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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 16,105
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Hi mk123, I live south of Atlanta, between Griffin and Barnesville, and I saw that original Fox-5 I-Team report. The preview of the report really caught my attention when they said “piano manâ€. How does it feel to be a TV celebrity! Your performance in that piece was great! And, good job on having the courage to step up to the plate and expose this guy for what he was… a fraud. I wish you the best in achieving your piano playing goals, and good luck with your new piano teacher! Rick
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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Joined: Jun 2006
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[quote=Sam S]He would constantly type into his laptop as I was playing, and didn't watch me most of the time. His excuse was that he was taking notes. When i started getting suspicious I asked if I could see the notes, and his answer was, " no", followed by a ridiculous excuse. I believe he was probably engaged in email correspondence and/ or surfing the web while I was playing. He was probably playing "Words with Friends"...
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,139
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What is sadder is that it appears that the site is still up and that people can still take lessons. You can even pay online! Is this guy seriously still accepting students? I'm in Nashville, not too far away. So if a posse is being rounded up, count me in!
I understand people's frustration and cynicism, and I think it's healthy. I've always said that a large portion of music teachers aren't really qualified to teach music (I'm speaking mainly about the US). I'm sure if you asked a teacher, we've all inherited people who learned bad habits or straight out wrong information from a former teacher. I deal with it more in vocal lessons, because apparently, at least here in the states, singing in a band or at church qualifies you to teach voice. These teachers upset other teachers as much as it does students.
Good for you for exposing this! Media is always a fun outlet to oust somebody. Looks like the only real lesson you got was how to spot a fraud. Question always and be skeptical. A good teacher should always be able to explain their approach and methods. A bad teacher will usually get offensive. Students can see my computer screen. I also take notes... but only 3 or 4 words to remind me what we're working on, usually at the end of the lesson. Surely doesn't take the whole lesson.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 936
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I couldn't believe this when I watched it! Makes me feel better knowing once in a while fraudsters like him get caught!
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 5,218
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Monica, I'm wondering if "douche" is a clinical diagnosis...? This guy is not only a pathological liar and (it seems likely) a criminal, but also has something really wrong with his head.
Then again, maybe it doesn't really pay to speculate. Though, if we knew what makes people liars and frauds it might be somewhat easier to handle them effectively. I've known enough of them to wonder about this.
Clef
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 8,924
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mk123, I'm really glad that your expereince with this guy didn't turn you away from piano completely! I hope he doesn't do that to any other beginning students.
His web site is still up, but the "about us" page says "under consruction." Gee, wonder why.
Also, the university where he uses (used?) practice rooms needs to reevaluate their building management!
Started piano June 1999. Proud owner of a Yamaha C2
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 229
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I believe if there are people who made donations, and they come forward, most likely it would be prosecuted. I hope they do... so this butt wipe can share a cell with other parasites, cheats, and liars. Using unfortunate children to generate income... what a disgusting slug!
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,112
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Good work mk123! This reminds me of having an informal get together with some other adult students of my piano teacher that I had while I was taking lessons for a short time. The teacher had several of us play a piece for each other and it came up in discussions that I had actually never really seen my teacher play anything. Jokingly I said that " I just realized that for all I know she could be a complete scam artist who is just making things up and giving me ridiculous advice and having me hold my hands in some sort of mutant position just for fun". So she went to the piano and after she finished playing an amazing piece which she apparently composed, I said "OK. I'll keep giving you money". But seriously I had just realized that until then she could have possibly been a very good scam artist. (Except for the fact that she definitely knew her theory since I was already a fairly competent sight reader but knew diddly about chord theory). I've also read about con men who got away with incredible things like pretending to be a doctor and actually being hired at a hospital. And of course there's the character that Leonardo DiCaprio played in "Catch Me if You Can" that was based on the real life of a con man who faked big a pilot for Pan Am for quite a while.
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Just so people can be warned, if they don't already know - ( for search engine indexing) - John Stonko, American Piano Academy, Piano orphanage project.
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Joined: Aug 2009
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What a conman, and how horrible to try to take advantage of people's generosity for a fake project!
Music is my best friend.
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There will be part 2 to this story airing soon.
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Joined: Jun 2007
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MK123, I agree with everyone--this is one the most bizarre stories. But the investigative report just makes you ask more questions. When do you think Part 2 will air? Also curious, how did you figure out this guy doesn't have a Ph.D? Do you know where he really went to school? What does he tell his other students, I wonder. I've read some of his online reviews and he seems to be pretty well liked.
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News article on the matter from Emory's school paper - Link - Emory article
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I read the “Emory Wheel†article, and found it about as amusing as the TV I-Team report. It says to me that Emory, like many prestigious colleges and universities, suffers from too much pride and arrogance, and one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing.
From my interpretation of the article, Emory’s official stance is that they are not going to pursue any legal, or other, charges in this case because they conclude it is not their place to decide whether or not any crime has been committed or any laws have been broken. It seems to me the only thing Emory is doing in light of this investigation and the I-Team report is to make an effort to tighten the security somewhat in the building Mr. Stonko was using.
And, while I’m on my soapbox… $80 an hour for piano lessons? My expectations would be very high from this teacher.
Piano enthusiast and amateur musician: "Treat others the way you would like to be treated". Yamaha C7. YouTube Channel
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He taught continuing education classes at Emory from 1996 to 2010? Wow. The article doesn't mention why they finally cancelled his course.
I know over at Georgia Tech (also in Atlanta) access to the practice rooms is controlled by card readers, and has been for years. But security is a big issue at Tech, which is close to downtown. Emory's neighborhood is more upper-class urban/suburban. But still, why would you want just anybody who could walk in off the street playing your pianos?
Sam
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Joined: Dec 2004
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It's threads like this that are the reason why I can't help but love PW.
"Amateurs practice until they get a piece right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong."
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Just for fun, here are my favorite quotes from the website: "It's our job to get you there." "We know how to get you there. Relax." "American Piano Academy offers several opportunities outside of the traditional lesson structure." "Nothing's off limits" "Pay Now" "The Academy recognizes that not all students have access to quality teaching" "Thank you for your interest in making payment" "An interview is required before acceptance into our Academy and before being assigned to one of our world-class instructors." "Initial Consultation Meeting: $65" "Each of our Doctorate level teachers has the know-how, experience and skill to bring out your full potential" "About Us: Under Construction" There is a website link to Wikipedia, where it notes, "The project and its founder, John Stonko, were recently the focus of an investigative television journalist. Fox 5 I-team." Wikipedia links to http://www.pianoorphanageproject.com/ results in: "The Host is not resolvable." Also, the American Piano Academy website's link to thumbtack.com, wherein thumbtack states, "This user claims to be a licensed Educator in GA – MMED, PHD - GEORGIA LLC. Thumbtack has not yet validated this license." Then, after clicking the "Check this service professional's license yourself" link, "Teacher Certification - Certification Channel Information: No record found." Finally, there are the students' comments, such as, "Thank you for helping me fulfill my dream, Dr. John," and "I know why Dr. Stonko won Teacher of the Year -- because your teaching style is wonderful." And my personal American Piano Academy website favorite: "PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR ANY ERRATUMS OR MISREPRESENTATIONS"
Last edited by Scott Prell; 02/22/12 02:05 AM.
"Amateurs practice until they get a piece right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong."
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Tonight at 10pm on Fox 5 Atlanta, a follow up to this story will air. It should be available online shortly afterward.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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