TonicCon: Ray Chen Brings Two-Day Classical Music Festival to Los Angeles Oct. 10-11

By Laurie Niles: Violin superstar Ray Chen wants people to feel supported in their efforts to learn the violin and other instruments. To that end he has teamed up with the Colburn School to hold a two-day classical music festival in Los Angeles called TonicCon, named for and co-sponsored by Chen's practice app called Tonic. The event takes place October 10 and 11 at Colburn, featuring master classes, workshops and performances with Chen himself as well as Robert Lipsett, Margaret Batjer and Martin Beaver; pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Julio Elizalde, guitarist Erin Young and others. (Click here to sign up for the event, and use the code VIOLINIST15 for a 15 percent discount. You can see me at the event on Friday, when Ray and I will do a panel discussion called "Teaching and Tech.") Ray told me that his efforts center around this question: "How can we have a community - a positive community - based around practice and learning? That's what we we've established with Tonic," he said, "and now we're bringing that to an in-person event in collaboration with the Colburn School, called TonicCon." So a lot of people are asking, what exactly is Tonic? Let's address that first: It is an app for your phone, designed to encourage practice. (Click here to find it in the Apple app store). Launched in February 2023 by Ray and co-founder Rose Xi, "The idea for the Tonic app was born during the pandemic when people had an immense desire to connect," Ray said. "At its core, music is meant to be shared, and being part of a community makes the practice experience more enjoyable, keeps you motivated, and reminds you of your purpose. It even helps with practice anxiety." Okay, so what does that mean? I confess, I approached Ray's app with a lot of concerns about privacy issues - for myself, and for students. Downloading the app, it will ask for access your contacts, as well access to the microphone on your phone. I know, a lot of apps do this, but it concerned me, especially with kids using this app. But, after talking with Ray, I wanted to try it, so I downloaded the app so that I could learn more about it. I was happy to see that when you turn on the microphone to log your practice hours, you have three options: practice without anyone listening (except presumably "the app"), or invite just certain friends to listen in, or "make it public." So if you wanted to use it without opening your phone audio to the entire world, you can do so. So first, it logs your practice time, either by yourself, or allowing others to listen in. It then keeps track of how much cumulative time you practice (or at least how much time you "open the studio" and allow the app to listen!) If you allow other people to listen in, they can write comments and send you emojis, etc. There is also an option to send yourself "practice reminders," which you can set up for certain times and dates throughout the week. Also, you can "earn rewards" for practicing. I didn't think that my head could be turned with icons and online "awards," but then I noticed that the app had created a little "Laurie" avatar for me, and at the moment it didn't look like me. So I went in to give her some longer hair and a better outfit. That's when I realized, if I wanted her to be wearing anything but jeans and white T-shirt (or a very simple skirt), I would have to practice more to "earn" a better outfit!

And I didn't think you could hook me with online rewards.... When it comes to "sharing" - you can join quite a few groups, based on different parameters: you can be in a group based on what piece you are playing, or what technique you are practicing, or simply based on your friends. Presumably, teachers could create a group with all of their students. I directly asked Ray about privacy concerns, in relation to kids using Tonic. "First of all, there's no video," he said. Also, while people can leave comments, there is no direct messaging function on Tonic. He said that currently there are about 170,000 signed up for the app. If there are any problems, "we have a robust reporting function, and we have a 'community lead,' who is like a manager who addresses any complaints." If a user is causing problems, the user can be warned, or ultimately banned. The idea is for people to be able to use the app to say "I'm here, I'm practicing. I'm sharing my vulnerable work in progress, which is something that most people don't do," Ray said, "then people can come in and leave feedback or encouragement." As for TonicCon in Los Angeles, there are two days of events planned (view them here) and last week Ray had a wonderful conversation via Zoom with teachers in the local American String Teachers Association (ASTA) section about Tonic, TonicCon, and a lot of other things.

From a Zoom conversation with Ray Chen and ASTA teachers.

He shared that his idea for "gamifying practice" came in part from his own childhood experience, when his parents would incentivize his practicing with various rewards. For example, at the time, the promise of Pokeman cards motivated him quite well! "I would negotiate prizes with my parents," Ray said, and this is something that works well with a lot of kids. While we might want kids to practice "for the love of music," the motivational rewards can help make it happen until they reach that point. Adult students also need motivation to practice, but their motivations are different. Their reward system might revolve more around social interaction, or successfully keeping a practice diary. Parents are always having to remind kids to practice, and that is where something like Tonic can come in handy - "Delegate the reminding to the app!" Ray suggested. One teacher asked Ray, how do you help instill discipline in a student? "I like to talk about the goal," Ray said. For example, perhaps a student wants to work toward playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. "They may have a story about why they want that specific goal - listen, and remember that story, so you can refer back to it." But then, "you have to show them proof of concept. You have to get them to trust themselves," Ray said. Help them find a small portion of that goal that they can do, something that is achievable and will give a result right in the moment. Then build from there. "Otherwise, Everest is just so hard to climb." One participant in the Zoom conversation asked how Ray deals with stage fright, and his advice contained a lot of wisdom: "Stage fright" is when you are afraid of playing in front of people - "People call it 'performance anxiety,' but really, it's 'people anxiety,'" Ray said. One way to deal with this is to try to ice out the presence of others, to focus so hard on the music that people are just potatoes to you. But this approach has some problems. "That works, but then you don't have any connection to the people," Ray said. "And also, when one of those potatoes coughs and you realize it's actually a person - that can take you out of your state of laser-focus." For Ray, the only real solution is to get used to playing for people. The real cure "is just experience, playing and practicing in front of people," he said. "You have to keep switching the people, too." "A good environment makes all the difference," Ray said, adding that he had a wonderful environment - a community of like-minded people - when he was at the Curtis Institute. It's what he wants to build with the concept of Tonic and TonicCon: "A safe space to practice, make mistakes, and still be supported," Ray said. "It's great for kids to see other kids at a variety of different levels, it gives them something to aim for." Click here to sign up for TonicCon and use the code VIOLINIST15 for a 15 percent discount. The event is October 10 and 11 at the Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles. Click here for the event schedule.You might also like:

• Interview with Ray Chen: Outreach Through Social Media
• Master Class with Ray Chen
• REVIEW: Violinist Ray Chen and Julio Elizalde in Recital at Disney Hall

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