New Conversation with Bachido's Kyle Abbott

Delicious pour over of Kyle's home roasted coffee

During my recent working vacation trip to northern California, I was able to squeeze in a visit to hang out with Kyle Abbott in Santa Cruz. I first met Kyle in February 2016, and on that day I had the very impromptu idea of recording our conversation for my new blog. Part of the reason for my initial visit was to ask Kyle about his experiences selling instructional videos on his excellent website Bachido because I was preparing to start producing my own videos. In the almost two years since, I have posted numerous interviews on my blog and uploaded ten instructional videos in my store. This new frame of reference made our recent conversation especially fun and meaningful for me. It was a fun day of recording, drinking Kyle's fantastic coffee, tasting local beers in town, and cooking a great dinner on the grill late into the night.

Last year I provided some percussion for Kyle's album Frosty: a retrospective Christmas. Full of unusual arrangements of traditional Christmas songs, I always describe this album as the most uniquely interesting material on your holiday playlist. With shamisen, taiko, throat singing, shakuhachi, and various other instruments, it's bound to turn heads and prompt inquiries at your next party. You can contact me for a copy or visit the Bachido store to purchase.

Earlier this year, Kyle and I also collaborated on the planning of "Tataki," a weekend workshop series where taiko and shamisen players gather to try out each other's instruments and to discover how to play together effectively. Unfortunately we had to postpone the event due to not reaching the enrollment minimum and being declined on our grant application. We predicted that it would be a great event, but perhaps our idea was too progressive and ahead of our time? It's difficult to know if the timing was off (March 4-5, 2017) or the interest is not there, but we will be trying again in the future. Subscribing to our newsletters is the best way to stay updated for future event announcements like these. 

We talked long enough that Kyle split it into three segments. The first two are posted on his website's Bachi On The Horn series, and the third is below. We delved into a handful of topics including the importance of feedback from your teacher, hierarchy of ways to study, the value of current technology, and the small world of musicians where interesting connections are constantly being discovered. We started talking indoors, but that room needed to be vacated so we continued out in the back yard. It was a beautifully sunny late afternoon - ideal for recording a podcast except for the dozens (or hundreds) of crows gathering right above us. Hopefully this audio reminiscent of a certain Hitchcock film won't be too much of a distraction. I would definitely encourage everyone to check out all three parts, especially where we discuss the similarities between coffee tasting and music. Kyle and I are both home coffee roasting enthusiasts and this topic came up on our 2016 conversation as well.

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After concert photo in Santa Cruz with Robbie Belgrade, John Kaizan Neptune, and Kyle Abbott

Links

Bachi On The Horn podcast Parts 1 & 2

Frosty: a retrospective Christmas album

Kyle Abbott interview from February 2016

Tataki - Shamisen and Taiko Workshop

Mike Penny interview

Alvin Ryuzen Ramos interview

Kyosuke Suzuki sensei information

After concert photo in Los Angeles with John Kaizan Neptune, Mike Penny, and Kojiro Umezaki

John Kaizan Neptune documentary film

Kenny Endo interview

Monty Levinson website

Eien's instructional videos

Book review - Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise

Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise

I recently read an excellent book titled Peak: Secrets From the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool. It was fascinating to learn about the latest research regarding expertise and human performance. The authors introduce studies of athletes, doctors, musicians, chess players, mental athletes, cab drivers, comedians, Navy pilots, and others where the relationship of practicing and improvement could be measured. As a longtime student and teacher of music, I discovered many statements which crystallized into words my own experience and philosophy about practicing and teaching. I highly recommend this book, as any discipline can benefit from these important lessons. Here are some of my top takeaways from the book:

1. "First, find a good teacher" – it may seem obvious, but with so many resources available in books and online these days, there is no question that studying with a good teacher greatly increases your potential for expertise in your pursuit.

2. Immediate feedback – the sooner you get feedback after a performance, the more impactful it will be to your improvement. Quality feedback comes from quality teachers.

3. Mental representation – visualizing your goals is important. It is crucial to have excellent examples to emulate.

4. Deliberate and purposeful practice – although most people were introduced to the 10,000-hours-to-mastery concept through Malcolm Gladwell's well-known book Outliers, it was in fact Ericsson's research which was cited. In Peak, he clarifies what he describes as a misrepresentation of his original research. The quality of practice is a major component of becoming an expert.

5. The myth of natural talent – a recurring theme throughout the book is that expertise comes from effective practice and not from genetics. The authors provide interesting explanation of why natural talent is such a prevalent belief in our society.

6. Getting out of your comfort zone – it may be an ego appeasement to sound good while practicing your instrument, but real progress can't be made unless we confront our biggest problems directly. Performance can reveal our weaknesses, which is why it can teach us so much about our ability and progress.