Podcast #2 – I just bought a music school!

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I just bought a Music School

Mobile Studio Podcast #2

Mark:

Hello and welcome to the Mobile Studio Podcast #2. Continuing on our journey to learn about many different aspects of music, composing it, recording it and talking to people who have done interesting things with it, it is my great pleasure to introduce an old friend of mine, Yigal Grayeff.

About a year ago, Yigal called me to tell me of an interesting piece of news. We hadn’t spoken for some time, so it was nice to hear from him again after the long break.

“I’ve resigned my job and bought a music school” he announced.

“You did what?” I replied, a little startled.”

“I’ve resigned my job and bought a music school”.

After he had repeated the news about 3 times, the enormity of what he’d done actually began to sink in.

Here was an old friend of mine, who had done a few mad things in his life it has to be said, but now he’d given up a nice, well paid, secure job and spent a considerable part of his savings on something to do with music. What on earth was going through his head? I just had to go along and see for myself what it was that he’d got himself into.

Outside “Clal” Shopping Centre in Jerusalem, Israel

Mark:

OK here I am outside the Clal Centre in Jerusalem in Israel this is where Yigal’s school is based, in the middle of a shopping centre. Let’s go in and try to find the school.

Inside shopping centre

Mark:

Yigal said to look for a sign saying, Lenagen Bekef… ahh yes, here we are. Sounds about right.

Inside music school

Mark: Hello Yigal!

Yigal: Hi, Mark.

Mark: Thanks for having me here.

Yigal: Absolute pleasure.

Mark: So this is Lenagen Bekef? Tell me all about it.

Yigal:

So, Lenagen Bekef is a music school, we’re located in Binyan Clal (The Clal building) in central Jerusalem near the market and what we do is provide a number of services. First of all, we have rehearsal rooms which people can hire out. We provide private lessons in a range of instruments including guitar, bass guitar, piano, saxophone, clarinet, harmonica, even mandolin. We also do voice coaching and the other thing we do is that we put together bands and provide them with instruction.

Mark:

So, we’re heading now for a bit of peace and quiet in one of the rehearsal rooms.

Inside rehearsal room

Mark: So, let’s start with the name:

Yigal:

We’re called Lenagen Bekef which is Hebrew for playing for fun and we actually played around with the name and thought should we change the name, in terms of what we want to broadcast? And one of the people who plays here in a band, he says he loves the name because he plays drums and it said to him that he can come here and feel comfortable and if he makes a mistake no-one’s going to scream and shout at him and make it unpleasant for him.

Mark:

You said just before we came in here that one of the things that you do is you put together bands. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Yigal:

So, if you had Joe play his guitar and wants to be in a band. Then we would bring other musicians such as Ben who plays drums, Mark who sings and Jim who plays bass guitar that’s at least four people. We have an introductory session and if everybody enjoys the introductory session and wants to continue there are rehearsals  once a week for two hours with the hope that within two to three months, depending on the level of the band, that we can start thinking about organizing concerts and maybe even recording songs.

Mark:

Can anybody join a band or do you have to be some sort of level in order to join one of the bands here?

Yigal:

In terms of the level you need to be at to be in a band. We don’t turn anyone away because of their level, you know, one of our slogans is that ‘We’re open to all levels and all ages’. And what we try to do when we put the bands together is match people according to their ability, the type of music they want to play and if relevant their age although that becomes a bit less important the older people are.

Yigal:

And so when people come here, it’s not an audition because as I say we don’t turn people away. We just assess their level and then put them together with other musicians who are of their or a similar ability. We have bands where the level is quite fairly basic and we also have bands who are more advanced.

Mark: What is the role of the instructor in these bands?

Yigal:

So, the instructor has a number of jobs that he has to do within the band. First of all, he has to hear whether they’re playing together or not and he or she is a professional musician and so he has a professional ear and a lot of the people who come here are hobbyists so they don’t necessarily hear that. So, that’s first thing.

Secondly, he helps teach each of the musicians their role in the band and their job. He can act a bridge between the different musicians and so if there is a bit of a difference in levels then he can tailor the job of each person in the band according to their level so he provides them a challenge and they don’t get too bored or they don’t feel it’s too, you know, it’s over their head what’s being played.

And helps them complement each other and not clash with each other. So, that’s particularly important for example for the drummer and the bass player or you know, if you’ve got a guitar and a piano. They need to, as I say, complement each other as opposed to play something which clashes and kind of irks the audience.

Mark:

We’re sitting here having this conversation in the heart of Jerusalem which is in Israel where the Lingua Franca is Hebrew and we’re having this conversation in English. Does the school cater for both languages?

Yigal:

Yes we do. I mean, the main language is Hebrew but the teachers can speak English and actually when asked if they can speak English. I’ll ask them in English and we’ll have a conversation in English just so I can see if they’re able to and if we have teachers whose first languages are in English. And we have a meeting about them possibly working here; I’ll ask them to conduct the meeting in Hebrew. And actually one of the things I want to say is that all of the teachers who work here have to give me a lesson in their instruments before they start working and the reason for that is I want to understand how they teach and I want to see whether they’re patient and whether they explain things well and all the other things they need to be able to be good teachers.

And if somebody’s mother tongue is English then I’ll ask them to give me that lesson in Hebrew so then I can know whether that will be a barrier or not to them providing a good lesson. And it’s the same the other way around if somebody is Israeli and their first language is Hebrew then I’ll just check their English to make sure they can speak English and again they’ll be able to give a good lesson if that’s what the student requires. Now, we also have a teacher who’s Mexican so he can teach in Spanish if need be.

 

Mark:

One of things that really caught my imagination when we spoke about this on the telephone was this emphasis you put on forming bands. Why is it so important for you? What is it about the bands that make it such an important part of what the school does?

Yigal:

Playing in a band improves you as a musician because if you’ve never done it for the first time you’re playing with other people you have to listen to them, you have to collaborate and co-operate and all these things, as I say, improve you as opposed to playing on your own at home. I have a lot of people come in here and I ask them to either play for me or sing for me and they’re very, very nervous just playing in front of me. And then you have to perform in front of the band members and you get comfortable doing that and then there’s a show or there’s a concert and that gives you the most amount of confidence especially if you do well.

Mark:

Are the bands that you form always made up out of people that previously didn’t know each other or do you have like groups coming to form bands here as well?

Yigal:

So, we’re open to organizations such as companies or schools, or government offices, let’s say four or five of them want to play in a band together then we can do a group deal and in fact we’ve actually got such an arrangement with a group of policemen and one day a policeman discovered Lenagen Bekef and started taking drum lessons and then he into went one band. He improved to such an extent he decided that we wanted to join a band with his friends from the police. So he brought two of his friends from the police and there’s another – the guitarist – he’s actually from the tax office and they’ve come together and they play together in their band and we provide them a group rate.

So, yeah we make it attractive and also if there are families. You know, we actually had a family band once, there’s a mother with nine kids and a while back, you know, a band was put together in which they all played. And now her son learns guitar here.

Mark:

Playing in a band is quite a commitment. What sort of commitment do you ask of the people who come to play here?

Yigal:

One of the hardest things to do is to form a band; it’s even harder to keep it going. They have to give the commitment that they’ll come to rehearsal for at least 2 hours a week, every week and they’ll make it high priority because if they don’t the band can’t continue. What happens a lot of the time is that everybody will come together for the first rehearsal and everybody will love it and then yeah, it’s great and the second rehearsal will be the same.

And then the third rehearsal is that, ‘ah, somebody can’t come’ and he won’t come and the fourth rehearsal he can come but she can’t. Then the fifth rehearsal two people can’t come, there’s only five people in the band so they decide not to have it and by the sixth or seventh week, assuming there’s a rehearsal once a week, it’s all fallen apart.

Yigal:

And that’s what happens a lot and what we say is that you have to make that commitment. We ask for payment upfront for at least 3 months ahead and the idea behind that is it shows that people are serious and that people are making that commitment. And people are relying on each other, so that’s what we ask and if you don’t make that commitment, if there’s not that momentum – it won’t work.

Mark:

What about performance opportunities for bands who come here to learn and to play?

Yigal:

So, bands here at Lenagen Bekef have performed all over the city, they’ve performed in parks, in festivals. They’ve performed in the Jerusalem Theatre which is probably the top theatre in Jerusalem in the city. They also perform in schools, for example we also have a band of nine year olds and they’ve performed in their school twice. And actually last week they performed here in the building that we’re based in, it’s called The Clal Centre. As I said before it’s in the centre of Jerusalem, near the market.

And there was a small event with the deputy mayor and our band of nine year olds performed here. So, there’s a lot of opportunities and it’s a very fun experience. It’s something, again, that improves you as a musician because it gives you that adrenaline, it gives you that goal to aim for. So, everybody – we have more rehearsals and you really concentrate on playing as best you can and giving a good show.

Mark:

Have you had any big successes out of the school?

Yigal:

So, what we say to people is that we’re not here to turn you into stars, to help you conquer the world. In saying that we’ve had a couple of singers who’ve gone on to these TV talent shows and done very well. We had a singer a few years ago go on to a program called Kochav Nolad which literally means a star is born and is the Israeli version of American Idol or the X-Factor and he got to number two if I’m not mistaken.

We had a singer who went onto a similar show last year and she got to number three and they both started here. I know the story of the female singer particularly well; she really, as far as I understand, didn’t have any confidence till she came here. Then she played in a band, and she performed and she got that confidence that enabled her to go out onto this TV show and perform in front of the whole country and do very well. And now she’s a professional singer, it’s actually changed her life.

Mark:

Tell me a little bit about the history of the school, how it all began? After that we’ll get into your role and how you joined the school. But how did the school begin?

 

Yigal:

So, as far as I’m aware it began when it was formed by two brothers Yoel and Yoad Shoshani and Yoel was in Boston and he discovered this concept of putting bands together and providing them with instruction and he decided to bring that, and that was about in the year 2000, and he decided to bring that concept to Israel. And we think he’s the first person in the country to do that. Certainly outside of the conservatories who are more focused on classical music and putting together orchestras. In terms of putting together rock & roll bands, bringing people together and provide them with instruction – we think he’s a pioneer in this country in that respect.

So, like any good business it began in their parents’ home and they grew to such an extent that their parents chucked them out. Then they went to a place called Centre One which is on the entrance to Jerusalem and they were there for a while and about ten years ago, I think in the year 2004, they moved to the present location which is like I said before, the Clal Centre in the centre of the city.

And they literally built this place with their hands, it was a big empty space and their father’s a building contractor. So, they know a thing or two about building. So, they did it and their father’s workers came to help and there are now two rehearsal rooms. There’s an office space and there’s a place where a producer can sit if we want to do a recording here and that also acts a place to do private lessons.

Mark:

How did you hear about the school then? How did you become involved?

Yigal:

I heard it by word of mouth and I started guitar lessons and I very much like the concept of the bands. About a year and a half ago the two brothers decided they wanted to sell. So, I was doing something else; I was writing about finance and economics for a website called Seeking Alpha and I’d always been a writer. I’d been in that world of financial writing or marketing writing for a financial company and I’d seen a lot of people who are younger than me, entrepreneurs, come in with their ideas and trying to make a go of it and that was an inspiration in a way. Because I thought if they can do it maybe it’s something I should try to do as well.

And I wanted to broaden my experience, it’s both from a career point of view and just for my life; to learn new things. Yeah, I’m obviously very interested in music otherwise I wouldn’t have gone into this. So, I thought this is something I can do and learn from.

Mark:

You took quite a risk.

Yigal:

In the short term I had a very safe job and it was a risk but I was looking at the long term also. Given that my experience had been fairly narrow until that point, I looked ten years ahead and I thought to myself if I’m without a job in ten years, you’ll get to that age in your late forties where people don’t want to hire you anymore particularly if you don’t have wide experience. And so while it was very safe to stay in the job that I had back then, I thought to myself in the long term it’s something that would be very dangerous.

Mark:

But still it takes a lot of guts to take the leap of faith that you took.

 

Yigal:

As the time was approaching that we were going to sign the contract to close the deal, I felt that I was on the edge of a cliff and below me was the sea and I had to jump off and start swimming and I didn’t know what the waters were like and I didn’t know where it would take me and how long it would take me. And maximum it fails but I’ll have done something I think exceptionally worthwhile.

Mark:

Where do you see this place going in the future?

Yigal:

The vision is to be successful here, maybe expand. We’ve got the opportunity to expand somewhere with more space in our current location and then maybe open up our branches in other parts of the country and maybe one day have a network of Lenagen Bekefs. A chain from the very south of the country in Eilat to the very North.

One of the things I say to the teachers who come in and who are thinking about teaching here, as I said, Look, right now we’re at the bit after the beginning of a journey. If we’re successful, I don’t want just us to enjoy the fruits of that success. I also want the teachers to know that without them the place can’t exist. So, they’re very important in that and I want them to be happy and to gain satisfaction from what they do here.

Mark:

So, you’re thinking big for Lenagen Bekef?

Yigal:

You have to have the dreams and you have to have the vision of where you want to go. You know, I even look at the company ‘Wall Street’ as something to aspire to. They teach English, they have English schools all over the world and maybe in the decades to come we can do the same. Start opening up. First of all, be successful just here right in our current location in Jerusalem. Open up branches in other parts of the country and then maybe open up branches in different parts of the world but again that’s well into the future. And it’s much more of a fantasy than it is a reality right now.

Mark:

But without dreams, without those fantasies you never get anywhere. Yigal, thanks so much for showing me around the school and agreeing to be interviewed for my podcast.

Yigal:

Absolute pleasure.

Mark:

You definitely have done something interesting with music and I hope that the fantasies you mentioned soon become realities. I think it’s an amazing idea that Yoel and Yoad started off and now you are working to continue.

Mark:

If anyone is interested in finding out more about Lenagen Bekef, then you can visit their website at www.lenagenbekef.co.il. That’s www.lenagenbekef spelled L E N A G E N B E K E F.co.il they’re also on YouTube if your Hebrew is good enough and simply type לנגן בכיף in Hebrew in the search box. If not, you can find a link to their channel on the podcast’s homepage for this podcast and that’s at www.themobilestudio.net/podcast and go to podcast #2. You’ll also find a link to the Lenagen Bekef website there too.

I’ll leave you with an example from one of the many bands formed at Lenagen Bekef. This song is from the 2012 Summer program and is called ‘Take it Easy’. Written and performed by the Dan Dayan who is also on keyboards, with Ezra Avi and Alex More on Guitars, Yuli Shimoni on Bass and Amiel Wenselbaum on drums.

Song: Take it Easy