“Classical theory tends to strip the joy,” says piano teacher Payam Khastkhodaei. "It makes everyone play the same way." Instead of forcing students to learn classical songs, he wants them to play at the piano, literally play at the piano. "They don't necessarily go and become robots and learn the classical theory and classical music to all sound the same. They bring their own life into it,” he explains. He shows Bill Whitaker an example by modifying Beethoven’s famous "Ode to Joy" into what he calls "Ode to Misery" and "Ode to Anxiety." #piano #pianolesson #pianoplayer