Welcome to another episode of TwoSet Violin plus Ray Chen!

ThreeSet!

Today, we will be playing Never Have I Ever!

We played this on the channel before.

Now, because we have an aged senior with us, we have to go with tea.

- Yes, exactly. - 'Cause bubble tea-

The doctor said Ray cannot have sugar.

- It's not good for his blood work. - Ohhhhh, I thought this whole thing was about spilling the tea!

That's why we're having tea.

- No, it's- nah, I'm just kidding. - No? Okay.

Nah, we already had bubble tea today, so...

- But actually, that's a good one! We're spilling the tea. - Mhm! Mhm! - We're spilling the tea!

Mmmmm!

So, what we have here is a bunch of prompts.

We're gonna go through it.

If we are guilty, we take a sip of the tea!

- Anything you would like to say before we start? - Any last words?

Uhhhh, this is not a representation of who I am.

Please don't judge me!

First one!

Never have I ever...

- Yeah. - I- no.

Have you not done that?

- No! - It's just me...

- You've done that?! - Yeah, for AYO Camp.

What?

I rocked up with my luggage and my backpack, super excited,

and then I was like...

My friend's like, "Where's your violin?" - Hahaha! Ray's...

And I was like...

- And I called my sister, and my sister had to like... - Yeah, it happened. - Wow!

- Get a cab. - Get a cab.

Ray's so shocked!

I was like, 13.

I mean, I've forgot- I've forgotten my violin on purpose before a lesson.

Ohohohoho! Yeah, that's something else!

- How old were you? - I was uhhh... 11... 10...

- 10 or 11 years old. - Okay. - Okay, okay.

- I didn't want to like, play, - Yeah.

- so I just forgot my violin. - Yeah.

And so that I could try my teacher's violin.

- Ohhhhh! - Yeah. - Did you actually get to play your teacher's?

- Yeah, yeah, and I got a chance... - Ohhhh, nice!

- That was- that was the reason. - (Eddy) Fair enough.

- You wanna say the next one? - Okay... yeah, Ray. - Okay.

Never have I...

Umm, have I?

- Does tipsy count? - Yeah, or like, just drinking.

It was a workshop.

- Had a uni workshop. - Oh, okay.

I played a Brahms excerpt.

- How did it go? - How was it?

I played really slow.

Yeah, I remember the teacher's like,

"Oh, Brett! That's a very interesting tempo!"

- It was like, really slow. - Oh no! - Ohhh!

I got drunk once, like, with my friends for...

It wasn't a performance though.

You know your first year, you're forced to do mandatory choir?

- Oh! - Hahaha! That's pretty funny.

And so, it's just like...

It was on my birthday,

and I hated the fact that I had to do choir.

I mean, I don't mind choir, but in that context, it was just like...

People weren't there to actually sing.

People were there because they're marking attendance,

and it just felt like a waste of time.

I mean, I don't recommend it though.

- Yeaaaah... - Be a good student!

Yeah, I don't recommend it either!

Never have I ever...

Ooh...

Huh?!

- Wait, are you serious? - Yeah....

- So... - Was it the Strad?

No, I- I- I dropped a bow.

- I feel like everyone's dropped a bow. - I've dropped a bow! - Yeah, and I've...

Does that count [as an] "instrument"?

- It's part of your instrument, right? - Oh, okay. Fine. - All right, you gotta drink as well.

(Eddy) Have I dropped my bow?

- No, I dropped it during the concert! Yeah. - Ooh! - Oh, wow!

The conductor, who will not be named,

- brushed- like- it was at the end of the performance. - Oh no! - Yeah...

And it hit the bow.

- And the bow then fell onto the ground and then just split at the tip. - That's a nightmare! Yeah.

- Oh no! - Yeah, and it was like,

- Arthur Grumiaux's old... like... Peccatte... - Oh no!

- You know the Peccatte? - Ohhhhhhhh! Ohh!

Yeah, and I had just been loaned this bow.

- Like, I just won the Queen Elisabeth, and... - Oh!

And it was just like- it just split at the tip.

I remember like, it was a silent standing ovation.

Like, everyone's just like:

- Dude, that just escalated! - "Bow, just bow." So I just bowed, and then, yeah.

- That went from a bow to Arthur Grumiaux's bow to... Peccatte. - Peccatte, yeah.

- What happened afterwards? - It like, a €100,000 bow.

- Yeah. - What happened after?

Well, it was insured. We had just gotten it insured, so...

- Thankfully, it was insured. - Yeah like, the day. That day.

- Ohhh my God. - Yeah.

- It seems like it's a thing, conductors hitting the soloist. - Yeah! Yeah, it happens. - What...

Lots of- lots of videos.

And I was so scared. I was so scared.

I wasn't sure if they had, like, gotten the insured- the insurance,

and then I remember being like,

"How long am I gonna have to... play to like, concerts to-

- like, pay it off?" - Pay it off, woaaaah... - Pay it off, woaaaah...

- You would've had to like, join Squid Game. - Yeah.

Yeah.

*Sings part of "Squid Game" soundtrack*

"So, why are you here?"

"Uh, my bow snapped."

Never have I ever...

Ohhhhh....!

Ugh, God damn it, I'm so not proud of this...

Okay.

- Come on, yeah! - Come on, uni. Music uni. - But it's normal, yeah.

You know, I don't know why you guys make a big deal out of it-

Yeah, Ray, it's your turn.

Wait! I wanna know more details!

- I don't remember, actually. - Well, did you what, serenade her? Or what did you do?

- Oh, I couldn't serenade her. - Well, did you what, serenade her? Or what did you do?

You went to Curtis. You guys are a different breed.

- You guys are very... focused. - Yeah, Curtis's people are different breed. - Mmm.

But you know, normally in music uni,

people go chill in other people's practice room,

- play for each other. - Okay! - Yeah, yeah.

If your crush is in the room,

- you play a little bit extra... harder, right? - Yeah, yeah.

Wow!

- Right? - That's- see, that's a very-

- I feel like that's a very um, primitive method to- to- to do it. - (Brett) Ohhh!

- The way tha- so I've got... - Please teach us the way, senpai!

- So, the way I did it was like, - Mmm mmm!

I went up to this girl, and I said,

- "Would you like to play some chamber music together?" - Ohoho!

- It was Kodály Duo for Violin and Cello. - Bro, this guy's...

- And so that's the way I thought was like a... - Smoooooooooth!

- Because then otherwise, you're just like showing off. - First, you schemed to get your teacher's violin at age 11.

Now, you're scheming to get one-on-one with Kodály Duo.

Brooo!

- I'll take an extra large sip, cheers! - Bro!

Never have I ever...

- Ah, of course! - Ah, of course!

- Really? Your parents didn't make you practice? - No, but like, sometimes, I have a morning lesson.

Well, but you've practiced during the week, though...

- But before the lesson. - "I practiced before..." - Oh, before the lesson.

- Oh yeah, yeah! Nah, nah. - "...but before", yeah!

- Oh, okay! - Oh.

Well, I was just thirsty so...

- It's alright. Alright, Eddy. - 'Cause I always practice.

- For some reason, I thought before the day. - Ah, you know what?

Kind of, for- for my... for my uhh, piano lesson.

- Ooooh! - Yeah, that's true! Same! Piano lesson. - Yeah. Yeah.

- Piano lesson. - Yeah, I didn't practice for a whole week.

- It just sounded like something I must've done. - (Brett) Yeah.

Never have I ever...

- Okay, I've had something worse than that. - Ooh!

It's a funny story, though, okay.

Our uni had a conductor who was known to have a bad temper,

and there was one rehearsal where people were talking,

and he just SNAPPED.

And he just went on like, this five-minute rampage to like, show like-

Insulting everyone, like...

I think he was like, raging towards the viola/cello section.

So I had my phone on the stand.

I was just like, texting.

Sort of like, "This is so boring. He's not even rehearsing...", right?

I must've like, pressed something- I don't know what happened.

Just as he finished, Siri turns on and goes, "How may I help you?"

And he like, turned to me, and I was just like,

"Uhhh, sorry, I press... pressed the button by accident."

- Wow! - And that was it? - It was super awkward.

- Yeah, that was it. - Oh, okay.

I had an incident during rehearsal,

- and then I suddenly looked at my friend, in horror. - Yep.

Joel, if you're watching this. And- and he was...

I said to him, "My gosh, I think I forgot to turn my phone like, onto silent!"

He was just like, takes out his phone and starts dialing it,

- and it's going off. - (Brett) Ohh!

And it's like, off to the side of the stage, right?

- And it's like, there, in my case. - And you can't go get it! - Ohhhhhhhhh!

- And I can't go get it! - Ohhhhhhhhh!

And I'm like, thinking, "Okay, okay, funny. Haha."

He does it again.

- He like, just looks at me and does it again. - Ohhhhh!

And I'm like, "No! No! Please don't!"

And then, he's just like, he does it again.

And finally, I'm just like, I go off, like... I go off stage.

- It was rehearsal, not concert? Okay. - Rehearsal, yeah. - Okay, 'kay.

Never have I-

- What does it say? - Never have I ever...

- Drink! - Wow!

- Alright... yeah. - You've won the Menuhin Competition, right?

- But you're the one to drink! - You're... drink! - Oh, I'm the one who dr-

- Ah- I forgot how this game works! - Yeah! - Yeah!

He's like, "Drink!"

Never have I ever...

Like, my teacher.

I never think my playing is good, so...

I don't think I've ever had that, like...

- I've had people give criticism. - Yeah, but it's criticism.

- I've never had someone say, "It's bad". - Yeah, but it's criticism.

Have you had someone actually say, "Your playing is bad"?

Well, he said it was like dragging a dead horse.

Oh!

Oh, I just popped my ears!

Woah!

It was the Saint-Saëns concerto, actually, and it was like...

I was used to learning a concerto for like, months at a time.

Like, Tchaikovsky took me like, 6 months to learn.

I brought it to him like, for the... I guess the fourth time.

- It was the fourth week in-a-row, which I thought was pretty normal. - Yeah.

He was just like, no, that's- that's too much for him.

It was like, he wanted us to bring a new concerto every other week,

- to learn, memorize, play. - Wow.

Was this at Curtis?

- Yeah, this was at Curtis. - Ohh... - Oh wow, that's intense.

But it really prepared me uhh... for the uhh, real world.

You know, performing like,

- another different concerto every other week, so... - Damn.

Actually, I do wish I had more of that.

I think our uni... people are too nice.

- Yeah, I think it's a good- you need a good balance. - Yeah.

'Cause on one end, if it's too much, you just give up.

I've recently realized it's like- it's definitely down to three things:

accountability, like, someone to tell you that with like, the stick;

- the praise, the encouragement. - Mmm...

And then the third thing is like, a little bit of friendly competition.

- And the three things like, mixed together create this like, - Mmm! - Yeah.

- perfect brew of like, learning. - Yeah! - Yeah, nice!

Never have I ever...

Oh, bro...

Dude, I took like, three gulps.

Big one, let's go!

- Do you even need to like, explain this? - No, that's pretty like...