Classical Musicians React

This is a YouTube series that I began in Oct 2016, featuring Eastman music majors listening to Korean music for the first time. In this series, 8-16 musicians analyze what happens in the song using classical and jazz theory terms. I began this series for fun, so I could convert people at my school into K-Pop fans. But the title: “Classical Musicians React,” drew in a bigger crowd than anticipated. Thousands began asking for more content of musicians dissecting the musical aspects of the pop song. My goal then became to create an educational and entertaining way for K-Pop fans to learn more about their favorite songs, and perhaps inspire them to take up an instrument and learn music theory themselves. Every video in this series will gross at least 50k views, and I have over 70 videos with 1mil+ views.

May 2018

This video highlights two of the most popular k-girl group songs. We talk about why these songs are such a hit, and what makes the second one so shockingly cool.

November 2020

The musical term “modal mixture” pops up more and more often in our videos as we react to more K-Pop artists. In this video, our team clearly breaks down this song’s usage of modal mixture, using a piano to demonstrate the harmonic colors brought on by the mode shifts!

April 2021

Solo artist ‘IU’ delivers a story of her past, present and future in this emotional Broadway-esque ballad. During this reaction, we talk about her vocal phrasing, technique and what about the instrumental texture and harmony makes us want to cry.

April 2022

This is one of our most popular videos. Since the song has a classical music quote weaved into its production, even the label themselves reached out to us to request a reaction.

Nov 2023

This episode features a song that made a handful on unexpected musical decisions that listeners were confused about. Our reactors answered viewers’ questions throughout the video through their analysis and explanations.