How many of you got a Stephen Ridley ad on this video? Also, several of you have asked, the piece I'm playing at 2:39 is my arrangement of Never Gonna Give You Up.
@@_Heb_ I mean just listen to any of her music and you'll realise she thinks she's the shit but ain't even the fart. But then there's how she treats everyone around her, which if you pay attention to how she sings/raps was just foreshadowing imo.
"Telling someone I'm a Scientologist feels like telling someone I'm a Jew in the early 1940's and hoping they're not German." What an absolutely wild statement to make
"They're out to get us" is an essential part of all cults. The outside world has to be foreign, unjust, malevolent and scary so that the only safe place to be is inside the cult.
The "hundreds of songs with just four chords" catchphrase is like saying "thousands of words with just 26 letters": knowing the chords is not going to help you play the songs in the same way as knowing the alphabet is not going to help you spell the words.
Half of the other songs have the same 4 chord progression, the other half have a similar chord progression. Can you learn how to play the piano? Not a chance. Total rip off.
@@eddygonzalez2328 Yeah bc the chords make up only a small part of that song its about arranging the cords in a way to make the song sound good, but cords are the building block, but it's like telling someone they know how to code in every program becuase they learned coding in python
@charmawow It's really annoying. They appear every few minutes now. At one time there were no adverts and people paid to upload videos if they were ten or more minutes long. That meant they kept them concise. Now they waffle on and repeat themselves from video to video.
@charmawow Me too. They used to be every 10 minutes. Now it's more like every 5 minutes. If a video is demonetised, because the advertisers don't like the video, then often, the content creator is banned from RUclips as RUclips isn't making money from the adverts as well as the content creators. Many content creators have set up Patreons so their subscribers can financially support them instead of having to rely on adverts. I miss the old days of RUclips before it was filled with adverts. Now, people are making repetitive and waffling videos to make money from adverts. It takes money and a lot of preparation to make a video so you kept it short and concise. Now I have to wade through a lot of waffle to get to the information I was looking for. I have subscribed to some channels where they pour out several videos a week saying the same as they have said before
Making videos for the sake of it just to attract advertising revenue. There were far fewer videos as well as them being concise and non repetitive. Some RUclipsrs I have to unsubscribe to after a while as they just keep repeating themselves.
Glad you called out this narcissistic scamming weirdo - tried to call him out many times and always got blocked. His lives are also pre-recorded and I’ve studied them and how he manipulates the vulnerable into paying out huge amounts for absolute crap
@@catscratchfever1473they’re trying to rope chiropractors and dentists and veterinarians into their scammy “prepayment” “WISE” financial approach for ongoing treatment whether you need it or not.
...... Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
I mean it was obvious from the get-go that he's a snake oil salesman, but I didn't have scientology on my bingo card. The ads totally reminded me of the "unison midi chord pack" thing.
I was thinking of making a MIDI note pack. Ever have trouble finding the right notes for your melody, harmony, bassline or chord sequences? We've got you covered! With this pack, you've got literally every MIDI note, right at your fingertips! Then I could do a video bit where I'm listening to a melody and it doesn't resolve at the end and I go into a little menu and click "D#" or whatever, and then I listen to it with the note at the end and it's clearly the right note and I'm like "OMG that's perfect! This pack is like a cheat code for composers!" Anyone want to invest?
LOL I got the vibes similar to Jonathan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that one episode where he made a wish to be the best at everything in the world. I really resonated with the guy at the start of the video saying "you probably thought Wow, what an annoying man that is"
“Did you kN0w you can play HUnDRedS of songs with just FOUR chords??????” Yes, yes we did. Every single mediocre online teacher has been dying to impart this banal knowledge like they are bestowing upon us the precious secret of life itself.
The Beatles never used the same chord sequence twice, and often they used such beautiful, unusual chords. You cant reduce that to for chords. I'm not a pro music teacher but my advice to anyone starting acoustic guitar, before they learn jazz, flamenco, metal, blues, reggae, funk . . . start with Beatles songs@@StrawberryCosmonaut
I don't really understand the concept anyway. You can't magically know how to play a song just by learning the chords. By that logic I can play any melody because I can play every note on a piano.
At some skill levels you start to demand more from your self and then it might get annoying if you dont make progress the way you imagined from your past learning curve. The better you get, the harder it gets to get better. Its multiplicative progress. Like lets say you want to learn certain solo or riff. If you start at 80bpm and 90bpm is your next step. Thats pretty easy. But when you get to 220bpm, then going to 230bpm is totally differend journey
That's true. It's like saying 'you have to read the book for hours to know what it's abut'. Yeah, like... I know, that's the point, I enjoy sitting with a book. And even strsgely I saw ads of some apps or whatever with synopsises of books so that you don't have read them whole and still make impression of someone educated (that was the claim there). And I was like... How sad. It's like using self-playing piano and pretending it's you. 😂
I play guitar. Plateaued a bit. Won’t stop me striving at it but there’s nothing like making progress along the steep curve at the start. In middle age taken up a wind instrument, just for the fun of learning. No intention of getting “good” though that may happen. I just wanted to experience the feeling of starting from scratch and really enjoying it. Most of the time I’d say, if you don’t enjoy practice, playing an instrument probably isn’t going to be your thing. But if you do enjoy practice, it doesn’t matter how good you are at it. Because you’ll always get something from the endeavour. But…….most people that enjoy practice go on to some level,of competency and beyond. And except in the top of the higher quartile, natural “talent” has little to do with ability. It is something that is gained. Motivation being the primary factor. I am as good at the guitar as I want to be. No better. No worse. I am the master of my progress. It’s all down to how much I want it, and enjoy the results and process. and how much I practice is a direct reflection of that. It could not be simpler.
Didn't know he was a scientology head. But the free piano giveaway was all I needed to know he's a scammer. You can indeed play many so gs with those four chords, if you don't mind sounding bland and repetitive like Ed sheeran or most of today's crap.
Multi-instrumentalist/teacher here. THAT guy! "The Talented Mr. Ridley"? Mr. Creepy? I almost spit out my coffee when I heard his pitch to become a brilliant musician in 3 minutes a day with four chords in your pocket. Too bad I block all his stupid ads. I'm going to miss the laughs. And thank you, now all the "tom cruise on speed" antics makes so much sense! He's trolling for membership so he can get to the next level.
when you say you block his ads, do you mean you skip the remainder of the ad when youtube lets you press skip, or do you have a way to block them (not just his)?
I think you're being a bit harsh. I did his free seminar and can now stand up while playing and headbang at a Yamaha grand with my eyes closed without breaking my nose on the lid. And my arpeggios are an absolute dream. I tried Chopin Etudes but couldn't get past all the Latin.
Thanks for making this video! I have been teaching private piano lessons as a full-time job now for 5 years since graduating from a university for piano performance. I had one student say to me, "I saw an online course that can teach me 100 songs in minutes. Why haven't we learned 100 songs yet?" I told the student that it takes time to understand, speak and read other languages. Like any skill, it takes hardwork, determination and time to become comfortable and proficient at it. In order to be proficient in another language, I think we can both agree you should be able to comprehend and say more than 4 words.
Invented by a science fiction writer, backed by Hollywood actors, a billion-dollar money-making machine for a few, involved in crime,, ignored by those that chase us for stepping on the cracks on the sidewalk. A red flag, yes, but unfortunately - just another example of the poor paying for the excessive of the rich.
@@cackslopper5321Not all money is counterfeit or fake. You get fake money that imitates real money, but real money also exists. You get fake religion that imitates true religion, but true religion also exists. Just like you get fake piano tutorials, but you can also get good piano tutorials.
2:18 - "If you want to become a master of the instrument, thinking about in terms of years isn't really the right mindset, it's more of a lifetime commitment" that resonated, thank you!
@@Jesoteric You don't really want to become a master at it. its not the point. The point is have fun, you can play something that sounds entertaining and feels complex in a year. But you can spend a whole lifetime trying to nail down evey subgenre of genre and music theory... and then forget to have fun. I've seen a lot of people that played Polyphia songs and mozart songs nearly perfectly after 1 year. You just gotta focus hard on those specific things
@@streetough I'm shocked nobody mentioned that his whole shtick is centered around the atrociously overused *vi-IV-I-V* chord progression, which is the stamp of mediocrity that got beyond parody over a decade ago. He touts it as the greatest thing since sliced bread.
@IllusionSector A lot of RUclips piano "masters" pretend like that's some genius selling point.
Месяц назад+343
As a music teacher, I thank you for taking the time to do this. I have always found his to be the most annoying ad on RUclips, and did indeed believe it to be a scam, for all the reasons you have highlighted!
sadly youtube has so many. Any get quick rich scheme just tired of hearing or those ads that has a story or those claim a cure for something - then bombarting you with half truthes. Getting tired of those “do this…” to relieve solution, there seem to be some gimick they selling that doesnt work but when you google it, its flooded by fake testonimies that comes up first in the search result. Never seen so much over hyped web pages and with Ai assistence, it makes things more convincing because there is no spelling or gramatical errors to spot.
A calm and devastating destruction of a charlatan by a real musician. Rafael you are a legend for calling out this stain on the face of music. I knew he was irritating and talentless but thank you for alerting us all to the Scientology connection as well.
Well done dude. People are often scared to stand up and call out people in the industry you work in, but it’s really important those with knowledge stand up and protect those who don’t know better from people trying to take advantage of them.
I remember Stephen Ridley from a finance message board. About 10 years ago he was unhappy and quit his investment banking job to busker with a piano at a street corner in London. Some of us respected the guts it took to quit a sure 6 figure salary to go play 500 variations of pop songs. Selling an expensive course seems like a thing you do when your own pop music career doesn't quite take off.
That’s an incredible story if it’s the same person. I know people like him think they can write a hit song in a couple hours, and if it doesn’t become sensational, it’s someone else’s fault. A kind of arrogance that everyone else can smell except for themself. An ad campaign like this one is a last effort attempt at relevance when it won’t happen organically.
@@dangfd551 countless musicians can write a hit song in a couple of hours, there just isn't room for all of them. success isn't earned imo, it's mostly luck. i do doubt this cunt can write one though.
@@dangfd551 Truth is writing a hit song is easy. The hard part is getting it heard. A hit is a hit, due to exposure. Certainly a very mediocre song, might not blow up the charts, even with a big push, but a terrific song with zero exposure, won't be on the charts at all. I have songs that I have written that would be at least top forty. I have listened to songs on the radio that I know I could beat. I am just not in a position to get them out. I have thought about postin here or on instagram, but then I worry about someone stealing them. No doubt there are a ton of writers in the same position.
I answered a desk job position in the 90's in Tampa, I saw the ad in a paper and I needed a job, I went to interview and ended up in a small room with an interviewer they said they needed to "give me an employment test screening" and gave me a scientology screening and then sent me upstairs to watch a movie, I went upstairs and it was a remote Scientology recruiting center, in the movie it showed what your "true potential" could be if you joined the church and said "if you say no today you might as well jump off a cliff and kill yourself", I busted out laughing and walked out while they were chasing me--- true story...CREEPY....
Their material is full of all kinds of bizarre stuff like that, at least once they get you in the door. The "free personality tests" and the newest ones in my area that just say, "Anxiety? Stress? Call this number." seem fairly benign and harmless until you have the moment of realization that this is an *extremely wealthy* cult that is trying to brainwash you and steal your money.
In your video, i got an ad from that guy. When i first saw this guy, he was talking about all these events he was at, but i never saw anyone else talk about him until now. Thank you good sir
Finally someone sane taking the front to expose this fishy scammer. As a professional musician, I can't stand it. It's the same rhetoric than those cheap ads in newspapers 50 years ago. Bravo d'avoir dit haut et fort ce que le milieu pense tout bas, Raphaël.
200k views with 3k subscribers. Good for you Rafael ! Anybody who brings truth and real world awareness in the face of thieves and robbers deserves this. Takes a level of courage. The rare case on the RUclipss where authenticity shines.
I actually SCREAMED when I saw this, I used to watch a RUclips video every morning as a part of my routine and Every. Single. Day. Without fail his ad would pop up. I thought I was the only person who knew who he was and the fact he’s a Scientologist is baffling to me
THANK YOU!! I did not know the scientology part but I absolutely can not stand the sight of him. Fraud does not even begin to scratch the surface. I do not know why ANYONE would see this person and think that he is legitimate.
So glad this was made lol. I've wanted to slap his smile off his face ever since he invaded my ads and never left. I got to the point that the sound of his voice instantly downed my mood. If anyone wants to learn piano I'll gladly teach for free. Why does everything need a price tag
@olyaanisimova1647 well I mean I am not that great, but I'll teach what I know lol. I meant to say that if I were in his position with all his apparent accolades I would happily share my talent to help others achieve their dreams and hopefully one day with enough practice I will be able to do so.
@@AcmeLife I guess there is time when you teach somebody for free (like investing in young people in your church, family, etc) just have enough wisdom not to be abused by greedy people, your skills have got values. enjoy the ride in musical world! 😊❣️
Bless you, Rafael. It’s damned nice of you to tell others about these lies, scams and other swindles and swindlers, so the rest of us don’t lose. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 👍❤️
I made several complaints to RUclips - to no effect - and also emailed him directly via his website. Thank you for making this video. The likes of RUclips, Meta and any other organization allowing these liars and thieves to go about their scamming is an absolute outrage.
To be fair, it's not a scam, it's just a really bad product. I wouldn't want RUclips to take things down just because people complain. This video is the best method.
I as a professional pianist and educator of post music degree level, have reported this 'so called' master concert pianist to YT about 20 times. Nothing is being vetted on YT, as like the others are saying. I'd like to think that most people out there who are seeking to learn piano would either watch some good quality content to get some skills and also invest in a mentor to string everything together. I have studied and loved playing piano for 37 years - however there is always so much more to learn. Life long learning is the only way to constantly improve and enjoy your music! God bless all of you who agree and know the amount of time and dedication it really takes to become a decent musician on any instrument.
I completely commend you on exposing this situation. Scientology has destroyed so many lives. Taking the time to come forward regarding this scam is a great service to us all. Thanks for all you do!
I have never anticipated the appearance of the word “skip” so much as during the first seconds of those ads. It’s good to see that the loathing which that smug man evokes is not unique to me. Thanks for letting us know that our instincts were right
100% this! Gullible people with disposable cash who are looking to improve themselves? Come, my pretties, come! I'm certain there's a web of similar scams that are funded by Scientologists which all funnel into the cult.
Several commenters here have noted that Scientology is looking to exploit and drain resources from the same kind of people, often innocent of the ways of the world, who have neither emotional self-awareness nor strong practical skill at recognizing the workings of targeted deceptive marketing, commonly known as “confidence games” as practiced by “con artists”. Con artists call their victims “marks”. These ads work like an automated mark magnet, efficiently selecting and attracting the most vulnerable victims to this small $3,000 con. Once these marks realize they have been robbed, they become sad. At this point, the victims, now miserable, distracted by their frustration and embarrassment, and, critically, proven as having failed the scam test (by participation), are at last ready to be fed to the intake port of the Church of Scientology, which will efficiently commence the “big con”-lifelong wealth extraction. The wealth extraction machinery inside Church of Scientology is efficiently protected by a legal and social fiction, which is the absurd claim that Scientology is a religion. The coldness and cruelty of these con artists, small and large, is chilling.
Best comment on this page! If you’ve any life experience then everything about that guy screams c*** but there’ll always be the odd one who’s a bit naive that gets sucked in. It’s a numbers game.
I always skipped the ad immediately because I thought his entire gimmick was the 4 chords that everyone knows, i didn't realise he had an entire useless course, thanks for exposing it. Also you look really similar to Andrew Dotson, a physicist on youtube
@@iClipper no they pay more if people watch the clip longer (typically last 15 seconds). Source: I’ve run many ads for one of my companies and I’ve worked at an advertising agency. Don’t take my word for it, Google is a powerful tool lol
As a piano teacher myself I'm so glad you made this video and feel my pain. Thank thank thank you I so hope this video gets seen by millions! Google bump this video up the charts for all pianists! Also please delete this scam course from RUclips ads!
Thank you for your video man. I have ADHD and often tries to find shortcuts to get good at some hobbies. But as a friend of mine said “piano is very hard to master, but quite easy to enjoy”. It’s sad that he is ruining people experience with music.
I've hated those ads ever since they first started popping up in my algorithm. I've always skipped them as soon as I was able to, so I had no idea just how predatory the actual content was. Thank you for taking the time to dive into this.
I’ve always hated those ads. The way he thumps the piano I’m surprised he hasn’t broken one yet. He’s smarmy, full of himself and a complete charlatan. Delighted somebody’s finally exposed him.
I used to work at the Church of Scientology London and remember when Stephen came onto the scene. As of 2023, he had donated $100,000 to the International Association of Scientologists (plus thousands more in course and auditing fees, as well as the 'Ideal Org Program' which is Scientology's real estate scheme). The person he was talking about when he said “one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met, and someone I very much looked up to was.. a Scientologist?!!” was Grant Cardone.
RUclips profits from scammers,they welcome their advertisements.....try reporting an ad that's an obvious scam and wait the reply,it won't go against their community guidelines,terms or conditions.
Oh, I know what I hate about this guy. He's so unbelievably patronizing. Not only to all his potential customers, but to every actual pianist who has dedicated years to the art. Its like he's saying "I have something that none of these other musicians have, and its so easy, and they way they are learning and teaching is so outdated.....
@@angelikateljebo9712 did you know you can be narcissistic with just these four chords? That didn't happen.🎹🎹🎶 And if it did, it wasn't that bad.🎶🎼 And if it was, that's not a big deal.🎶 And if it is, that's not my fault.🎶 FOUR CHORDS! And if it was, I didn't mean it.🎶🎼 And if I did, you deserved it.🎶 🎶🎶🎶🎶
And also the absolute sacrilege in those clips where he has the stool more than a metre behind the piano and the one where he STANDS ON THE PIANO. Those clips genuinely hurt my soul.
😂Been waiting for this. I've always wished I could comment on ads. This guy is not only annoying, he's an obvious charlatan straight out of a 1970's infomercial. Thanks for tackling this scammer.
I thank you for speaking out on this. As someone who took piano 🎹 for three years, it angers me how he's taking advantage of people who don't know anything about music. For one thing, I love to practice music! I love my instrument. I love what I can accomplish. My practice sessions are usually never more than an hour a day. Back in my songwriting days, sometimes I spent three hours on the piano, all out of passion and fun. There's no point in practicing for only 3 minutes a day if you lack that passion.
You can't block all ads from an advertiser, but you can click the info thing and block each instance of an ad. RUclips will, it seems, learn from your blocking patterns and show you different ads.
What he has really done is expose the scam/fraud of RUclips. They are the self-righteous a$$hats who let this kind of abusive advertising on here in the forst place.
@@Chalisque You can also get YT Premium for $13 a month and never have to watch an ad. If you spend any appreciable amount of time here, it's a no-brainer.
I remember when I was first getting into music and getting bombarded with ads like “We’re the only good music course! Learn music without music theory!” And it’s always like, basic music theory but without the “scary words” so you can’t use what you’ve learned as a foundation for learning more complicated concepts.
Thank you for posting this. The RUclips algorithm has infected my stream for years with this guy's ads. I've tried many times to block it and say I don't want it see it again, but it keeps popping up. Apart from him being weird, but not in a good way, he's clearly a scammer. As you say, the claims he makes about his 'method' are ridiculous. I had no idea he has links to Scientology, but I'm not surprised. The way he plays the piano is like Tom Cruise on steroids! Well done mate.
I have to take issue with this at 5:17. I learnt John Cage’s piece “4’33” within a week with less than a minute of practice a day, and I’d never played before. It’s now my most requested piece at parties and so on.
I find 4'33" very useful in the practice of music. I make my most talented students "play" through it. At the very least, it teaches attitude at the instrument and the value of listening to what you do. And it's a great sieve in determining personality and ability to concentrate. Everyone reacts differently. Some love the experience, others have a near panic attack for not being able to make noise in those few 4-odd minutes. And yes... it's a great party piece 😅
That was so refreshing. Thank you for stating the obvious. I saw him on Insta and laughed. Sincerely, it's so wonderful you take the time to say this to people who are in ignorance. Much respect to you.
Thanks for covering this strange dude, I knew it was a scam as soon as I saw it but was curious to hear about it more without having to suffer through the whole annoying ad lol😂😂😊
Yasss, thanks Rafael for calling the mental guy out! His shouty ads really disturb me, I blocked his channel. Kind of not surprised about the scientology bit, thanks for revealing the truth. You give brilliant advice in this video, I hope it goes viral 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I always see this annoying advert when looking for specific quality content. As a piano player myself you know when you smell bs. Good on you for creating this video and exposing the scam.
Dude I can’t thank you enough for making this video. This has needed to be talked about for sometime, it’s the most outrageous sham in the online piano education space!
Not all heroes wear capes Rafa. You are a hero. I was considering buying the course for the longest time, but never got around to it. I’m glad I found your video. So no, I will not fund Scientology. Thank you
I'm a fairly experienced player, but joined the free masterclass out of interest because of the constant spamming of ads, and because of the claimed digital piano giveaway. 20 minutes in, and my scam sensors starting lighting up. He spend over an hour talking about what he was going to show us, but never actually revealed anything of interest. The 'giveaway' reminded me of street hustles I saw in London in the 1990s, but online. Apparently the demand to sign up for his course was so great that the 'masterclass' dragged on and on, and when he finally drew the 'winner' of the piano, the person had joined the call and left his PC. They claimed to find him later and said the piano was on its way, but people were in the chat saying that the whole thing seemed very suspicious.
"wow, what an annoying man that is" yup, that's verbatim exactly what I thought. Didn't see the scam element but he was so annoying I didn't get that far.
It is very rude to call religious beliefs "absolutely insane" just like that. Aren't these beliefs in scientology as "insane" as all the other religious beliefs out there in the world? But we don't say that do we? So stop harassing scientology
@@shisu7213 Ok so you might be joking, but I wanted to answer seriously. Actually no, it's not "as" insane. It's a far newer cult without thousands of years of brainwashing, easily traced to one man - a pulp science fiction writer who wanted to avoid taxes. There is a difference between a cult and a religion. Also yes, 'we do say that': most practicing religious people think people of every other religion are "insane", wrong or bound for hell.
@@shisu7213 nah, scientology is not like other religions. yes, it's true to say that the beliefs and practices that constitute scientology are no more nonsensical or insane than any other religion. but scientology is less of a religion and more of a business, a dark, exploitative business, one that deliberately targets the weak and uneducated, extracting as much of their money as possible, brainwashing them, isolating them from family and friends, making it difficult to leave and disentangle onself. yes, again, other religions have done this in the past, and still do in some places around the world today. but, that sort of abuse is *all* scientology is about; its entire modus operandi is: kidnap, exploit, profit. i have encountered several content creators online, picked up weird vibes from them, then found out later that they are linked to the church of scientology. the last time it happened was the skateboarding channel, Braille Skateboarding. the owner wasn't paying his team fairly, so, they left en masse. turns out he was giving most of the profits to the fucking church of scientology. do you hear that happening with christians or muslims, them giving away all their loot? it's way less common.
@@Djinnk042 so what you're saying is that scientology is less insane than the religions of the world? That does not really makes sense. Mythology is mythology, and that is how it is. Doesn't matter if some mythology sounds more ridiculous than other
knew it was a scam but never knew how cooked his statements about traditional learning were. Thank you for potentially saving some people from buying this
I saw his video ad and thought: wow! I just saved his details to have a look later as I am planning to learn to play piano in a year or two. But I didn't look at the price, nor researched the guy yet. I guess thank you for sparing me the time.
I love to be confirmed in how I evaluated these ads - just from the first 5 seconds, which I could not avoid because I don't pay for ad-free RUclips. I love that you took the time to show how silly such ads are.
How many of you got a Stephen Ridley ad on this video?
Also, several of you have asked, the piece I'm playing at 2:39 is my arrangement of Never Gonna Give You Up.
nope
I've gotten so many it's ridiculous
RUclips Premium FTW! ;-)
I use UBLOCK ORIGIN FOR FREE to NOT SEE ADS :-D
but I guess I'll never be able to learn just these four chords to play pee-yano
@@elwhagen same. I am thankful this channel doesn't backdoor a sponsorship ad segment.
He improved my eye/hand coordination and reflex speed by me frantically hitting SKIP before I have to hear him say “four chords”.
@@UATU. 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 I’ve also perfected counting to 5 @ 60 bpm to make the noise coming out of his mouth stop.
😂😂😂😂
You are not alone in that
It’s the stupid fucking look he has on his face like he can’t believe how profound he’s being
so, you’re saying he DID help you with your piano skills then? haha
When the person you secretly despise turns out to actually be a bad person:
I had this moment with ice spice lol
GrohlCorden syndrome.
@@Death_Ravewhat did ice spice do??
@@_Heb_ I mean just listen to any of her music and you'll realise she thinks she's the shit but ain't even the fart.
But then there's how she treats everyone around her, which if you pay attention to how she sings/raps was just foreshadowing imo.
@@tHa1Runethis is the funniest comment I’ve seen ever
I hate his cocky, shouty style, his loud banging on the piano and his intrusive ads. Thanks for exposing his BS.
God I was really hoping someone would call this twerp out. His adverts are annoying squared.
Exactly this. Cocky, shouty, loud banging. Good to know I'm not the only one thinking this.
Me as well!
"Shouty" is an understatement. My 3 year old niece rolls her eyes and says "Skip!" when she hears that ad pop up on RUclips 😂
@@coolbreeze5683What adjective would be appropriate to replace 'shouty'?
"Telling someone I'm a Scientologist feels like telling someone I'm a Jew in the early 1940's and hoping they're not German."
What an absolutely wild statement to make
Not just because of the sheer audacity but also because it implies that all Germans were nazi sympathizers 😂
Yeah that is an insane take.
Wild and like so wrong? Jewish people were litterally murdered for being jewish at most Steven will face backlash and people won't like him as much XD
"They're out to get us" is an essential part of all cults. The outside world has to be foreign, unjust, malevolent and scary so that the only safe place to be is inside the cult.
Oh my god finally someone talking about this guy, everytime i get an ad from this guy I just have a "oh fuck off" reflex 😭
💯 I have blocked his ad so many times but it just keeps coming back. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
I don't blame you!😂
Right?!?! It's worse than those KARS for Kids ads!
Ditto. His ads make me NOT want to buy his crap
yeah ...at last ....some validation ....
The "hundreds of songs with just four chords" catchphrase is like saying "thousands of words with just 26 letters": knowing the chords is not going to help you play the songs in the same way as knowing the alphabet is not going to help you spell the words.
More like saying "thousands of words with just 15 letters"
millions of words with 5 vowels!
Half of the other songs have the same 4 chord progression, the other half have a similar chord progression. Can you learn how to play the piano? Not a chance. Total rip off.
@@eddygonzalez2328
Yeah bc the chords make up only a small part of that song its about arranging the cords in a way to make the song sound good, but cords are the building block, but it's like telling someone they know how to code in every program becuase they learned coding in python
This guy gives Dennis from always Sunny vibes.
Stephen Ridley is the sole reason I’m now paying for RUclips Premium
I’m so frickin sick of the adds interrupting my viewing I’m considering Premium too!
@charmawow It's really annoying. They appear every few minutes now. At one time there were no adverts and people paid to upload videos if they were ten or more minutes long. That meant they kept them concise. Now they waffle on and repeat themselves from video to video.
@charmawow Me too. They used to be every 10 minutes. Now it's more like every 5 minutes. If a video is demonetised, because the advertisers don't like the video, then often, the content creator is banned from RUclips as RUclips isn't making money from the adverts as well as the content creators. Many content creators have set up Patreons so their subscribers can financially support them instead of having to rely on adverts.
I miss the old days of RUclips before it was filled with adverts. Now, people are making repetitive and waffling videos to make money from adverts. It takes money and a lot of preparation to make a video so you kept it short and concise. Now I have to wade through a lot of waffle to get to the information I was looking for. I have subscribed to some channels where they pour out several videos a week saying the same as they have said before
lol
Making videos for the sake of it just to attract advertising revenue. There were far fewer videos as well as them being concise and non repetitive. Some RUclipsrs I have to unsubscribe to after a while as they just keep repeating themselves.
Glad you called out this narcissistic scamming weirdo - tried to call him out many times and always got blocked. His lives are also pre-recorded and I’ve studied them and how he manipulates the vulnerable into paying out huge amounts for absolute crap
Dr. Berg is also a Scientologist RUclipsr, who else?
@@catscratchfever1473they’re trying to rope chiropractors and dentists and veterinarians into their scammy “prepayment” “WISE” financial approach for ongoing treatment whether you need it or not.
......
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Took me a moment to realise you mean live performances with 'lives' and not like his actual life but plural and 'pre-recorded' 😨
Almost $3,000? That's insane! His ads were annoying, but I never thought it would be that much. Madness!
same, i remember thinking "that will be some crazy price like 300"
Its just $1500 if you attend the 4hrs live sale show sundays
@@koenignero just
@@koenignerojust?🎹🎶
This is how scams work. He will reel in anywhere from 1% to 10% of the people who watch his free masterclass. Of course it's worth it to him.
I mean it was obvious from the get-go that he's a snake oil salesman, but I didn't have scientology on my bingo card.
The ads totally reminded me of the "unison midi chord pack" thing.
gotta get them pro level chords, I wonder if Stephen sells those too, I've been looking for a reputable dealer
@@Anonymoose890 All you need is a Krell dealer, to be honest.
the unison scam got me - never again
I was thinking of making a MIDI note pack.
Ever have trouble finding the right notes for your melody, harmony, bassline or chord sequences? We've got you covered! With this pack, you've got literally every MIDI note, right at your fingertips!
Then I could do a video bit where I'm listening to a melody and it doesn't resolve at the end and I go into a little menu and click "D#" or whatever, and then I listen to it with the note at the end and it's clearly the right note and I'm like "OMG that's perfect! This pack is like a cheat code for composers!"
Anyone want to invest?
3 minutes 😂😂😂😂😂😂
always got a weird vibe from that ad, it being a scientology scam makes it so funny
LOL I got the vibes similar to Jonathan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that one episode where he made a wish to be the best at everything in the world. I really resonated with the guy at the start of the video saying "you probably thought Wow, what an annoying man that is"
It's not a scam. He taught me how to play the sea mayor chord and sea mayor scale. He also taught me about our galactic overlord, Xenu.
I'm even more confused that he's English. I assumed it was only Americans who fell for that stuff.
@@johnmartinez7440might be wrong, but I thought Scientology came started in East Grinstead in South East England.
I love the one which starts off with him pretending to speak to someone to his left then he’s ‘interrupted’. He’s a complete tool! 🔧
He's an unbearable charlatan. Thank you for fully exposing his nonsense.
Agreed !
And the irony is I always get the ad while trying to listen to someone with actual talent
Yes!
Yes, yes, yes!
I keep blocking his ads.
Haha - me too! I guess only a scientologist could be that annoying and fake...
Same
“Did you kN0w you can play HUnDRedS of songs with just FOUR chords??????”
Yes, yes we did. Every single mediocre online teacher has been dying to impart this banal knowledge like they are bestowing upon us the precious secret of life itself.
Haha absolutely. I have harboured such a deep unreasonable grudge against the four chords shtick, I hate it I hate it I hate it
The Beatles never used the same chord sequence twice, and often they used such beautiful, unusual chords. You cant reduce that to for chords. I'm not a pro music teacher but my advice to anyone starting acoustic guitar, before they learn jazz, flamenco, metal, blues, reggae, funk . . . start with Beatles songs@@StrawberryCosmonaut
One of my favourite songs goes E7sus4, E7, Am7add11, D (repeating).
That's 4 chords. Yay.
I know, wrong chords.
I don't really understand the concept anyway. You can't magically know how to play a song just by learning the chords. By that logic I can play any melody because I can play every note on a piano.
well said
I don't know why people see "you have to practice for hours" as a bad thing. If you're having fun, you wouldn't mind practicing for hours
At some skill levels you start to demand more from your self and then it might get annoying if you dont make progress the way you imagined from your past learning curve.
The better you get, the harder it gets to get better. Its multiplicative progress.
Like lets say you want to learn certain solo or riff. If you start at 80bpm and 90bpm is your next step. Thats pretty easy. But when you get to 220bpm, then going to 230bpm is totally differend journey
That's true. It's like saying 'you have to read the book for hours to know what it's abut'. Yeah, like... I know, that's the point, I enjoy sitting with a book. And even strsgely I saw ads of some apps or whatever with synopsises of books so that you don't have read them whole and still make impression of someone educated (that was the claim there). And I was like... How sad. It's like using self-playing piano and pretending it's you. 😂
I play guitar. Plateaued a bit. Won’t stop me striving at it but there’s nothing like making progress along the steep curve at the start. In middle age taken up a wind instrument, just for the fun of learning. No intention of getting “good” though that may happen. I just wanted to experience the feeling of starting from scratch and really enjoying it. Most of the time I’d say, if you don’t enjoy practice, playing an instrument probably isn’t going to be your thing. But if you do enjoy practice, it doesn’t matter how good you are at it. Because you’ll always get something from the endeavour. But…….most people that enjoy practice go on to some level,of competency and beyond. And except in the top of the higher quartile, natural “talent” has little to do with ability. It is something that is gained. Motivation being the primary factor. I am as good at the guitar as I want to be. No better. No worse. I am the master of my progress. It’s all down to how much I want it, and enjoy the results and process. and how much I practice is a direct reflection of that. It could not be simpler.
Didn't know he was a scientology head. But the free piano giveaway was all I needed to know he's a scammer. You can indeed play many so gs with those four chords, if you don't mind sounding bland and repetitive like Ed sheeran or most of today's crap.
Very well said!
Multi-instrumentalist/teacher here. THAT guy! "The Talented Mr. Ridley"? Mr. Creepy? I almost spit out my coffee when I heard his pitch to become a brilliant musician in 3 minutes a day with four chords in your pocket. Too bad I block all his stupid ads. I'm going to miss the laughs. And thank you, now all the "tom cruise on speed" antics makes so much sense! He's trolling for membership so he can get to the next level.
when you say you block his ads, do you mean you skip the remainder of the ad when youtube lets you press skip, or do you have a way to block them (not just his)?
@@JonathonNevilleif you hit the 3 little vertical dots up in the right hand of the screen you can block the ad.
Never trust a teacher who speaks like a childrens TV presenter. Thanks Rafael for highlighting this.
*bad childrens' TV presenter
Agreed, for the most part. However if they sound like Steve off Blue's Clues or Mr Rogers off Mr Rogers, then let's goooooooo
Valerie Singleton taught me the crumhorn, let’s just say I had no complaints.
or Billy Mays
I think you're being a bit harsh. I did his free seminar and can now stand up while playing and headbang at a Yamaha grand with my eyes closed without breaking my nose on the lid. And my arpeggios are an absolute dream. I tried Chopin Etudes but couldn't get past all the Latin.
It’s the bloody noise I can’t stand.
I chose to skip all that and use a sequencer. The machine is fast, the flesh is weak and slow.
I think most people want to learn playing piano not headbanging, thats another course.
“Pie Iesu Domine, Dona Eis Requiem”,
(Thunk)
@@CatFish107Praise be to the Omnissiah.
Thank you. I'm a piano teacher and I hate his ads so much.
Install ad blockers.
@@whatilearnttoday5295
Ad blocker does not work on RUclips app.
@@whatilearnttoday5295I have them, but… they don’t work on RUclips!
But, but he's a concert pianist - surely he knows his stuff...
@@twangbarfly no -- a conceited peinis
Thanks for making this video! I have been teaching private piano lessons as a full-time job now for 5 years since graduating from a university for piano performance.
I had one student say to me, "I saw an online course that can teach me 100 songs in minutes. Why haven't we learned 100 songs yet?"
I told the student that it takes time to understand, speak and read other languages. Like any skill, it takes hardwork, determination and time to become comfortable and proficient at it. In order to be proficient in another language, I think we can both agree you should be able to comprehend and say more than 4 words.
Why you didn't show her the 4 chords?
You should have told your student to go for it. He'd soon be back.
This is so based. Mad respect for you man.
'If you want to make money don't write science fiction, start a religion.' The founder of scientology, L Ron Hubbard, really did say that.
Excellent!
...interesting. So; what do I have? Is it a science, a religion or a cult?
Yeah, you're close on his actual quote, and about two years after he said it scientology was born...
@@aubergineteal7975 it's not science, that's for darn sure.
@@jingalls9142 😂😂
Everything scientology is a red flag.
Invented by a science fiction writer, backed by Hollywood actors, a billion-dollar money-making machine for a few, involved in crime,, ignored by those that chase us for stepping on the cracks on the sidewalk. A red flag, yes, but unfortunately - just another example of the poor paying for the excessive of the rich.
Everything religion is a red flag
@@cackslopper5321Not all money is counterfeit or fake. You get fake money that imitates real money, but real money also exists. You get fake religion that imitates true religion, but true religion also exists. Just like you get fake piano tutorials, but you can also get good piano tutorials.
@@antonioveritas So all religions are fake but yours?
Religion and money go hand in hand - every religion is a scam
2:18 - "If you want to become a master of the instrument, thinking about in terms of years isn't really the right mindset, it's more of a lifetime commitment" that resonated, thank you!
Totally, that sentence was an eye opener.
Yeah but how many years is that going to be ? 😉
@@Jesoteric You don't really want to become a master at it. its not the point.
The point is have fun, you can play something that sounds entertaining and feels complex in a year. But you can spend a whole lifetime trying to nail down evey subgenre of genre and music theory... and then forget to have fun.
I've seen a lot of people that played Polyphia songs and mozart songs nearly perfectly after 1 year. You just gotta focus hard on those specific things
He says that in the video
and that is any skill
0:11 I have ptsd
Me too… me too man😔 that ridley idiot has ingrained it into my head.
'What an annoying man' is exactly what I thought. Did not predict him being even worse than that though
Right, him being annoying was my literal first thought lol
@@streetough I'm shocked nobody mentioned that his whole shtick is centered around the atrociously overused *vi-IV-I-V* chord progression, which is the stamp of mediocrity that got beyond parody over a decade ago. He touts it as the greatest thing since sliced bread.
@@IllusionSectorRick Beato made a great video about it called the four chords which ruined pop music (or similar)
@@serratusx Yeah, I've definitely seen that one.
@IllusionSector A lot of RUclips piano "masters" pretend like that's some genius selling point.
As a music teacher, I thank you for taking the time to do this. I have always found his to be the most annoying ad on RUclips, and did indeed believe it to be a scam, for all the reasons you have highlighted!
You look like a bot account
Ok, but nothing beats the Chinese chiropractic ad with crunching sounds! 😱 I had to change continents to escape it.
We're in a golden age of scams.
Thanks for highlighting.
@@davidmcgirr Brown rather than golden, methinks.
sadly youtube has so many. Any get quick rich scheme just tired of hearing or those ads that has a story or those claim a cure for something - then bombarting you with half truthes. Getting tired of those “do this…” to relieve solution, there seem to be some gimick they selling that doesnt work but when you google it, its flooded by fake testonimies that comes up first in the search result. Never seen so much over hyped web pages and with Ai assistence, it makes things more convincing because there is no spelling or gramatical errors to spot.
A calm and devastating destruction of a charlatan by a real musician. Rafael you are a legend for calling out this stain on the face of music. I knew he was irritating and talentless but thank you for alerting us all to the Scientology connection as well.
Well done dude. People are often scared to stand up and call out people in the industry you work in, but it’s really important those with knowledge stand up and protect those who don’t know better from people trying to take advantage of them.
SO TRUE.
Oh Damn! I was about to send this video onto you!
I remember Stephen Ridley from a finance message board. About 10 years ago he was unhappy and quit his investment banking job to busker with a piano at a street corner in London. Some of us respected the guts it took to quit a sure 6 figure salary to go play 500 variations of pop songs. Selling an expensive course seems like a thing you do when your own pop music career doesn't quite take off.
That’s an incredible story if it’s the same person. I know people like him think they can write a hit song in a couple hours, and if it doesn’t become sensational, it’s someone else’s fault. A kind of arrogance that everyone else can smell except for themself. An ad campaign like this one is a last effort attempt at relevance when it won’t happen organically.
Oh so he was a city trader? That makes sense - personality wise -.
@@dangfd551 countless musicians can write a hit song in a couple of hours, there just isn't room for all of them. success isn't earned imo, it's mostly luck. i do doubt this cunt can write one though.
@@dangfd551 Truth is writing a hit song is easy. The hard part is getting it heard.
A hit is a hit, due to exposure. Certainly a very mediocre song, might not blow up the charts, even with a big push, but a terrific song with zero exposure, won't be on the charts at all.
I have songs that I have written that would be at least top forty. I have listened to songs on the radio that I know I could beat. I am just not in a position to get them out. I have thought about postin here or on instagram, but then I worry about someone stealing them.
No doubt there are a ton of writers in the same position.
Wow!
I answered a desk job position in the 90's in Tampa, I saw the ad in a paper and I needed a job, I went to interview and ended up in a small room with an interviewer they said they needed to "give me an employment test screening" and gave me a scientology screening and then sent me upstairs to watch a movie, I went upstairs and it was a remote Scientology recruiting center, in the movie it showed what your "true potential" could be if you joined the church and said "if you say no today you might as well jump off a cliff and kill yourself", I busted out laughing and walked out while they were chasing me--- true story...CREEPY....
@andyanderson6455 Let me guess, you're posting from the bottom of a cliff 🤭
Thank God you escaped. Holy smack!
Yikes! "Creepy" is right!
Their material is full of all kinds of bizarre stuff like that, at least once they get you in the door. The "free personality tests" and the newest ones in my area that just say, "Anxiety? Stress? Call this number." seem fairly benign and harmless until you have the moment of realization that this is an *extremely wealthy* cult that is trying to brainwash you and steal your money.
That's more than creepy! 😮
In your video, i got an ad from that guy. When i first saw this guy, he was talking about all these events he was at, but i never saw anyone else talk about him until now. Thank you good sir
Finally someone sane taking the front to expose this fishy scammer. As a professional musician, I can't stand it. It's the same rhetoric than those cheap ads in newspapers 50 years ago. Bravo d'avoir dit haut et fort ce que le milieu pense tout bas, Raphaël.
La plume de ma tante est sur la plage.
200k views with 3k subscribers. Good for you Rafael ! Anybody who brings truth and real world awareness in the face of thieves and robbers deserves this. Takes a level of courage. The rare case on the RUclipss where authenticity shines.
Rafael just got a new subscriber! 👍
I actually SCREAMED when I saw this, I used to watch a RUclips video every morning as a part of my routine and Every. Single. Day. Without fail his ad would pop up. I thought I was the only person who knew who he was and the fact he’s a Scientologist is baffling to me
THANK YOU!! I did not know the scientology part but I absolutely can not stand the sight of him. Fraud does not even begin to scratch the surface. I do not know why ANYONE would see this person and think that he is legitimate.
fucking hell. I'm glad someone's made a video on this. Commenting for the algorithm.
I agree, and good idea. I'll leave a comment for the algorithm too.
@@tomellingham8627me too
“Music is taught in Latin” is craaazy…
It's so American to not understand the difference between Italian/French/German and Latin. 😂
@@bartoszganapati Except that Ridley is British, which makes it even worse somehow.
@@chrisburn7178 Aha, oh no, it really does. 😅
Can confirm - I’ve taken private lessons and the second I walk in, my teacher says “Ostende mihi quid proficere te facere,”
Maybe he only studies the counterpoint of Palestrina like a Fuxian luddite...
Never mind it's your basic 3 chords 100 songs garbage
So glad this was made lol. I've wanted to slap his smile off his face ever since he invaded my ads and never left. I got to the point that the sound of his voice instantly downed my mood. If anyone wants to learn piano I'll gladly teach for free. Why does everything need a price tag
Are you serious, you teaching piano for free?
@olyaanisimova1647 well I mean I am not that great, but I'll teach what I know lol. I meant to say that if I were in his position with all his apparent accolades I would happily share my talent to help others achieve their dreams and hopefully one day with enough practice
I will be able to do so.
@@AcmeLife I guess there is time when you teach somebody for free (like investing in young people in your church, family, etc) just have enough wisdom not to be abused by greedy people, your skills have got values.
enjoy the ride in musical world! 😊❣️
@@olyaanisimova1647 ❤️❤️
Bless you, Rafael. It’s damned nice of you to tell others about these lies, scams and other swindles and swindlers, so the rest of us don’t lose. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 👍❤️
I made several complaints to RUclips - to no effect - and also emailed him directly via his website. Thank you for making this video. The likes of RUclips, Meta and any other organization allowing these liars and thieves to go about their scamming is an absolute outrage.
@@stoobieman It drives people to pay premium. Double bonus!
All big tech is caring about is their market value and investors. They will never ever remove these kind of ads. Tried so many times like you.
Yt won’t act against ANYTHING that makes them money. There, I said it!
To be fair, it's not a scam, it's just a really bad product. I wouldn't want RUclips to take things down just because people complain. This video is the best method.
I as a professional pianist and educator of post music degree level, have reported this 'so called' master concert pianist to YT about 20 times. Nothing is being vetted on YT, as like the others are saying. I'd like to think that most people out there who are seeking to learn piano would either watch some good quality content to get some skills and also invest in a mentor to string everything together. I have studied and loved playing piano for 37 years - however there is always so much more to learn. Life long learning is the only way to constantly improve and enjoy your music! God bless all of you who agree and know the amount of time and dedication it really takes to become a decent musician on any instrument.
I completely commend you on exposing this situation. Scientology has destroyed so many lives. Taking the time to come forward regarding this scam is a great service to us all. Thanks for all you do!
"Don't follow leaders, watch the parking meters."
Bob Dylan.
I love when peolpe expose dishonesty,especially when they have great talent themselves,nicely done ❤💯
I have never anticipated the appearance of the word “skip” so much as during the first seconds of those ads. It’s good to see that the loathing which that smug man evokes is not unique to me. Thanks for letting us know that our instincts were right
The people who don't see the throbbing great warning signs all over the Rdiley adverts are the people Scientology is looking for.
100% this! Gullible people with disposable cash who are looking to improve themselves? Come, my pretties, come! I'm certain there's a web of similar scams that are funded by Scientologists which all funnel into the cult.
OMG THEM BE FACTS!
Several commenters here have noted that Scientology is looking to exploit and drain resources from the same kind of people, often innocent of the ways of the world, who have neither emotional self-awareness nor strong practical skill at recognizing the workings of targeted deceptive marketing, commonly known as “confidence games” as practiced by “con artists”. Con artists call their victims “marks”. These ads work like an automated mark magnet, efficiently selecting and attracting the most vulnerable victims to this small $3,000 con. Once these marks realize they have been robbed, they become sad. At this point, the victims, now miserable, distracted by their frustration and embarrassment, and, critically, proven as having failed the scam test (by participation), are at last ready to be fed to the intake port of the Church of Scientology, which will efficiently commence the “big con”-lifelong wealth extraction. The wealth extraction machinery inside Church of Scientology is efficiently protected by a legal and social fiction, which is the absurd claim that Scientology is a religion. The coldness and cruelty of these con artists, small and large, is chilling.
Best comment on this page! If you’ve any life experience then everything about that guy screams c*** but there’ll always be the odd one who’s a bit naive that gets sucked in. It’s a numbers game.
I always skipped the ad immediately because I thought his entire gimmick was the 4 chords that everyone knows, i didn't realise he had an entire useless course, thanks for exposing it.
Also you look really similar to Andrew Dotson, a physicist on youtube
If you wanted to really hurt him, you’d watch at least 15 seconds of the ad so he has to pay more. And the content creator will get more ad revenue.
@@iClipper no they pay more if people watch the clip longer (typically last 15 seconds). Source: I’ve run many ads for one of my companies and I’ve worked at an advertising agency. Don’t take my word for it, Google is a powerful tool lol
My finger is on the skip button.
I also always got the “free exercise book” ads.
As a piano teacher myself I'm so glad you made this video and feel my pain. Thank thank thank you I so hope this video gets seen by millions! Google bump this video up the charts for all pianists! Also please delete this scam course from RUclips ads!
Thank you for your video man.
I have ADHD and often tries to find shortcuts to get good at some hobbies. But as a friend of mine said “piano is very hard to master, but quite easy to enjoy”. It’s sad that he is ruining people experience with music.
I've hated those ads ever since they first started popping up in my algorithm. I've always skipped them as soon as I was able to, so I had no idea just how predatory the actual content was.
Thank you for taking the time to dive into this.
Exactly.
As soon as it pops out you have to skip ASAP for the sake of your mental health
I’ve always hated those ads. The way he thumps the piano I’m surprised he hasn’t broken one yet. He’s smarmy, full of himself and a complete charlatan. Delighted somebody’s finally exposed him.
Charlatan! Yes, great description.
And his music is simply awful.
'Smarmy, full of himself and a complete charlatan' - sounds exactly like a scientologist.
I used to work at the Church of Scientology London and remember when Stephen came onto the scene. As of 2023, he had donated $100,000 to the International Association of Scientologists (plus thousands more in course and auditing fees, as well as the 'Ideal Org Program' which is Scientology's real estate scheme). The person he was talking about when he said “one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met, and someone I very much looked up to was.. a Scientologist?!!” was Grant Cardone.
Anyone who doesn't spit on Grant cardone if they are within distance is an enemy of mine
@@jerbear7952 Quite a turn of phrase there 😆
@@jerbear7952
Holy f*** I did NOT know Cardone was a Scientologist...
@@jerbear7952What if they've never heard of him?
that feels nice knowing it wasnt just me getting bad vibe from a stranger on the internet
Thanks for this. I wish RUclips would police these scammers. So many nutrition and fitness scam ads as well.
RUclips profits from scammers,they welcome their advertisements.....try reporting an ad that's an obvious scam and wait the reply,it won't go against their community guidelines,terms or conditions.
The toxic poop guy springs to mind
They earn too much money from them unfortunately
@@ItsRaitisLV This is exactly why you should block ads.
Don’t get me started on Steven Bartlett.
Oh, I know what I hate about this guy. He's so unbelievably patronizing. Not only to all his potential customers, but to every actual pianist who has dedicated years to the art. Its like he's saying "I have something that none of these other musicians have, and its so easy, and they way they are learning and teaching is so outdated.....
Yes. It's a narcissistic trait to do so actually.
@@angelikateljebo9712 did you know you can be narcissistic with just these four chords?
That didn't happen.🎹🎹🎶
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.🎶🎼
And if it was, that's not a big deal.🎶
And if it is, that's not my fault.🎶
FOUR CHORDS!
And if it was, I didn't mean it.🎶🎼
And if I did, you deserved it.🎶
🎶🎶🎶🎶
And also the absolute sacrilege in those clips where he has the stool more than a metre behind the piano and the one where he STANDS ON THE PIANO. Those clips genuinely hurt my soul.
His un-British over-enthusiasm made me instantly suspicious that he's been spending time in US cults
@@weronikazalewska2098 am slightly embarassed he's British - but only slightly. I don't think he lives in my neighbourhood - we don't like fakes.
I’ve always been so annoyed by these absolutely scammy ads. Utterly irritating. Thanks for making this video!
I dont play the piano nor have I seen this ad, but I'm still here to watch Stephen Ridley get Stephen Ripped Apart
THE HERO WE DIDDNT KNOW WE NEEDED.
This is symptomatic of our times. 'You can become an expert at something with little effort or work'.
Truth.
Agree!
F.I.R.E., Piano style.
I clicked back onto this video to keep watching later, and no joke, one of Ridley’s ads popped up! It was a little scary! 😅
👏👏👏 well done for exposing this charlatan.
😂Been waiting for this. I've always wished I could comment on ads. This guy is not only annoying, he's an obvious charlatan straight out of a 1970's infomercial. Thanks for tackling this scammer.
Right! Ads are sooo old school. Not being able to comment on them is just a them to us promotion. It's about time this changed.
The ads on youtube are just normal videos like the rest. Its pretty easy to find them just like another video by typing some keywords. ;)
Chick Corea is definitely the better piano-playing scientologist
I forgive him
Was.
Chick was a real pianist and a huge musical mind . Don' t know about his Scientology involvement but his musical legacy is huge .
not to mention many transcriptions of his music for free!
It was not uncommon for him to dedicate his albums to L. Ron Hubbard in his liner notes.@@adrianfundescu5407
I thank you for speaking out on this. As someone who took piano 🎹 for three years, it angers me how he's taking advantage of people who don't know anything about music. For one thing, I love to practice music! I love my instrument. I love what I can accomplish. My practice sessions are usually never more than an hour a day. Back in my songwriting days, sometimes I spent three hours on the piano, all out of passion and fun. There's no point in practicing for only 3 minutes a day if you lack that passion.
This is such a well needed video - it's so annoying that his ads can't be skipped. Thank you for exposing this scam/fraud of a guy!
You can't block all ads from an advertiser, but you can click the info thing and block each instance of an ad. RUclips will, it seems, learn from your blocking patterns and show you different ads.
What he has really done is expose the scam/fraud of RUclips. They are the self-righteous a$$hats who let this kind of abusive advertising on here in the forst place.
@@Chalisque You can also get YT Premium for $13 a month and never have to watch an ad. If you spend any appreciable amount of time here, it's a no-brainer.
Thanks very much for exposing this scam.
I remember when I was first getting into music and getting bombarded with ads like “We’re the only good music course! Learn music without music theory!” And it’s always like, basic music theory but without the “scary words” so you can’t use what you’ve learned as a foundation for learning more complicated concepts.
Thank you for posting this. The RUclips algorithm has infected my stream for years with this guy's ads. I've tried many times to block it and say I don't want it see it again, but it keeps popping up. Apart from him being weird, but not in a good way, he's clearly a scammer. As you say, the claims he makes about his 'method' are ridiculous. I had no idea he has links to Scientology, but I'm not surprised. The way he plays the piano is like Tom Cruise on steroids! Well done mate.
I have to take issue with this at 5:17. I learnt John Cage’s piece “4’33” within a week with less than a minute of practice a day, and I’d never played before. It’s now my most requested piece at parties and so on.
I can understand why it’s the most requested
@@philrobinson71 So you get the joke. OK.
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
I find 4'33" very useful in the practice of music. I make my most talented students "play" through it. At the very least, it teaches attitude at the instrument and the value of listening to what you do. And it's a great sieve in determining personality and ability to concentrate. Everyone reacts differently. Some love the experience, others have a near panic attack for not being able to make noise in those few 4-odd minutes. And yes... it's a great party piece 😅
It's also the perfect amount of time to make a cup of tea. See if you can advance to playing and making tea at the same time.
Thank you. I feel like my soul deserved this video coming up on my feed, after skipping his bloody ads so many times.
I usually don't like videos that talk badly about other people, but any1 going up against scientology is some1 I like. So, thank you
I don't believe you should denigrate or make fun of religions (Not that you can't criticize fairly). But Scientology isn't a religion.
That was so refreshing. Thank you for stating the obvious. I saw him on Insta and laughed. Sincerely, it's so wonderful you take the time to say this to people who are in ignorance. Much respect to you.
That guy triggers me to my core.
Me too 🤣
Saaame
Great video man! These people need to be called out. I had to get RUclips premium to stop seeing his ads. Thanks for the shout out 🙏
You could have saved your $ and used the Brave browser.
Thanks for covering this strange dude, I knew it was a scam as soon as I saw it but was curious to hear about it more without having to suffer through the whole annoying ad lol😂😂😊
Yasss, thanks Rafael for calling the mental guy out! His shouty ads really disturb me, I blocked his channel. Kind of not surprised about the scientology bit, thanks for revealing the truth. You give brilliant advice in this video, I hope it goes viral 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Well done my man, glad someone has spoken about this. So many BS'ers out there! 👍
I always see this annoying advert when looking for specific quality content. As a piano player myself you know when you smell bs. Good on you for creating this video and exposing the scam.
Commenting to boost - thanks for making this!
Dude I can’t thank you enough for making this video. This has needed to be talked about for sometime, it’s the most outrageous sham in the online piano education space!
Thank you for exposing this BS! ❤
This video should be shared and go viral! Never liked the annoying ad and never trusted him. Thx for exposing him.🎉
Not all heroes wear capes Rafa. You are a hero. I was considering buying the course for the longest time, but never got around to it. I’m glad I found your video. So no, I will not fund Scientology.
Thank you
Thanks for setting the record straight on his course!
So great you are exposing this❤
I'm a fairly experienced player, but joined the free masterclass out of interest because of the constant spamming of ads, and because of the claimed digital piano giveaway. 20 minutes in, and my scam sensors starting lighting up. He spend over an hour talking about what he was going to show us, but never actually revealed anything of interest. The 'giveaway' reminded me of street hustles I saw in London in the 1990s, but online. Apparently the demand to sign up for his course was so great that the 'masterclass' dragged on and on, and when he finally drew the 'winner' of the piano, the person had joined the call and left his PC. They claimed to find him later and said the piano was on its way, but people were in the chat saying that the whole thing seemed very suspicious.
I appreciate your breakdown. Thank you for being honest and using what you know to help people.
7:23 "No, I will not"... thanks
"wow, what an annoying man that is" yup, that's verbatim exactly what I thought. Didn't see the scam element but he was so annoying I didn't get that far.
Not even a millisecond after i clicked on your video his ad popped up 😅
"But it does show that they're absolutely insane." 🤣
The deadpan delivery made it even more hilarious!
”This is a huge over simplification of just one of their beliefs, but it does show that they’re absolutely insane.”
Brilliant.
It is very rude to call religious beliefs "absolutely insane" just like that. Aren't these beliefs in scientology as "insane" as all the other religious beliefs out there in the world? But we don't say that do we? So stop harassing scientology
@@shisu7213 Ok so you might be joking, but I wanted to answer seriously.
Actually no, it's not "as" insane. It's a far newer cult without thousands of years of brainwashing, easily traced to one man - a pulp science fiction writer who wanted to avoid taxes. There is a difference between a cult and a religion.
Also yes, 'we do say that': most practicing religious people think people of every other religion are "insane", wrong or bound for hell.
@@shisu7213 nah, scientology is not like other religions. yes, it's true to say that the beliefs and practices that constitute scientology are no more nonsensical or insane than any other religion. but scientology is less of a religion and more of a business, a dark, exploitative business, one that deliberately targets the weak and uneducated, extracting as much of their money as possible, brainwashing them, isolating them from family and friends, making it difficult to leave and disentangle onself. yes, again, other religions have done this in the past, and still do in some places around the world today. but, that sort of abuse is *all* scientology is about; its entire modus operandi is: kidnap, exploit, profit.
i have encountered several content creators online, picked up weird vibes from them, then found out later that they are linked to the church of scientology. the last time it happened was the skateboarding channel, Braille Skateboarding. the owner wasn't paying his team fairly, so, they left en masse. turns out he was giving most of the profits to the fucking church of scientology. do you hear that happening with christians or muslims, them giving away all their loot? it's way less common.
@@Djinnk042 "most practicing religious people think people of every other religion are "insane", wrong or bound for hell."
nuh uh
@@Djinnk042 so what you're saying is that scientology is less insane than the religions of the world? That does not really makes sense. Mythology is mythology, and that is how it is. Doesn't matter if some mythology sounds more ridiculous than other
knew it was a scam but never knew how cooked his statements about traditional learning were. Thank you for potentially saving some people from buying this
I saw his video ad and thought: wow! I just saved his details to have a look later as I am planning to learn to play piano in a year or two. But I didn't look at the price, nor researched the guy yet. I guess thank you for sparing me the time.
Thank you!
I hate those Ridley ads.
I don’t enjoy being shouted at.
I can tolerate most YT ads but would love to be able to block just this one
I listen to death metal. I choose carefully who I want shouting at me
1 scam supporting another scam.
I love to be confirmed in how I evaluated these ads - just from the first 5 seconds, which I could not avoid because I don't pay for ad-free RUclips.
I love that you took the time to show how silly such ads are.
I had the ad before this video 😂😂😂
Thanks for the clarification. I'm fed up with seeing ads all the time. He's yelling and unbearable.
Thanks for making this video! 👍👍👍
Finally someone said something about that crap.