but someone like, I’m just gonna throw out Stevie Ray Vaughn, they said that he would play the song, but depending on how his mood was, the song would change, it would- but he’d stay in that framework, you know, but he’d have a different feel for it. I think in jazz, you have that liberty to move around a little bit, and especially when you’re playing with your band, just having fun.
Matthew:
I love doing that, like during the show, I’d be like hey, follow me. And let’s say like sometimes we would go into this thing after- I do an arrangement of this song, “Favorite Things,” [piano plays], what we do is this little, after this section [piano plays], and then [piano and keyboards play], whatever, you know? I can even go into different keys or whatever [keyboards play]. So this keyboard has a looper on it [keyboards play], I can do whatever I want [keyboards play]. And we can just experiment, you know, we can say, let’s add this sound here [keyboards play], and I can go to a different keyboard and I can be like, just play on top [keyboards play]. I don’t want to give too much away, but that’s a song called “Acceptance,” it’s on Connections, but that’s the gist of that, you know, just-
Jeff:
I was thinking if Stephen King had an arcade game, that would be it.
Matthew:
That’s a good way of describing it.
Pete:
That’s a good one. What do you do to chill, you know, to relax?
Matthew:
I mean, it can be whatever, like how I’m feeling. I can just take a breather, and just, you know, like, meditate or something.
Pete:
It sounds like you’re having a tone of fun right now, with your keyboards.
Matthew:
Listen to Blind Abilities, you know, it can be whatever!
Pete:
There you go!
Matthew:
When we share…
Jeff:
Oh, that was a fun little mix, putting all those voices to get that at the end.
Matthew:
I want to get into that too, I’ve always been curious, you know, I assume you guys still use Amadeus for editing.
Jeff:
Yeah, it just works. I mean, we’re not limited, but it’s all we need.
Matthew:
Exactly, you know?
Jeff:
So it works, it works.
Matthew:
You know, experimenting with- in your case, it’s different ways of putting together different clips and adding whatever you want, whether it’s effects, or- as long as developers make everything accessible to people who are using screen readers or other various forms of technology, you know, we’re able to use it.
Jeff:
Practice a lot, and you always say that you gotta practice, it’s passion, it’s love for it, but is there anything in music right now that frustrates you, that you want to learn or get to or is everything that you want to achieve attainable?
Matthew:
I feel that everything is really attainable as long as you just take it all in a little bit at a time, you know, and just grasp whatever it is that you want to- I feel that that is true with all forms of art, not just music, you know.
Jeff:
And eating an elephant one bite at a time, though, right?
Matthew:
Exactly, exactly! But like you mentioned, you know, like, there may be some moments where I feel like, oh, I’m frustrated about something, or I wish this could be better, but you just do the best you can, you know, to overcome that obstacle, whatever it is.
Jeff:
What musicians inspire you the most today, that are out there today playing?
Matthew:
Besides all that I’ve mentioned.
Jeff:
Right, someone that makes you turn your head, like, whoa.
Matthew:
One person that I admire and who inspires me a lot that is still playing, he plays keyboards and everything really, his name is Jordan Rudess.
Pete:
Yeah.
Matthew:
He is-
Pete:
Dream Theater.
Matthew:
Yeah! He-
Pete:
No kidding. That’s great.
Matthew:
He’s the keyboardist for Dream Theater. I told you I listen to all music. But-
Pete:
Oh, yeah. I love Dream Theater.
Matthew:
The way he plays everything, you know, like, it’s really like going on an adventure, you know? You know, going through different emotions, like you guys mentioned, you know, with the emotions and stuff.
Jeff:
Oh, wow.
Matthew:
The sound design that he does, and the layering, and piano technique and all that, you know, he inspires me a lot, you know, to get better at all that, that’s why, you know, I am getting into more stacking keyboards and all that.
Pete:
And he’s been doing that for 30-plus years?
Matthew:
Yeah! Exactly
Pete:
And he’s still fresh.
Matthew:
Yep, he’s still doing it, and I love listening to that band, you know, and I hope to, you know, one day meet and collab with them. You know, hopefully, that’d be, that’d be really cool.
Jeff:
When you’re talking about stacking, you mean you’ve got a keyboard one on top of the other so you can play two different keyboards. Luckily you only have two hands, otherwise we don’t know what we’d hear from you!
Matthew:
I mean, should I describe the room a bit, for people out there?
Pete:
Sure.
Matthew:
I mean, why not? So, right now I’m sitting in my chair, in front of me are three keyboards, we’ve got this one [plays a note on the keyboard], just a Yamaha keyboard, we have this one [plays a note on the keyboard], which is the synth I was playing earlier, we have another Yamaha [plays a note on the keyboard] on top of that, and my microphone is above that, so I’m just- I just have my face turned towards the microphone and that’s how you’re hearing me, and on my left is my phone in case I need to reach for it, and my keyboard that controls my Mac Mini, and I have my Hammond organ that is in front of the bench on my left, so it’s like 90 degree angle type of thing, if you will, and I also have to the left of my Yamaha is my controller for when I want to adjust my own levels of different instruments in my headphones. We have a few of those throughout the entire room, so if other people want to come over and record and rehearse, they can plug in their headphones and control their own mix.
Jeff:
Oh, wow.
Matthew:
And to the right, also in like a 90 degrees fashion, I have another stack of two keyboards, and then behind me is my computer area with my mini controller underneath, and my desk with various equipment that I use, my monitor and speeches and my Mac Mini and my Macbook Pro, and behind the organ is my Fender Rhodes and all the way like to my left is my drums.
Pete:
What kind of drums do you play?
Matthew:
It’s an acoustic drumkit, it’s a Yamaha Stage Custom for those who are wondering.
Pete:
Yeah.
Matthew:
Everything is mic’d up and ready to record if inspiration happens. Shout out to my dad for hooking everything up, you know, he’s always been very helpful with me, and you know, him and I figured out, oh, you know, why not put this here, you know, why not add this here or take away this, and see how- experimenting, you know.
Jeff:
He’s gotta earn that father’s day card, right?
Matthew:
What were you gonna say, Jeff?
Jeff:
Oh, I was gonna ask have you ever sampled or played with a Whirly?
Matthew:
Oh, those are really cool. I don’t remember if I’ve ever had a chance to play one, but-
Jeff:
It’s a speaker that spins.
Matthew:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s another-
Jeff:
From the ‘70s, I guess, ‘60s or ‘70s.
Matthew:
Yeah, I have that sound on here [keyboard plays]. This is on my Yamaha. And like, again, going back to [unintelligible], I can just hit one button and turn on a pre-amp [keyboard keeps playing] and I can adjust the intensity [keyboard keeps playing].
Pete:
There you go.
Jeff:
Have you ever played with Native Instruments?
Matthew:
Yes! Shoutout to Native Instruments, they have been a huge help. I actually first heard about Native Instruments through another producer of mine, who actually worked on my first record “Out of the Box.” Shoutout to Ray Chu, he is really good at producing, he plays every keyboard instrument, literally, he’s also been the music director for Dancing With the Stars, he’s also worked with American Idol, and other various events, but he’s actually the one who introduced me to Native Instruments, and again, going back to accessibility, they have accessibility mode where someone who wants to get hands-on can interact with everything with the knobs and control all the sounds, and it’s really amazing, and it integrates well with Logic, and I just love using that, and the sounds are amazing and you can always get third party sounds that work with their system that allows everything to be accessible, and I’m so happy that developers are making everything work with the Native Instruments platform.
Jeff:
Yep. I always hear these musicians that I know of and they’re always talking about, oh, there’s a new package, like Las Vegas or whatever the package is called, or some city, I forget which one, I just listen, I nod my head a couple times, you know, and- but they’re talking about, what is your favorite library out there, for sounds or do you go by the different keyboard for your sounds, I mean, the Rhodes is vintage-
Matthew:
Yeah, and that Rhodes, since you mentioned that, was actually a gift to me from a deacon at our church. His grandfather, that was his grandfather’s Rhodes.
Pete:
Wow, that goes way back.
Matthew:
Yeah, yeah, and-
Jeff:
That’s good church music.
Matthew:
Yeah, exactly. And we recently got it modified, made sure it’s in good condition, yeah. To answer your question, like, it really depends on what I need. Like if it’s a keyboard or it’s like some sound library, you know, that I can just [unintelligible] in Logic, as long as it’s something that’ll help me specifically, like musically, what I’m looking for, and what I want to get into and experiment with, it’s fine with me. Like the hydrosynth I got because the way you build a patch is pretty interesting-
Jeff:
Oh, so you basically build your own.
Matthew:
Exactly, and what I had before, and I still play it every now and then, but what I had before was, you know, kind of limiting, and what this new synth has is things that I wish the old synth I still play had. As far as sound libraries, you know, I mentioned earlier about orchestration and how I wanted to get into that, so I picked up an orchestral library that we’re still trying to integrate in my setup, but that’s gonna be really good, because that’s gonna allow me to really get into all that, you know, with the strings, and the percussion and brass, you know, woodwinds and stuff, and-
Pete:
I was curious, Matthew-
Matthew:
Yeah!
Pete:
You’ve got your drum set all set up and ready to play, what portion of your time over the course of a day or a week do you devote to drums or other instruments besides keyboards, because obviously your specialty and your focus is keyboards, but I’ve heard you play the drums, and you’re very good-
Matthew:
Thank you!
Pete:
-so how long do you practice daily or weekly to get to that level.
Matthew:
Honestly, like, I view the drums like from different angles, and I’m sure other people do, but you could view it as a way of just releasing stress, you could view it as a way of exercising, you could view it as a way of just getting better at technique on that, I love just putting on headphones and just listening to different songs and training myself to get the coordination down and experimenting with different styles, especially when it comes to like, let’s say I’m doing a Dream Theater song or something, and I’m, you know, just trying to figure out what the guy is doing-
Pete:
Good luck.
Matthew:
-or some way of incorporating that style or technique into my own playing.
Jeff:
I didn’t think I’d ever hear someone say, when I’m doing a Dream Theater song.
Matthew:
Yeah, I mean, I’m trying to-
Pete:
Mike Mangione.
Matthew:
Mike Mangini-
Pete:
Mangini, yep, and who was the original drummer?
Matthew:
Mark Portnoy.
Pete:
Mark Portnoy, that’s a tall order to play like either one of those guys.
Matthew:
Yeah, I mean, granted, I don’t have the setup they have, but you know, I can still take the ideas that they have, and that’s what I was talking about earlier, with all the instruments I do, you know, and getting those connections, get it?
Jeff:
Got it, there you go.
Matthew:
There you go.
Jeff:
I like that.
Matthew:
Shoutout to Sweetwater. They have been a huge part in helping me with purchasing everything. Ranging from my keyboards to my interfaces, my microphones and all that. Shoutout to them, huge shoutout.
Jeff:
Well, I’m excited to- this podcast will probably drop right around the time your new Connections album drops, so-
Matthew:
Yes, August 13th, is when it’ll be released. Again, wherever you listen to music, and you can also check out Out of the Box and Now Hear This, which are my two previous albums, www.matthewwhitaker.net, you can find all my social media pages as well. Don’t worry, it’s accessible with screen readers, and I’m working with my dad to improve that, so…
Pete:
There you go.
Jeff:
Good.
Matthew:
And, yeah, you can view my tour schedule, and come to a show near you, and see me. Again, thank you to Mr. Jeff and Pete for having me, really excited to be a part of Blind Abilities. Shoutout to everyone else that has been a part of every event on here, and thank you so much.
Pete:
It’s our pleasure.
Jeff:
Well, thank you, Matthew, thank you so much for taking time out of your day, and- well, you got to play around in your playroom down there.
Pete:
That’s for sure.
Jeff:
So thank you.
Pete:
In your musical toybox.
Matthew:
Exactly! Hey, that’s a good one, I like that.
Pete:
There you go. It’s been a pleasure to talk to you, Matthew.
Matthew:
Thank you.
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share
-What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff:
For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities, download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.
Apple: www.apple.com
Freedom Scientific: www.freedomscientific.com
NVDA Access: www.nvaccess.org
Native Instruments: www.nativeinstruments.com
Hammond Organ Company: www.hammondorganco.com
USA Yamaha: www.usa.yamaha.com
Sweetwater: www.sweetwater.com
American Foundation for the Blind: www.afb.org
Contact Your State Services
If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.
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