Meet Frank Tedesco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank Tedesco.

Frank, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I really can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to pursue music. I started playing drums when I was three years old after discovering my father’s drum set in our basement. I was so small I couldn’t even reach the foot pedal. Two years later, I asked my dad to teach me how to read drum charts. I always appreciated that he waited for me to ask for his help. We worked on basic reading and drum fundamentals for a while until I eventually started studying under my dad’s former teacher, Matty Patella. Matty was an incredible teacher who, over the next five years, pushed me to my limits and taught me the true value of discipline.

In 8th grade, my band director, Mr. Colonna, needed me to play xylophone on one of our concert pieces. I had zero interest in doing so, plus I didn’t know how to read pitched notation. Being a stubborn 14-year-old who just wanted to play drums, I was going to quit the band. However, my parents encouraged me to stick with it and just learn the part, so I did. Mr. Colonna took the time to teach me how to read sheet music and play the xylophone. From there, I started messing around on the band room piano during my lunch period. The moment I started playing that piano it felt like I found a part of myself I didn’t know was missing. This was the same day that my choir teacher, Mr. Esche, played the Super Mario Bros. theme on piano for me. My world was turned upside down that day, so much so that it completely shifted my musical pursuit towards piano and composition.

I quickly began writing my own piano music and learning pieces from Final Fantasy and Nintendo. I spent the next four years studying piano under Martha Cybyk, an exceptionally talented (and quite strict) Ukrainian concert pianist. Without her, and consistent 5-7 hour practice days, there’s no way I would have gotten into The Hartt School of Music for composition.

It was at Hartt that I met my best friend and longtime collaborator, Zach Heyde. He’s really the first person I met with a passion for music as fiery as my own. Shortly after meeting, Zach and I began creating four-hand piano arrangements and were soon invited by Alfred Music Publishing to work as part-time arrangers. We launched our YouTube channel “Frank & Zach Piano Duets” in 2017, where we actively create and perform arrangements dressed in silly costumes themed after the music we play.

During my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Hirakata-Osaka, Japan. I lived with a host family and studied music and Japanese at Kansai Gaidai University. I’ve always been heavily influenced by Japanese music, so experiencing life as a student in Japan is easily one of the highlights of my life so far.

Since graduating in 2015, I’ve been fortunate to have my days filled with writing music. I’ve composed for multiple indie games, podcasts, and a variety of other projects. I’m currently working as both the composer and sound designer for an upcoming game scheduled to release late next year. I’m also working on a massive sheet music booklet of original piano pieces called the “Wanderlust Piano Collections.”

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
In terms of support, I’d say it’s been unusually smooth. I find myself frequently reflecting on how lucky I was to have grown up with constant support from family, friends, and even strangers. For me, and probably many artists, the struggles are mostly internal—dealing with the Imposter Syndrome when a huge opportunity presents itself, the vulnerability when sending first drafts to clients, and accepting that the reward for every project won’t always be proportionate to the time put in, at least not at first.

I think these struggles are quite common and can be overcome with a healthy balance of working hard, working smart, and maintaining a positive attitude towards yourself and the industry. Coffee helps, too.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should be know? What are you most proud of?
I specialize in composing video game and piano music, but some people might know me from my content on YouTube and Twitch. In addition to Frank & Zach Piano Duets on YouTube, I work part-time with Korg USA as a product specialist creating video tutorials for their keyboards and arrangers. I’m also co-founder of the sheet music webstore Stems Up Sound.

Hmm, I’d say I’m most proud of my work ethic and my capability to juggle being a composer, YouTuber, streamer, product specialist, and piano teacher. Doing all of these things can be a daunting amount of work, but it truly makes every day feel like a new, exciting adventure.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t think I would have done a single thing differently. What I’ve learned is that it’s easy to sit back and second-guess past decisions, but we don’t know the significance even our smallest decisions had in shaping our lives as they are today. Any “mistake” is simply arming oneself with invaluable knowledge for the future, and everything I’ve done in my life needed to happen exactly the way it did for me to be where I am now.

Pricing:

• Online Piano/Composition Lessons
• 30 minutes = $35
• 45 minutes = $40
• 60 minutes = $45

Contact Info:

• Website: www.franktedescomusic.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tedescocreations
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/FT_Creations
• Other: www.youtube.com/frankzachpianoduets

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.