Elderly Woman Reproaches Busker For Bashing The Piano, Doesn’t Know He’s A Famous Pianist

Jan 30, 2023 by apost team

As children, everyone was told to respect their elders and listen to what old people say because they have a lot more experience and know better. But a street player, who received a public scolding from an old woman in public for “bashing” the piano, had to prove the old lady was mistaken for thinking he was playing the instrument in the worst way.

The street player avoided getting into an argument with the elderly woman, who kept berating him for his playing style. Based on the video uploaded in 2018, the grandmother was carrying music sheets in her bag, suggesting she might have been a piano teacher who wanted her students to observe a conventional playing style. The woman even snapped at the street player and said that he should take some piano lessons or watch videos of how other people play so he could gain some tips and insights.

However, one of history's greatest musicians was known to have pounded on the piano keys until he broke the instrument. Beethoven apparently replaced many broken pianos because he was banging on them. He was losing his hearing and wanted the instrument to be "louder" so he could keep writing music. 

In the more modern era, bashing the piano is not a poor playing style if the pianist is into boogie-woogie music. This playing style emerged after the American Civil War in the 1870s and was very popular in barrelhouses in Texas. It was actually common to find beaten-up pianos at many drinking establishments in those days because the up-tempo beat was popular. The boogie-woogie involves continuous repetitive chords and rhythms that are rooted in west African music.

The woman in the video had no idea that the man she berated was actually a famous boogie-woogie pianist.

Brendan Kavanagh, or, DrKBoogieWoogie, is a British piano teacher, performer and boogie-woogie pianist. He is well-known for promoting boogie-woogie music, which he regularly performs in public venues, similar to the shopping center in the viral video. 

Kavanagh is also an online piano teacher since 2007 and has amassed more than 1.95 million subscribers on YouTube for his particular style of piano playing. He heard of boogie-woogie as a teenager and learned from the legendary Hammy Howell. 

Before becoming an online sensation, Kavanagh worked as a secondary school teacher teaching English and Literature in England and Ireland. He left the rigid teaching profession due to disillusionment and was prompted to write the book "Toxic Teaching" as an expose to his experiences in the education system.

After leaving traditional teaching, Kavanagh decided to focus on performing but teaching boogie-woogie music style at the same time. To promote this niche, Kavanagh had to plan out different public performances on the streets, at malls, or at train stations and airports. He established an online following after uploading his performances on YouTube. Sometimes, he would live stream his public appearances. 

Meanwhile, some commenters on his YouTube video, which has since drawn over 14 million views, said that the encounter reminded them of their piano teacher, while many thought Kavanagh had a brilliant playing style. They wrote:

"This is exactly the type of piano teacher I had and therefore stopped after a few years of lessons and moved to guitar to play more contemporary music."

"Banging the piano would be if a child came up and started hammering the keys. He’s making music, and I personally love jazzy blues songs, this guy is amazing."

"I'm a music teacher and this is just so disrespectful. Music is for everyone, not just the elderly middle class." 

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