The Power Of Music: A Conversation With Stephen Ridley

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The Power of Music: A Conversation with Stephen Ridley - Part 1

13d ago 42:26

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“Chick invited me to go to this jazz club in Soho called Ronnie Scott’s in London. And it was, like, two o’clock in the morning – I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna be open.’ I did not know who I was dealing with. It’s Chick Corea. He just makes a call, it’s open, and they’d set out three pianos in a room facing each other. And we walked in this room, we sat down, and Chick could play a few notes. Herbie had joined in, I’d joined in, and we kind of each took it at turns in leading the thing. This song went on for hours. It changed, it evolved, it moved. It was the most amazing thing. And Herbie said something really, really amazing. He was like, because even though we didn’t say anything to each other, I like, know these people in this moment. I know, I feel them, like there’s something happening, and so here’s the super geek moment. He said something in it, and it really resonates with me: he’s like, ‘You know, music’s not about the sound, right? The sound is carrying an intention.’" – Stephen Ridley

This week’s guest is a world-renowned British pianist, composer, and visionary in modern piano education. His journey from high-flying investment banker to global musical sensation is as remarkable as his performances. He discovered his passion for the piano at age two and received formal training when he was eleven, but it wasn’t until he left the corporate world that his true artistry flourished. Starting as a London street performer, his raw talent and electrifying performances quickly garnered international attention and propelled him onto some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

His name is Stephen Ridley, and our conversation ranges from how music connects us and transcends language to how it prolongs our lives. Keep listening to learn more about the power of sound!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound

As our discussion begins, Stephen shares his memories of a turbulent childhood in northern England, and what he discovered about the power of sound when he found a case full of his dad’s old cassettes. “The most amazing thing of this,” he tells us, “was I saw it change my dad, and he went into this other person, a much more beautiful, calm, serene sort of English version of Elvis. He sort of became a bit Elvis and he was singing to my mom and they were sweet and romantic together and I was like, ‘What is this superpower?” He remembers how that moment, and a neighbor’s gift of a simple toy piano, sparked his love of music, and his ongoing fascination with its impact on listeners. “It’s a magic which I’ve now come to know intimately,” he explains, “and I get to go around the world and share that magic with people and I’ve seen it now just millions of times. It’s so amazing to me.”

(0:07:00) - Inspirational Journey of Music and Passion

Stephen shares more of his early memories of sound, and how growing up in a secluded village with nothing to do proved to be a blessing in disguise for learning about music. “The process I learned piano was not one I would recommend,” he warns us. “It was unnecessarily painful, but I had enough boredom to allow a curiosity to grow and to follow that curiosity, and then I’d discover magic.” He tells us about his unforgettable first day as a piano busker in London, and the joy that his music stirred in the listeners back then, as well as to this day during concerts. “Maybe they’re, like, terrible bosses,” Stephen adds, “but in that moment they show me their best side. That’s the magic for me. I’ve been a musician and I felt all the love of humanity, and it was absolutely amazing.”

(0:15:44) - The Spiritual Power of Music

He tells us about his life as a concert pianist today, and how little has actually changed since his days as a busker. “If I’m in an airport, I see one of those pianos, I’m on it,” he says. “Trust me, I’ll miss a flight. I don’t care. Like, there’s some magic to playing for people when they don’t expect it. It’s really a rush.” Stephen tells us his favorite song – at least, as he adds, for the moment – and why it made such a deep impression on him while teaching it to a class. “’I’m only going to play five notes,’” he recalls explaining to them, “and I played this really stripped-back ‘Hallelujah.’ And by doing that, it lets the voice take center stage a little bit. And man, that was haunting, like goosebumps playing.”

(0:27:31) - Putting Yourself in Music

The first half of our conversation concludes as we focus on the power of music to elevate us, both metaphorically and perhaps literally. “These things that hippies say,” Stephen explains, “where you think they sound weird, I was like, ‘What if they’re not weird?’ What if there are actually these like very high frequencies? We kind of intuitively say that in our language without knowing it: ‘oh, he’s on a higher frequency.’” He relates a memorable encounter with the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash, and what he learned from Johnny and “Folsom Prison Blues” about stage presence and truly making a song your own. “He’s like, ’the difference between me and everybody else,’” Stephen recalls, “’is when I go on stage, I know I’m Johnny Cash. And when they go on stage, they know they’re not.”

Episode Summary

How Stephen’s childhood memories helped reveal music’s transformative power.
His evolution as a pianist, from solitary passion to street performances to global concerts.
The transcendental power of music, and his favorite song of the moment.
How harmonics, chords, and the mathematics of music elevate us as listeners.

Tune in for next week’s episode as we discuss how musicians in general, and Stephen in particular, are adapting to the new reality of streaming music, the role he foresees AI taking when it comes to music and creativity in general, and the surprising medical impact sound may have on human longevity.

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