Shadowing Practice: Twenty One Pilots Interview - Tyler (part 1) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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So first, hi.
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-Hi.
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-How are you?
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I'm good, how are you?
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-I'm okay, thank you.
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-Okay.
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Do you recall the first record that you bought?
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- First record I ever bought.
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Whew.
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I remember the first tape I ever bought.
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Actually like a cassette tape.
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Do you know what that is?
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I was-- I'm old enough to remember.
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OK, good.
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It was by a band called DC Talk.
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and I don't know if you know who they are, but it was my first piece of music I ever bought.
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And I hate that stuff.
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And what made you buy this specific thing?
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- Thank you.
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My dad was coaching basketball for a bunch of high schoolers, and I was just a little
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elementary school kid and they were all listening to this band and I wanted to listen with them because
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Because when you're in elementary school, nothing's cooler than a high schooler.
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I bought the cassette.
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And that's instilling you the Well, the desire to make music?
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No, not at all actually.
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I didn't even think about writing music.
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So if you think about it, I bought the cassette when I was in first grade.
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I didn't start playing music until I was in 11th grade, so 10 years later.
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You're a self -taught musician.
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What then made you pick up the piano and other instruments?
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What made me pick up an instrument?
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I guess...
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identity issues because I didn't know who I was and I thought I was I thought it was one thing.
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You know, it's like all about When you go to school and you interact with different kids, you try to figure out who you are.
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What am I?
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Am I the jock?
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Am I the guy who's in theater?
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Am I in a choir?
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Do I play songs?
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Do I whatever?
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And I was really I was really drawn to something different than what I was in high school.
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Because in high school I was a guy who did sports.
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And I didn't really like that, I didn't think.
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So when I first started learning how to play the piano, I was, I think I just accidentally found that.
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And I liked, I liked who I was when I was doing that.
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So did it help you find your identity more?
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None of my family does any music or anything.
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So I was just the weird music guy, you know, it was an anchor encouraged or?
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No, in my family.
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Yeah, they didn't really understand what was going on because like I said, none of them really are musical at all.
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But they thought it was cool.
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You know, it's like I set up a microphone and you know my own, you know, little studio in the basement and my mom's and
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washing the dishes
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and she hears her son screaming his head off down in the basement trying to record vocals
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and she's got to be thinking what the heck is going on with him.
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So I'm sure that they were really confused.
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But now, you know, now I'm in a different country getting interviewed by you
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because of the stupid songs that I wrote in my basement.
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Fair enough.
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Do you still have those recordings, those very first recordings?
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Did you ever listen to them?
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I have some of the first recordings I've ever done still on my computer
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and I guard those with my life because I don't want anyone to ever hear them.
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tons and tons of songs labeled Tyler Joseph because
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that was my name and I figured that was what I should call the person who was writing the songs.
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And now it looks ridiculous to see my name just copied over
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and over and over again because of all the weird songs I wrote in the past.
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Yeah, you're not going to hear those.
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But something must have compelled you to keep them.
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Yeah, you're right.
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I don't know.
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I mean, I've thrown away a lot of stuff.
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And I mostly throw away ideas now more than ever because when I try to write, I get a lot out of it.
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It helps me work through things.
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Like in a cathartic sense?
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Absolutely.
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It's my word actually.
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It's my favorite word.
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Catharsis is...
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I had that word as a vocabulary word in high school and I'll never forget it because it explained exactly um, what songwriting is for me.
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And, uh, you don't need to keep the song in order to feel the effect of something like that.
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So sometimes I'll throw things away, but But back then, I didn't throw stuff away as much because it was so precious.
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Because they were my first songs ever.
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You can always hold on to your first songs.
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And they're terrible.
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Well, looking back, how did you describe them as being terrible?
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What then helped you develop as a musician?
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Listening to other songs.
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I became a student of the radio and a student of the internet.
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So some specific bands maybe or?
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Specifically No, I think that I took different things from from different bands.
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You know, there's an aspect of my live performance that I've taken from dozens of different performers.
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There's an aspect of the way that I deliver a vocal on a track
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that I take from six other people who record in a studio.
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There's an aspect of my songwriting that I couldn't even begin to talk about only two or three bands that
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And it's not even fair for me to even talk about just two of them, you know.
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So I like to not even mention it.
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It's just so many.
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So it's more, not certain elements, certain bands, but certain elements that exist in a lot of bands
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and a lot of music and then compile them and make it your own?
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Yeah, there's a...
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For example, something that has influenced me, there's a song, and I don't want to throw everything on to this one band,
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but there's a song by The Killers, they do a music video, too.
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And he's standing in the middle of the city in Japan, I believe, and he looks dead in the camera, and his eyes are really calm,
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but there's a moment where his hand kind of suggesting I'm trying to come across as if I'm fine,
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but really there's something wrong.
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I think of a moment like that.
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That has influenced me musically more than any song has.
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I come from a generation that had YouTube.
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I could look up anything I wanted.
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I was influenced My Chemical Romance, where They're playing in just this dusty abyss.
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They just pour it all out.
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That's how much I want to believe in my music.
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So those things I think of just different moments.
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But those bands are amazing.
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But I want to be better than them.
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It actually sounds like on your website there's this bio section where you talk about joy
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and happiness and the distinction between them.
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And this sounds very much like what you just described, the pretense of happiness, but actually it's just joy which fades away.
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Is that correct?
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Yeah.
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No, I think that what I get out of traveling around the world now, being able to play music,
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things that just translate perfectly.
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You have sexuality, you know, people are attracted to one another.
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You know, you have food, people love food.
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Everybody in the entire world likes food. And you have music.
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And really those are like the only things that there are.
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I mean, I'm sure we can come up with some other theories, but you know, you think about music and how and how it just applies to to everyone.
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Universal...
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It's very...
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Universal is a perfect word for it.
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So, so then I start, as a songwriter, I start thinking of other universal Concepts.
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And I think that one of those whether or not people really understand it is the concept of
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trying to figure out how to go about this life in a way that you
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enjoy yourself or in a way that you like who you are.
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And whether or not you like who you are is really hinged upon whether or not you have joy.
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Because I'm happy that I'm here right now talking to you.
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but then something else can happen where I'm about to go play a show
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and nothing goes right and then I'm not happy anymore.
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It's very, It's fleeting.
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it gets influenced by the things that are going on around me and if I'm controlled by just that, then I'm gonna go nuts.
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I need to find something bigger.
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I need to find something that I have joy, which I feel like kind of, it spans out over my entire life.
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If hopefully, you know, more than just a moment, hopefully a day, a month, years, where joy just is is there and I think that when you find joy, then you find peace.
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And when you find peace, then you have obviously found something to believe in.
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But it is still, I assume, then a continuous struggle to find it.
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Absolutely.
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And that's.. that goes back to...
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another universal language. And that's...
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struggling to find peace.
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And that's something I think that every single person on Earth has to figure out.
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Insights from a Musician's Journey: A Conversational Deep Dive
The video features a candid conversation with Tyler, a musician, as he reflects on his early experiences with music, identity, and self-discovery. The dialogue is casual yet rich with everyday language, making it an excellent resource for English learners looking to practice natural speech patterns. From discussing childhood memories to exploring personal growth, the conversation covers relatable topics that highlight how language conveys emotion and story.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Do you recall..." – A polite way to ask someone to remember something, e.g., "Do you recall the first time we met?"
- "I was drawn to..." – Expresses a strong attraction to something, e.g., "I was drawn to the idea of traveling alone."
- "Identity issues" – A common phrase to describe struggles with self-perception, e.g., "Many teens face identity issues in high school."
- "Accidentally found" – Describes discovering something unexpectedly, e.g., "I accidentally found this great café while walking."
- "Didn't really understand what was going on" – A conversational way to say someone was confused, e.g., "At the meeting, I didn't really understand what was going on."
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for This Video
Shadowing technique is a proven way to improve English pronunciation and fluency, and this video’s relaxed pace makes it ideal for practice. Here’s how to start:
- Listen and Repeat in Real Time: Play short 5-10 second clips and mimic Tyler’s tone, rhythm, and pauses. Focus on phrases like "Whew, I remember the first tape" to capture natural intonation.
- Focus on Connected Speech: Notice how words link, such as "I didn't even think about" (pronounced "I din't even think about"). Shadow speech helps train your mouth to form these sounds smoothly.
- Record Yourself: Compare your recording to the video. Pay attention to stress in words like "cassette" (CAS-set) and "elementary" (el-uh-MEN-tuh-ree) to refine pronunciation.
- Use a Shadowing App: Apps can slow down the audio or loop clips, making it easier to match Tyler’s pace. Practice daily for 10-15 minutes to build muscle memory.
- Reflect on Meaning: After shadowing, summarize the conversation in your own words. This connects language to context, boosting both speaking and comprehension.
By using these steps, you’ll not only improve your pronunciation but also learn to speak English with the natural flow of a native.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've ever done · I've thrown · I've taken |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was really drawn · was influenced · are attracted |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | guy who did · person who was · people who record |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.