How did you get into music? How did all this begin?

There was this cute senior in high school who played guitar. So I asked her for lessons. She was a great teacher. Like a 16 year old Ms. Robinson but her name was Cathy.

Was she a good teacher?

She was amazing. Excellent teacher. By my 17th birthday, I was giving private guitar lessons myself and writing songs.

Where did you go to school? Were you a music major?

I ended up graduating with a degree in music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, but I started off as a mechanical engineer. I really like to draw. At first I thought that was the right fit for me. But deep down I knew music was my real passion. So I switched to the music school before midterms my freshman year. Music came very easy for me. I was always good at math and when I look at a piece of music, I can see the math. In college I became very passionate about music. I never left the music studio. I spent all day composing, practicing and learning how to use all the equipment.

You're a Philly native but now live in New York City. What do you think so far?

I love Central Park. Coming from a small town, there is something remarkable about seeing a park that large, packed with people, and everyone just doing everything from rollerblading, to soccer, to frisbee, to just grabbing a drink. It's a chill vibe, and on a nice day, there's no place better to relax.

Since graduating, you haven't taken the typical career path of a music major. You're first paying job out of school was hosting your own online show called "Your Weekly Music Lesson With Walt." The show was a success. It had plenty of sponsors and over 10k loyal and engaged viewers. Why did you cancel your own show in 2009?

Yeah the YouTube show launched in September 2008 and I did a weekly episode on everything from Crab Drills and Flavor Chords, to Solfege Syllables. In addition to the weekly Revision3 show, I also posted a daily video lesson on my blog.

Your show was sponsored, you had 10k loyal and engaged subscribers. So why did you quit your music lessons podcast?

Yes. everything in my videocast is sponsored. The guitar, shirt, amplifier, pedals, strings, software, etc. That was the business model, and it was interesting to see it grow. But I went to school for music composition because I was passionate about it. When I started teaching online I saw it as an awesome opportunity, but after a few years, I started feeling like I was becoming less of a music composer or teacher, and more of a video editor. I hate editing video. And I wasn't excited anymore to do the video lesson show - it was showing in the way I was teaching, and in the content itself. In addition, work was beginning to slow down because of the recession. So I figured I didn't want to continue doing work I wasn't passionate about. My loyal community is still with me to this day - it started that they were supporting my idea lesson show, but then it became a tight community, and when I announced that I'd be doing 'For Orchestra', they all said they wanted to continue to support me. It was an awesome moment, and gave me the foundation and confidence that this could work.

So an composing orchestra songs now pays the bills?

It helps, but I also speak at conferences, and do social media and online marketing consulting. I stay on top of new Web 2.0 technologies, services and music marketing techniques and bring that knowledge and experience to my clients. I'm currently working with the Independent Music Awards, DLB Media, Revision3 and Ustream. I help my clients find a voice and message for their products and services in the social media world. And get them actively involved in social media networks like Twitter and Facebook. But my day job is composing orchestra songs. You can check out all my orchestra arrangements at ForOrchestra.com.

Tell us more about your 'For Orchestra' project?

I arrange guilty pop pleasures 'For Orchestra'. So think of it as an orchestra cover band. So far I've done songs by Lady Gaga, Rick Astley, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, and many more. Its my most ambitious project, and most exciting. I love the orchestra, and pop culture, and now I get to fuse them both together. The response has been amazing!

We saw you at a Perez Hilton party last year. Is he a fan?

I hope so. My orchestra version of Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' was blogged about on PerezHilton.com.

What's harder to transcribe for orchestra, Guns N' Roses or Lady Gaga?

Guns N' Roses because of the guitar solos. Although Lady Gaga's music has some intense synth patches and sound effects which are difficult to replicate sometimes with the traditional orchestra... but guitar solos are the toughest - both to transcribe by ear, arrange, and of course, perform.

Will orchestra music ever take over the world like Facebook did?

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Speaking of Facebook, while doing research for this interview, we noticed you like to change your Facebook relationship status randomly. You were both "single" and "married" in the same week.

Huge mistake. Worse than that hook up I had in Las Vegas. I KNEW that was an Adams apple... just kidding. It was actually a social media experiment.

But it's gone now. Did you delete it from your Facebook feed? Why? Did you take screenshots or have any data to share? What did you learn?

Haha yea! Why? Should I do another experiment?! No screenshots or data. Just wanted to see who said what, when, and how that effected others opinions.

Don't worry, we took screenshots. Were people mostly sympathetic or malicious?

Mostly sympathetic. As an online experiment, I wanted to see if something like that would get 100's of comments, retweets, etc. The result was actually impressive. I received a lot of comments, and people who were interested in what happened. When people emotionally are invested in something it makes the relationship stronger, even if that person lives across the world. So it was cool to see my 'community' express interest in what happened, because I'm always interested in them. Oh, and I got no marriage proposals :)

In addition to Facebook and YouTube, what other social media services are you the most active with?

Twitter (@waltribeiro), and I recently started experimenting with Tumblr. I like the idea of iPhone Apps (I consider that a social media service) because it allows us to connect in real time with each other. One example is FourSquare, but most apps have a social feature today, so I consider that to be an exciting new territory.

In general, what do you think of Social Media?

I think it shouldn't be called social media. Since day one, media has always been about communicating and being social, because we're social beings. Whether it was caveman drawings, communicating through music, the telephone, newspapers, or now the computer - not much has changed. While I don't agree with the name 'Social Media' (perhaps "social web" is more fit?), I do agree that it's what we're all here for - it's about the connections we create, nurture, and care about. Social Media is magical, not because of the technology, but because of the people. Any medium that brings us together, like social media, is awesome.

What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever read about yourself online?

The YouTube comments I get are usually pretty hilarious. Everything from I'm a horrible musician, to I'm crazy. What's the most ridiculous thing? Probably the marriage proposal I got on YouTube. And yes, that really happened to me.

From a guy or a girl?

Ha. Girl.

Besides marriage proposals and experimenting on your Facebook followers, what does a typical day in the life of Walt Ribeiro consist of?

Wake up at 8am. compose orchestra music until 10am. Then I'll do some social media marketing consulting. And late afternoon or night I'll record or compose music.

What do you do with all these songs you write everyday?

I used to have an offsite location with an airtight container to keep all my music safe - this was way before thumb drives haha! It's full of all types of songs from electronic and rock to orchestra arrangements. If I don't have immediate plans to complete a song, I usually bury it in the back of my mind and let it naturally compose itself. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I never know what to do with the idea or melody.

What famous artists and producers have you worked with so far?

Most recently, Weird Al Yankovic, YT Cracker, Jonathan Coulton, and I've collaborated with MC Lars for ‘This Gigantic Robot Kills’ which was released on Oglio Records. Moving to NYC gave me a lot more access to these types of opportunities. New York City is all about networking and opportunities. Sure the cost of living is much higher here, but that just motivates me to work harder. Right now I live in midtown but I want to move to Brooklyn. It one of my goals this year.

Besides moving to Brooklyn, do you have any other goals?

Actually, I have five.

1. Move to Brooklyn. In April!
2. Make orchestra popular... not dorky. Almost there!
3. Get my ears pierced. Did it!
4. Get a dog.
5. Go sky diving. Nude. [Walt laughs] Doing it in March. (with clothes on, of course)

We're surprised your goals for this year don't include mastering some rare instrument like a Sitar. How many instruments do you play?

Learning instruments has never been a passion of mine. I like to experiment and try new business ideas and Just guitar and piano.

That's it? Aren't you a musically prodigy?

[Laughs] Guitar and piano. That's it.

Who are your musical influences and why?

John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Pearl Jam, and Richie Kotzen. Why? Because they continually tried new things and broke down walls. Music, like all things, only evolves as new territory is crossed.

How do you test out new compositions? Live performances? Friends?

I use the Internet as my test bed. I read all comments on my blog, YouTube videos, replies by people on Twitter, etc. [After mentioning Twitter, Walt is distracted. He starts checking for Twitter updates on his iPhone. I flip it over so he can't see the screen.]

Tell us something about yourself that your friends reading this right now won’t already know.

I hold the URDB world record for "most nose touches with my tongue in a minute". 121 to be exact. Tweet that!

For the people reading this interview online, how do you want them to remember you? What's the Walt Ribeiro "takeaway"?

So far I've dedicated my life, career, my passion, my soul and my future to online. Internet forever. And turning guilty pop pleasures into orchestra arrangements.

Finish this sentence: I want all my fans to…

Follow their passion in life. The money will follow.