Interview with pianist/composer Dr. Tal Zilber
This week we are excited to introduce to you an amazing Israeli pianist who wears many hats - Dr. Tal Zilber!
Tal was Scott’s classmate from when he was at Indiana University. He is a great pianist and a brilliant improviser! This was the first time I (Clare) met Tal…though only virtually. He is a very modest and kind-hearted person!
You can find more about Tal’s information on his website.
It was really interesting to learn about his interests in computer science and the fact that he teamed up with two other partners to develop a keyboard harmony software that can help students learn and teachers check their progress! You can check out the software website if you’re interested to know more!
We had such a fun time exploring his background and thoughts on music. Some of the topics that we covered in this interview include:
Composing steps and ideas (Here’s our performance of Tal’s famous Brahms in Salsa!)
piano lesson background
Supportive lawyer family background
Why become a musician?
Thoughts on quitting music at some point
Interests in computer science
Putting a drink on the piano
Thoughts on online teaching
How he started improvising
Perfectionism from Classical training
Improvising to cover a memory slip
Career paths
YouTube channel
Keyboard harmony software development
Importance of learning improvisation
English as a second language
Check it out!