Hello everyone!
Welcome to another episode of TwoSet Violin plus Ray Chen!
ThreeSet!
Today, we will be playing Never Have I Ever!
We played this on the channel before.
Now, because we have an aged senior with us, we have to go with tea.
- Yes, exactly. - 'Cause bubble tea-
The doctor said Ray cannot have sugar.
- It's not good for his blood work. - Ohhhhh, I thought this whole thing was about spilling the tea!
That's why we're having tea.
- No, it's- nah, I'm just kidding. - No? Okay.
Nah, we already had bubble tea today, so...
- But actually, that's a good one! We're spilling the tea. - Mhm! Mhm! - We're spilling the tea!
Mmmmm!
So, what we have here is a bunch of prompts.
We're gonna go through it.
If we are guilty, we take a sip of the tea!
- Anything you would like to say before we start? - Any last words?
Uhhhh, this is not a representation of who I am.
Please don't judge me!
First one!
Never have I ever...
- Yeah. - I- no.
Have you not done that?
- No! - It's just me...
- You've done that?! - Yeah, for AYO Camp.
What?
I rocked up with my luggage and my backpack, super excited,
and then I was like...
My friend's like, "Where's your violin?" - Hahaha! Ray's...
And I was like...
- And I called my sister, and my sister had to like... - Yeah, it happened. - Wow!
- Get a cab. - Get a cab.
Ray's so shocked!
I was like, 13.
I mean, I've forgot- I've forgotten my violin on purpose before a lesson.
Ohohohoho! Yeah, that's something else!
- How old were you? - I was uhhh... 11... 10...
- 10 or 11 years old. - Okay. - Okay, okay.
- I didn't want to like, play, - Yeah.
- so I just forgot my violin. - Yeah.
And so that I could try my teacher's violin.
- Ohhhhh! - Yeah. - Did you actually get to play your teacher's?
- Yeah, yeah, and I got a chance... - Ohhhh, nice!
- That was- that was the reason. - (Eddy) Fair enough.
- You wanna say the next one? - Okay... yeah, Ray. - Okay.
Never have I...
Umm, have I?
- Does tipsy count? - Yeah, or like, just drinking.
It was a workshop.
- Had a uni workshop. - Oh, okay.
I played a Brahms excerpt.
- How did it go? - How was it?
I played really slow.
Yeah, I remember the teacher's like,
"Oh, Brett! That's a very interesting tempo!"
- It was like, really slow. - Oh no! - Ohhh!
I got drunk once, like, with my friends for...
It wasn't a performance though.
You know your first year, you're forced to do mandatory choir?
- Oh! - Hahaha! That's pretty funny.
And so, it's just like...
It was on my birthday,
and I hated the fact that I had to do choir.
I mean, I don't mind choir, but in that context, it was just like...
People weren't there to actually sing.
People were there because they're marking attendance,
and it just felt like a waste of time.
I mean, I don't recommend it though.
- Yeaaaah... - Be a good student!
Yeah, I don't recommend it either!
Never have I ever...
Ooh...
Huh?!
- Wait, are you serious? - Yeah....
- So... - Was it the Strad?
No, I- I- I dropped a bow.
- I feel like everyone's dropped a bow. - I've dropped a bow! - Yeah, and I've...
Does that count [as an] "instrument"?
- It's part of your instrument, right? - Oh, okay. Fine. - All right, you gotta drink as well.
(Eddy) Have I dropped my bow?
- No, I dropped it during the concert! Yeah. - Ooh! - Oh, wow!
The conductor, who will not be named,
- brushed- like- it was at the end of the performance. - Oh no! - Yeah...
And it hit the bow.
- And the bow then fell onto the ground and then just split at the tip. - That's a nightmare! Yeah.
- Oh no! - Yeah, and it was like,
- Arthur Grumiaux's old... like... Peccatte... - Oh no!
- You know the Peccatte? - Ohhhhhhhh! Ohh!
Yeah, and I had just been loaned this bow.
- Like, I just won the Queen Elisabeth, and... - Oh!
And it was just like- it just split at the tip.
I remember like, it was a silent standing ovation.
Like, everyone's just like:
- Dude, that just escalated! - "Bow, just bow." So I just bowed, and then, yeah.
- That went from a bow to Arthur Grumiaux's bow to... Peccatte. - Peccatte, yeah.
- What happened afterwards? - It like, a €100,000 bow.
- Yeah. - What happened after?
Well, it was insured. We had just gotten it insured, so...
- Thankfully, it was insured. - Yeah like, the day. That day.
- Ohhh my God. - Yeah.
- It seems like it's a thing, conductors hitting the soloist. - Yeah! Yeah, it happens. - What...
Lots of- lots of videos.
And I was so scared. I was so scared.
I wasn't sure if they had, like, gotten the insured- the insurance,
and then I remember being like,
"How long am I gonna have to... play to like, concerts to-
- like, pay it off?" - Pay it off, woaaaah... - Pay it off, woaaaah...
- You would've had to like, join Squid Game. - Yeah.
Yeah.
*Sings part of "Squid Game" soundtrack*
"So, why are you here?"
"Uh, my bow snapped."
Never have I ever...
Ohhhhh....!
Ugh, God damn it, I'm so not proud of this...
Okay.
- Come on, yeah! - Come on, uni. Music uni. - But it's normal, yeah.
You know, I don't know why you guys make a big deal out of it-
Yeah, Ray, it's your turn.
Wait! I wanna know more details!
- I don't remember, actually. - Well, did you what, serenade her? Or what did you do?
- Oh, I couldn't serenade her. - Well, did you what, serenade her? Or what did you do?
You went to Curtis. You guys are a different breed.
- You guys are very... focused. - Yeah, Curtis's people are different breed. - Mmm.
But you know, normally in music uni,
people go chill in other people's practice room,
- play for each other. - Okay! - Yeah, yeah.
If your crush is in the room,
- you play a little bit extra... harder, right? - Yeah, yeah.
Wow!
- Right? - That's- see, that's a very-
- I feel like that's a very um, primitive method to- to- to do it. - (Brett) Ohhh!
- The way tha- so I've got... - Please teach us the way, senpai!
- So, the way I did it was like, - Mmm mmm!
I went up to this girl, and I said,
- "Would you like to play some chamber music together?" - Ohoho!
- It was Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello. - Bro, this guy's...
- And so that's the way I thought was like a... - Smoooooooooth!
- Because then otherwise, you're just like showing off. - First, you schemed to get your teacher's violin at age 11.
Now, you're scheming to get one-on-one with Kodály Duo.
Brooo!
- I'll take an extra large sip, cheers! - Bro!
Never have I ever...
- Ah, of course! - Ah, of course!
- Really? Your parents didn't make you practice? - No, but like, sometimes, I have a morning lesson.
Well, but you've practiced during the week, though...
- But before the lesson. - "I practiced before..." - Oh, before the lesson.
- Oh yeah, yeah! Nah, nah. - "...but before", yeah!
- Oh, okay! - Oh.
Well, I was just thirsty so...
- It's alright. Alright, Eddy. - 'Cause I always practice.
- For some reason, I thought before the day. - Ah, you know what?
Kind of, for- for my... for my uhh, piano lesson.
- Ooooh! - Yeah, that's true! Same! Piano lesson. - Yeah. Yeah.
- Piano lesson. - Yeah, I didn't practice for a whole week.
- It just sounded like something I must've done. - (Brett) Yeah.
Never have I ever...
- Okay, I've had something worse than that. - Ooh!
It's a funny story, though, okay.
Our uni had a conductor who was known to have a bad temper,
and there was one rehearsal where people were talking,
and he just SNAPPED.
And he just went on like, this five-minute rampage to like, show like-
Insulting everyone, like...
I think he was like, raging towards the viola/cello section.
So I had my phone on the stand.
I was just like, texting.
Sort of like, "This is so boring. He's not even rehearsing...", right?
I must've like, pressed something- I don't know what happened.
Just as he finished, Siri turns on and goes, "How may I help you?"
And he like, turned to me, and I was just like,
"Uhhh, sorry, I press... pressed the button by accident."
- Wow! - And that was it? - It was super awkward.
- Yeah, that was it. - Oh, okay.
I had an incident during rehearsal,
- and then I suddenly looked at my friend, in horror. - Yep.
Joel, if you're watching this. And- and he was...
I said to him, "My gosh, I think I forgot to turn my phone like, onto silent!"
He was just like, takes out his phone and starts dialing it,
- and it's going off. - (Brett) Ohh!
And it's like, off to the side of the stage, right?
- And it's like, there, in my case. - And you can't go get it! - Ohhhhhhhhh!
- And I can't go get it! - Ohhhhhhhhh!
And I'm like, thinking, "Okay, okay, funny. Haha."
He does it again.
- He like, just looks at me and does it again. - Ohhhhh!
And I'm like, "No! No! Please don't!"
And then, he's just like, he does it again.
And finally, I'm just like, I go off, like... I go off stage.
- It was rehearsal, not concert? Okay. - Rehearsal, yeah. - Okay, 'kay.
Never have I-
- What does it say? - Never have I ever...
- Drink! - Wow!
- Alright... yeah. - You've won the Menuhin Competition, right?
- But you're the one to drink! - You're... drink! - Oh, I'm the one who dr-
- Ah- I forgot how this game works! - Yeah! - Yeah!
He's like, "Drink!"
Never have I ever...
Like, my teacher.
I never think my playing is good, so...
I don't think I've ever had that, like...
- I've had people give criticism. - Yeah, but it's criticism.
- I've never had someone say, "It's bad". - Yeah, but it's criticism.
Have you had someone actually say, "Your playing is bad"?
Well, he said it was like dragging a dead horse.
Oh!
Oh, I just popped my ears!
Woah!
It was the Saint-Saëns concerto, actually, and it was like...
I was used to learning a concerto for like, months at a time.
Like, Tchaikovsky took me like, 6 months to learn.
I brought it to him like, for the... I guess the fourth time.
- It was the fourth week in-a-row, which I thought was pretty normal. - Yeah.
He was just like, no, that's- that's too much for him.
It was like, he wanted us to bring a new concerto every other week,
- to learn, memorize, play. - Wow.
Was this at Curtis?
- Yeah, this was at Curtis. - Ohh... - Oh wow, that's intense.
But it really prepared me uhh... for the uhh, real world.
You know, performing like,
- another different concerto every other week, so... - Damn.
Actually, I do wish I had more of that.
I think our uni... people are too nice.
- Yeah, I think it's a good- you need a good balance. - Yeah.
'Cause on one end, if it's too much, you just give up.
I've recently realized it's like- it's definitely down to three things:
accountability, like, someone to tell you that with like, the stick;
- the praise, the encouragement. - Mmm...
And then the third thing is like, a little bit of friendly competition.
- And the three things like, mixed together create this like, - Mmm! - Yeah.
- perfect brew of like, learning. - Yeah! - Yeah, nice!
Never have I ever...
Oh, bro...
Dude, I took like, three gulps.
Big one, let's go!
- Do you even need to like, explain this? - No, that's pretty like...
- It's part of the job! - Yeah!
Like, if you work in an orchestra, there's 100 people.
- There's gonna be at least one person you don't like, - Mmm!
or they don't like you.
What happens? Do you just like- do you not look at them, or...?
Well, see, the thing was I was the young one.
- You know, I was 21, and they were like, 50. - Ahh...
- So you kinda just have to like... - Ahh...
- Yeah, you gotta just take it. Yeah. - Take it. - Oh, okay.
You don't say stuff like,
"You know what? I think it would be better if you started it up bow"?
No! No!
- I feel like you would say that! - Yeah!
- I have- I have done that before! - Ohhhh!
But what was the context?
- Were you the soloist and you said it to an orchestral musician? - No, I was uhhh...
- I was in QYS... - Ohhh!
When you were like, 13?
- I was 12, yeah. - Oh wow!
Yeah, well... he was the uh, concertmaster of our old orchestra!
- Ohohohoho! - The concertmaster... - *Censored name*
- Yeah! - OHHHHH!
No way!
- You were 12...! And you said that! - Yeah, I was like, 11 or 12! Yeah, 12 years old.
And I was just like...
Wow, that's- that's- that's in-
- That's amazing. That's amazing. - Respect. - Yeah.
Never have I ever...
- Oh! - Hmm... yeah!
I feel like I have, but I can't
- think of it off the top of my head. - Same, I feel like I have, but I can't think of one.
I thought you guys go everywhere together.
- I mean, recently, most of the concerts we've been together. - Yeah, no, I've been to concerts alone.
- Yeah, I have. - Who?
- Whose concert? - I can't- just like, random concerts by myself. I sit in the corner.
I'm sure I have as well.
Never have I ever...
Ah, bro...
- Yeah. - Oh yeah.
- Were your parents worried? Yeah! Yeah. - Yeah! Even my parents!
All the time! I mean...
My mom would, in a good way, be like
- even while I was at Curtis, right? - Mmm...
And I would call them, my mom would be like,
"It's okay if you- if you- if you can't make it."
'Cause their biggest fear was like,
that, I don't know, I would have to struggle for the rest of my life.
They would always be like, "Yeah, it's okay,
you can always come back home and do something...
- maybe some sort of business with your father or something like that." - Uh, yeah! Your parents are quite encouraging!
- And- but it had- it had the opposite effect on me. - Uh, yeah! Your parents are quite encouraging!
- I was like, so triggered. I was like, so fired up. - Yeah!
- I was like, "No way! I'm gonna like, make this work! - (Eddy) Yeah! Yeah!
- I'm going to just- you know, I'm gonna succeed!" - Yeah.
But that's always been like, how I grew up as well.
Ever since I was a kid, I was like, "Ah, I don't want to practice."
My mom would be like, "Oh, you don't want to practice? Fine, quit!"
"Yeah, quit!"
- That's some reverse psychology! - And then... yeah, yeah! And then...
I was like, "Ah, well..."
- She was like, "I didn't think so." - Yeah... - Ohhh!
- Got you there! Checkmate! "I don't think so!" - Damn... - Yeah!
What would you have done if it was not violin?
- Like, back then with the context... - Back then?
Like, let's say- I don't know.
- When you're 18, what would your Plan B have been? - When you're 18.
- Doctor, lawyer... - You know, the doctor, yeah, that kinda thing, like...!
- Now that my sister's a doctor, like, no way, - Ah yeah, sure.
- but I had like, yeah, this romantic notion, - Ah yeah, sure.
- "Ah yeah, doctor's like, really cool!" - Yeah.
I think I would've done something....
something to do with like, communicating with people.
Maybe like an arts manager or something like that.
- That's what I would've thought. - Ah yeah, I can see that. Yeah.
Never have I ever...
I mean...
So Ray, I know I said I couldn't make the Sibelius, 'cause well... - Yeah!
I've gotta fly to New York, but actually...
I think more like... more so back in the uni days.
Less so now!
Back then was like, I get it.
It was a concert every day. Everyone had recitals.
Now- now, you're actually busy,
instead of pretend-busy!
Hahahaha, yeah!
Never have I ever...
- Oh yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah. Of course.
- I felt like coughing after reading that. - The more you... the more you...
- Try to hold it, and then you start coughing, yeah! - try not to cough... yeah, and then you start coughing.
I remember once doing it during someone's masterclass.
- I was holding it in. It was the Sydney Opera House. - Yeah... yeah.
And I had water in my mouth, 'cause I drank water, and I went...
- And everyone just looked, - Oh wow...
and when it went quiet, I was like, "S***!"
- And just water just blasted out. It was so embarrassing. - Wow...
Never have I ever...
Bro, who doesn't fart during rehearsal?
- What?! - You got- you got 6 hours in a day, telling you to just hold it in?
- I don't think I farted, but I know someone that's pooed in a concert. - Yeah, same.
- What?! - S*** their pants. - Yeah, someone at like, a string quartet concert.
- And then, they like, permanently stained the concert seats. - Yeah, someone at like, a string quartet concert.
- And then, they like, permanently stained the concert seats. - And they stayed in the concert the whole time.
Literally just let their poop out.
- I mean, it's not funny to have bowel problems. It's still pretty funny. - Do I... yeah, do I... am I supposed to laugh or not?
- Haha! It doesn't matter. - Am I allowed to laugh?
- You're allowed to laugh. - You're allowed to laugh, yeah.
If you're watching this, you know who you are!
(Brett) It's all good!
- Alright, last one. - Alright... last one! - Alright... last one!
Never have I ever...
- Ah, yeah. - Yeah. - Bro...
- Mmm! - Mmm!
- I finished! - Oh, I finished!
Nice! Perfect timing!
Yeah, I was like, I had a concertmaster solo,
- and I came in a bar early... - I mean, I heard about it all the way in America.
- No, yeah, exactly. - Yeah.
- Really? You heard about his so... oh, right! - No!
It was so embarrassing.
The conductor like, gestured at me, and I just panicked.
I was like, "Ohh... ohh!" And I came in again.
For me, it was umm... it's been a couple of times, actually.
It's been in concerts where I was playing Ysaÿe...
- I think it was the Number... 2 or Number- - Okay.
Yeah, one of the... one of the sonatas, and
I ended up like, just taking... going off, derailing,
and I couldn't get back on.
- And... then, I just like, tried to improvise, which I suck at, - Oh no...
- and then... it's impossible, - Oh no... - Oh wow...!
and I couldn't get back on, for the life of me.
I just gave up, and I just played a G minor chord.
- What was the context? Where was this? - Where was it? - It was- it was- it was in a recital of mine.
And then, I remember like, going backstage,
and my pianist, Julio, was like,
"Wow, you played the Ysaÿe like, really fast today!"
I was like, "Yeah... shaved a couple minutes off!"
Oh s***!
- Dude, memory slips are the worst! - Yeah, they're the worst!
Oh, I actually had a memory slip in Tchaikovsky concerto.
- Really? - Oh! Yeah, I've done that too. - But it was like, I recovered myself.
It was like, a bar.
- It's okay if you recover, but if you can't recover, it's just like... - Yeah.
- Yeah. - At least it was solo violin though,
- so... it's like... - Yeah, it isn't like, you're out of ensemble. - Yeah, you have... if it was with orchestra, oh my God.
But I feel like with orchestra, there's the harmony,
so you can at least kind of get back on.
- Yeah. - Mmm. - It's- it's...
And I'm sure someone in the orchestra will probably be like,
- handing you the solo too. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah.
Whereas like, for this one, it was just...
Tried, failed, and just gave up.
That's brutal.
- I feel like everyone messed up solos at some point. - Yeah... we all messed up!
- Nah, it's fine. - I remember once, uhh...
- You know NYCC, right? - Yeah!
Yeah, so my first rehearsal was my first time-
- What, you did that? - Yeah, I was a finalist!
- Oh! You played with the orchestra! - Yeah, I know, right? Yeah!
- Oh! What year- what year was this? - Can you believe that?
I had a chance...
I did that like, 3 times before I finally won.
- I was already 17 though, so that was like, the last year, - Okay.
and I lost to umm... a 14-year-old girl.
Humbled, but it's okay! She was amazing!
But I remember the first rehearsal, you know, I was playing Prok(ofiev) 2.
The opening of Prok(ofiev) 2 you know, is like,
solo violin, the orchestra's not playing.
- I suffered really bad from performance anxiety back then. - Mmm.
And so I started playing, I just got shaky bow.
And then the conductor just turns to me, and he's like,
"Well, wasn't that embarrassing?"
Oh hahaha!
- What- dur- like, after the performance? - No, like- no, it was a rehearsal, not during the concert.
I think that traumatized me for performance anxiety, bro.
- Like, that s*** is traumatizing. - Yeah! - Ohh...!
And especially for a competition too. It's just like...
- You're already super anxious. You're already like... yeah. - Yeah.
- Man... - That's despairing.
I mean, I think... yeah.
- It takes a lot of mental fortitude to be... - But even just to perform, to be honest.
You know, us average plebeians...
I mean, even just playing next to Ray,
- for those that saw our other video. - Yeah.
- for those that saw our other video. - Alright, now I feel bad...
Yeah, it's all Ray's fault!
- Why is he so good? - Now I feel bad...
Alright, that's it for today!
Thank you so much for watching!
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and check out Ray's stuff in the description below!
And we'll see you next time!
Go practice!
Bye!