Aw, guess who's here?
- Hey. Hello! - Hey, what's up!
- Good to see you! - Dude, good to see you!
- Yo, Eddy, what's up! - (Eddy) What's up!
- Whoa... we're gonna film here? - I know, it...
Big room here to film.
- Yeah, you guys already get set up? - (Brett) Mhm. All ready to go.
(Ray) Nice. I see the Switch. Hehe!
- (Eddy) Yeah! - That's right. That's what we're here for!
Hey, how's it going?
Welcome to another episode of TwoSet Violin.
(Eddy) We're joined with Ray today.
ThreeSet.
- ThreeSet! Let's go! - ThreeSet!
Today's video was inspired by
a conversation we were having,
when we were in Melbourne,
- right after your concert. - Two weeks ago. Yeah.
We were talking about how Brett has
the Mendelssohn coming up.
We were asking Ray for some professional soloist tips.
Do you want to share what you told us that day?
So, basically, back in the day,
these old-school violin teachers,
they would wake up their students
in the middle of the night,
and drag them out of bed to play
random passages that they would select.
And if you could play them,
then you were ready for anything.
You were basically bulletproof.
Well, in order to test out Brett's ability
to not be nervous, to overcome his stage fright,
and all that kind of stuff,
to be bulletproof onstage for his Mendelssohn,
we're gonna do the same thing here.
I thought it'd be... a good... good idea.
I think that's a great idea, too. I can't wait!
We're just gonna hang out,
maybe play some Smash Bros,
and then Ray and Brett will be going to sleep.
Somewhere in the night...
I shall come and wake them up.
They'll have to be able to play
- Ugh... - three excerpts from the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
just like that, waking up.
I can't believe I'm actually waking up
in the middle of the night
to help you prepare, but...
- good luck. - Yeah, thank you.
I can't believe you're doing this...
We rented a whole Airbnb...
- Yeah, this is like...! - Yeah. Just for this video.
- All right, I just ordered bubble tea. - Nice.
Ray is teaching me the ways of
how to perform like a soloist.
Gotta get our food...
Vegetables...
Eat, eat yo vegetable, Brett!
- So intonation is on point, okay... - Eat yo vegetable!
- Eat more vegetable, Brett! - Okay!
(Eddy) Ray, show everyone how you hold your chopsticks.
*Brett and Eddy burst out laughing*
(Eddy) What an indie chopstick hold you have...
Yeah, I use, I use the, the criss-cross method.
It is powerful and... and versatile.
(Eddy) It's like the Franco-Belgian chopsticks...
Franco-Belgian...
All right, don't cry when I beat you.
(Eddy) First hit! Let's go!
(Brett) Oh my god...
*All yelling*
Yes!
Ohh!
AAAH!
(Eddy) OH NO!
*More yelling*
- Bro, Brett's Mendelssohn... - Mendelssohn!
Wait, where am I?
Oh, you're dead!
Oh, I died?!
- You're dead! - Why did I die?!
I got you then!
(Ray) Okay... it's me and Brett.
This is gonna be how it's gonna be like later on,
- Yeah...! - with the Mendelssohn.
(Ray) Aw, no⁠—I don't feel too good in front of this TV...
(Eddy) Yeah, I don't like the TV, too.
- (Ray) Yeah, this is a giant⁠... - (Eddy) I think this is a bad TV.
- This is a gi⁠— - Nah, excuses!
- Excuses! Excuses! - Nah, I don't like this... - Oh, no... I'm, I'm⁠—
- This TV is, like, really intense! - EXCUSES! - Yeah, no it's...
*Screaming*
Hahahahahaaa!
Right, so, um...
We ended up playing Smash a lot longer than expected,
and it's 2 a.m.
So...
we figured instead, we might just sleep,
but then wake up kinda early-ish.
Yeah.
And uh... we'll do the playing first thing in the morning.
I think it'll pretty much be the equivalent.
See you in the morning.
- G'night! - Good night.
(Eddy) Oy, get up!
*Eddy singing Mendelssohn groggily*
(Eddy) Egh, I'm so tired, why am I doing this with you?
*Brett laughing*
(Eddy) I wanna go back to sleep...!
- *Eddy singing Mendelssohn again* - (Brett) RrrrRRRGrgRgH!
(Eddy) The orchestra's waiting...
- I'm awake... - (Eddy) Rehearsal's starting...
I'm awake!
(Eddy) Dude, he looks... so peaceful.
(Eddy) I'm so jealous.
*Eddy singing Mendelssohn*
- Good morning! Wakey wakey! - (Ray) Oh, no...
(Eddy) It's your old-school teacher.
Oh, nooooo!
(Eddy) "This is a call for M⁠a— Maestro Chen,
to please be onstage in five minutes."
Okay, good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
(Eddy) We have, about to perform...
two of the greatest interpretations
- of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto! - *Brett coughing*
Scissors, paper, rock!
Ooh, you won.
Do you wanna play first or second, Brett?
- I'll play... - Second.
Wait, are we allowed to warm up?
Fifteen seconds to warm up.
You'll be playing first movement, figure A to B.
Okay.
*Playing rapid G major and minor scales*
- All right, I'm ready. - That's a warmup at 2x speed.
*Playing Mendelssohn*
*Sighs*
...With morning breath.
*Eddy laughs*
All right, go for it.
*Playing rapid G major and minor scales*
*Playing Mendelssohn*
Oh, nice!
- Yeaaah! - You did it!
Oy, that was... that was great!
- Yeah. - Oh, nice! - It was legit, legit!
Did you really just wake up,
or did you, like, secretly wake up
- two hours earlier to practice? - Have you been practicing, like...?
Brett, how'd you feel?
Just a bit tired in the left hand, but...
- Oh. Okay. - Felt like the vibrato wasn't going the best.
Yeah.
Mmm...
For second movement we'll pick a very
vibrato-y passage then, shall we?
Where's a good place to start from here?
Oh, that's another thing!
You shouldn't, like, think about
what the best place is to start—
You should be able to have checkpoints anywhere,
because meaning that if you get off the rails,
you should be able to get on any note.
So, it could be in the middle of a phrase, even.
- All right, okay, I wanna start on... - I didn't sign up for this!
- That D. - Okay, we scissors-paper-rock...
- Oh, you were practicing! - No, I'm not, no no, I was just—yeah.
(Both) Scissors, paper, rock!
(Both) Scissors, paper, ROCK!
- You can start. - Ohohohoh!
You can get rid of the music now.
- He's not gonna be using music. - No, no...! - Yeah, you'll play from memory!
Imagine I'm, like, in the first violin,
I'm just watching you.
*Playing Mendelssohn second movement*
Yeah!
- Nice! Nice, that's nice. - It's getting there. The sound.
Okay...
*Playing Mendelssohn second movement*
Yeah.
- Wow... - So another thing is,
you have to emit confidence.
Like, confidence, musicality, everything.
Don't try to... "try" to play it,
you just do it. You just need to already be there.
That's, I think, the most important part of
what this challenge is revealing—
- you have to believe. - Okay.
And I'm seeing that you're, you get into this mode,
you're like, in your stance.
- Push that even further. - Okay.
And believe in, in yourself.
When I was a, um, before,
I would think of myself as somebody else.
Maxim Vengerov, someone like that,
- when I was a kid. - Yeah.
Or David Oistrakh, like,
these guys wouldn't... you know, mess up, so,
you know, I am them in that moment.
Then you build a belief in yourself. Yeah.
- That's cool. - Yeah. Really, really important.
- Oh my god... - All the way to the end—
This one, even, this one makes even me nervous.
My butt totally just clenches when I'm playing this passage.
I'm like, "Hrnnggh!"
The morning bowel movement...
(Both) Scissors, paper, rock!
(Both) Scissors, paper, ROCK!
*Ray clenches*
- You can go first! - Ohhh!
Don't think, just do!
*Playing Mendelssohn third movement*
- No way... - You've got it.
You've got it, you've got this. Let's go!
- No way! - Alright. Don't think, just do!
- *Brett hyperventilating* - Just do!
*Playing Mendelssohn third movement*
Ooh!
Good morning! Whoaaa!
- My hand is stiffening just listening to you guys... - (Ray) You did it.
Yeah, Eddy!
- Yeah, you wanna...? - You wanna go? Yeah, yeah.
- I'm actually curious if I can even play. - That one, that one's hard. That one's hard.
See, he's still got his, like, senpai jacket;
- he's like, the main character and hasn't taken it off yet. - Yeah. He hasn't taken it off.
- The power... - The power move...
From Z to the end. This is bonus round!
(Both, in Mandarin) Scissors, rock, paper!
Hah!
- After you. - Oh! I'm playing first.
Don't think!
*Starts playing end of Mendelssohn*
No!
Okay, hang on, hang on a second.
I have a better fingering for you.
- Oh. Ah, okay. - I'll show you first.
*Begins playing end of Mendelssohn*
Here.
Oh!
- Wow... all right, so... - You see that? So, it's that.
It was that part.
Yeah.
Oh, you just stay there.
And then, because there's a shift,
I also change the bow as well.
- Oh. - (Ray) Down, down.
And then...
- And you can, like, make a pause... Yeah! - Maybe I can make a pause. Yeah.
- Yeah. That'll help a lot. - Wow.
There you go!
The Mendelssohn 8 a.m. version,
and the Mendelssohn jetlag version.
No, just kidding.
If Ray Chen's like 5G, I'm like...
3G.
- I'm like 1G... - (Ray) You actually did really well, yeah.
And bear in mind that by the time you reach the last page,
you've already played through everything,
so you have that extra warmup as well.
- Okay. - Yeah.
And then, you know, you have the coffee, the backstage,
all the sandwiches, bananas...
Right? You'll have your artist's rider.
Yeah!
- You'll get to request stuff. - What are you gonna request for?
Bubble tea.
- Bubble tea? - Yep.
- Well, good luck, Brett. - Thank you.
Thanks for being here.
Toi toi toi, as we say.
- Yeah! Toi toi toi. - Toi toi toi.
Break a leg, no, break a string.
Break a string.
OH! Have you thought about
what would happen if you broke a string?
No.
...But you know what to do, right?
- I swap with the concertmaster? - Yeah! Yeah.
Okay.
I'll swap with Eddy's.
I'll just be offstage,
- ready to do it... - Yeah! Rock on stage...
Thanks so much for watching, everyone!
Uh, check out Ray's channel,
and check out, go watch his concerts, and...
accent the like button, legato the subscribe button,
and we will see everyone next time.
Buh-bye!