"Look, a famous singer lives in the house across the street!" Whenever I visited my 'Grinzing Grandma' on Paul-Ehrlich-Gasse, she would point to Peter Alexander's villa. This was in 1979 when I was eight years old, and I had no idea who she was talking about, partly because I grew up without a television. It all became clear in 1983 when I heard Peter Alexander's version of 'Sehn's, des is' Weanerisch' by Carl Lorens on the radio. Peter Alexander sang it for German television and translated verse by verse into standard German. I was fascinated. That was my awakening to dialects. 

Later, I paid tribute to the great actor and singer on stage with the program 'The Golden 50s.' In it, I sing many songs that he had also sung. On the CD 'des is jo des,' there is a song dedicated to his former villa in Grinzing. It's called 'Das Haus gegenüber' (The House Across).

In 1996, I was studying music and wanted to perform on stage as often as possible. That's when I had an idea: I walked into the Austrian Tourism Office and obtained the addresses of the top 100 hotels in the country. I wrote to all of them personally—back then, of course, by hand-written letters. 

"Are you perhaps looking for a bassist and a pianist for your hotel bar this summer?" I was referring to my friend Raphael Preuschl and myself. Ten hoteliers requested audio samples. Three of them invited us to come and demonstrate our skills.

Our first stop was the Krallerhof Hotel in Leogang. Raphael and I played our hearts out. It was a success. The next morning, the director came to us and said, 'Guys, you can stay. I can't pay you much; we just renovated recently. But you'll get board and lodging.' That meant three fantastic meals a day and two mattresses in the former sauna – quite cool for us young guys.

In that first month, we played almost every evening. We didn't even visit the other two hotels anymore. Later, my engagements took me from Gstaad to Munich, from Dubrovnik to Monaco. But one venue in my musical career has remained until today: the Krallerhof Hotel. My collaboration with the Altenberger family has been and continues to be a special and diverse enrichment.

In 2005, a turning point occurred. Lisi, a dear childhood friend and by then a mother of two, died in a car accident. I was 34 years old and had performed at countless events. Her death made me question many things. Was this really all I wanted to achieve in life? It was so short; shouldn't I also pursue what I truly wished for deep down inside?

I wanted to compose. That's why I had ventured into music in the first place. Three instrumental pieces flowed effortlessly from my pen. They are published on the CD "Herzblut'". I played the first one at Lisi's funeral. I donated the proceeds to Lisi's children. 

Composing opened a new old door for me. It remains my passion to this day, including for projects commissioned by my clients at Studio SchallRaum.

In 2009, by then 38 years old, I read in the 'Standard' newspaper about former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser receiving over ten million euros as a testimonial from Meinl Bank. The fund he had endorsed went bankrupt due to illegal buybacks, and Grasser had promoted it as a safe investment.  

I was extremely frustrated. What could a small musician like me do against such scams?" I wondered. Then, I remembered Gerhard Bronner's song 'Der Papa wird’s schon richten' (Dad will handle it), which had led to the resignation of the then Interior Minister. "I can do that too!" I thought and wrote the parody 'Die Ich-AG' (The Ego Corporation), which is featured on the CD 'Beziehungskiste'.

The song made an impact on YouTube. Grasser didn't resign because of it; he already had. I would have loved to thank Gerhard Bronner, but he had already passed away. That left Georg Kreisler, Bronner's arch-rival, whom I also held in high regard. I sent him the recording. He replied promptly, stating that he was very impressed by the song and piano playing but had always stayed away from current political topics due to their short-lived relevance.  

Two years later, he also passed away. His letter is still framed and hangs in my studio to this day.

In 2011, I had rediscovered my core passion: creating my own music! I should have known this since the 'Heumanderl Opera' at age 6 or the composition competition I won at 14.

The 'Herzblut' CD was my initial spark. More momentum came with the KHG parody 'Die Ich-AG.' This was followed by 'Du bist mein Morgenstern,' a love song for my wife Birgit. A radio listener wrote, 'My husband and I found each other again and fell in love anew while listening to this song.' 

In collaboration with the two lyricists Thomas Strobl and Josef Köber, I released the CD 'Beziehungskiste' in 2012. And I formed my first band, 'Schallers Kapelle,' with Ingrid Diem, Christoph Helm, Bernhard Osanna, and Wolfgang Fellinger.

What else does a songwriter and producer need? A studio of their own! I found one in Herrengasse, Purkersdorf. To this day, I compose, write lyrics, and arrange there, both for myself and for others. My style? It should be humorous and evoke positive emotions, that's the common thread. I want people to be emotionally touched by my music and feel well taken care of. That's my mission.

I've known Bernhard Kronowetter since school. We often sat with his guitar on Roter Berg and dreamed of becoming musicians. Back then, we also had a choir with nine singers, called 'Piaccapellano.' It was an a cappella choir with piano accompaniment. Technically, a contradiction in terms, but it was beautiful.

In 2014, we reconnected. Bernd approached me after a concert at Vienna's 'Metropol.' He had long stopped singing, but the concert reignited his passion. He didn't have to tell me twice! In homage to Pirron & Knapp, we called ourselves Schaller & Bernd, co-wrote the songs for the CD 'Des is jo des,' and gave some wonderful concerts together.

Then we dove into the next idea, one that Bernd had already been successful with before: YourTeamSong. We visit companies and record a song with the employees. And the best part: the people don't know what to expect. Yes, it's true: in two hours, we create music, lyrics, and recording, and the team gets a download link to enjoy their own team song for a long time.

Birgit and I have two wonderful children, Alina and Nico. In 2012, the two of them came to me with a serious question. They had big aspirations: Alina, who was 15 at the time, wanted to become a star actress, and Nico aimed for Olympic gold in diving. 'What if we don't make it?' they asked me. 'What then?' 'Don't worry,' I replied, 'big goals are important. And if it doesn't work out, you get up and keep going.'

After that conversation, I became quite contemplative. Then, I sat down at the piano and wrote the song 'I geh' weiter' (I keep going). Ronnie Hein produced the video for it. In one part of the video, I pluck shoes from a tree ('naturally grown footwear'), and I end up with two different-colored ones. I liked the idea. For the next seven years, I walked around with two different shoes. They reminded me that everything has two sides. I believe in individuality, diversity, and a variety of opinions - these things are important to me. 

In 2020, from one day to the next, I started wearing matching shoes again. The other had become a compulsion, a dogma. I don't like dogmas, especially not self-imposed ones. I can express my values in other ways. However, my car still has two differently colored side mirrors.

One of my teachers at the conservatory always used to say, 'If you want to play many gigs, learn to play all songs in all keys.' He couldn't have given me a better lesson. In 1996, during my first engagement at Krallerhof, I actually practiced that. Soon, it became easy for me to play the entire repertoire in all twelve keys. It provides security, a system in which you can reliably navigate.

But what I didn't understand was: Why does one number groove and the other doesn't? What does it depend on? I searched for the key for a long time in vain. I found it during a trip to Morocco. We were traveling by bus from Marrakech over the Atlas Mountains, the driver was playing Moroccan music, it was grooving intensely, and I was tapping my fingers along. But the system that these musicians were referring to didn't become clear to me. Then I had an idea: If you learn and internalize all the speed ratios that exist up to the number 12 – so 2:3, 3:4, 5:7, and all the others – if you learn them all, you create a template for yourself. With its help, you should be able to recognize and reproduce everything you encounter in music, whether in heard, written, or improvised form.

So, I started practicing all mathematical ratios from 1 to 12. With the higher numbers, like 7:11, the number line you had to visualize was quite long. One morning, I had an insight: What if you bend the ends of this number line together and form it into a circle, and then divide it using polygons, in other words, many-sided shapes. It worked! Even very complex rhythms were suddenly visible at a glance.

As a result, I composed 16 piano pieces that incorporate all 34 polyrhythms, the so-called 'Polytüden.' A pianist who plays these pieces can practice all polyrhythms up to the number 12 – and they will all groove. The pieces are published in my book 'The Polybible of Rhythm,' and the method is explained comprehensively there.  

This insight has greatly enriched my teaching at the Music School Wienerwald Mitte and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. These rhythms are for eternity!

"Look, a famous singer lives in the house across the street!" Whenever I visited my 'Grinzing Grandma' on Paul-Ehrlich-Gasse, she would point to Peter Alexander's villa. This was in 1979 when I was eight years old, and I had no idea who she was talking about, partly because I grew up without a television. It all became clear in 1983 when I heard Peter Alexander's version of 'Sehn's, des is' Weanerisch' by Carl Lorens on the radio. Peter Alexander sang it for German television and translated verse by verse into standard German. I was fascinated. That was my awakening to dialects. 

Later, I paid tribute to the great actor and singer on stage with the program 'The Golden 50s.' In it, I sing many songs that he had also sung. On the CD 'des is jo des,' there is a song dedicated to his former villa in Grinzing. It's called 'Das Haus gegenüber' (The House Across).

In 1996, I was studying music and wanted to perform on stage as often as possible. That's when I had an idea: I walked into the Austrian Tourism Office and obtained the addresses of the top 100 hotels in the country. I wrote to all of them personally—back then, of course, by hand-written letters. 

"Are you perhaps looking for a bassist and a pianist for your hotel bar this summer?" I was referring to my friend Raphael Preuschl and myself. Ten hoteliers requested audio samples. Three of them invited us to come and demonstrate our skills.

Our first stop was the Krallerhof Hotel in Leogang. Raphael and I played our hearts out. It was a success. The next morning, the director came to us and said, 'Guys, you can stay. I can't pay you much; we just renovated recently. But you'll get board and lodging.' That meant three fantastic meals a day and two mattresses in the former sauna – quite cool for us young guys.

In that first month, we played almost every evening. We didn't even visit the other two hotels anymore. Later, my engagements took me from Gstaad to Munich, from Dubrovnik to Monaco. But one venue in my musical career has remained until today: the Krallerhof Hotel. My collaboration with the Altenberger family has been and continues to be a special and diverse enrichment.

In 2005, a turning point occurred. Lisi, a dear childhood friend and by then a mother of two, died in a car accident. I was 34 years old and had performed at countless events. Her death made me question many things. Was this really all I wanted to achieve in life? It was so short; shouldn't I also pursue what I truly wished for deep down inside?

I wanted to compose. That's why I had ventured into music in the first place. Three instrumental pieces flowed effortlessly from my pen. They are published on the CD "Herzblut'". I played the first one at Lisi's funeral. I donated the proceeds to Lisi's children. 

Composing opened a new old door for me. It remains my passion to this day, including for projects commissioned by my clients at Studio SchallRaum.

In 2009, by then 38 years old, I read in the 'Standard' newspaper about former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser receiving over ten million euros as a testimonial from Meinl Bank. The fund he had endorsed went bankrupt due to illegal buybacks, and Grasser had promoted it as a safe investment.  

Ich ärgerte mich maßlos. Was kann ich als kleiner Musikergegen solche Betrügereien ausrichten?, fragte ich mich. Da erinnerte ich mich an Gerhard Bronners „Der Papa wird’s schon richten“. Das hatte seinerzeit immerhin den Rücktritt des damaligen Innenministers zur Folge. Das kann ich auch!, dachte ich und schrieb die Parodie „Die Ich-AG“, die auf der CD „Beziehungskiste veröffentlicht ist.

The song made an impact on YouTube. Grasser didn't resign because of it; he already had. I would have loved to thank Gerhard Bronner, but he had already passed away. That left Georg Kreisler, Bronner's arch-rival, whom I also held in high regard. I sent him the recording. He replied promptly, stating that he was very impressed by the song and piano playing but had always stayed away from current political topics due to their short-lived relevance.  

Two years later, he also passed away. His letter is still framed and hangs in my studio to this day.

In 2011, I had rediscovered my core passion: creating my own music! I should have known this since the 'Heumanderl Opera' at age 6 or the composition competition I won at 14.

The 'Herzblut' CD was my initial spark. More momentum came with the KHG parody 'Die Ich-AG.' This was followed by 'Du bist mein Morgenstern,' a love song for my wife Birgit. A radio listener wrote, 'My husband and I found each other again and fell in love anew while listening to this song.' 

In collaboration with the two lyricists Thomas Strobl and Josef Köber, I released the CD 'Beziehungskiste' in 2012. And I formed my first band, 'Schallers Kapelle,' with Ingrid Diem, Christoph Helm, Bernhard Osanna, and Wolfgang Fellinger.

What else does a songwriter and producer need? A studio of their own! I found one in Herrengasse, Purkersdorf. To this day, I compose, write lyrics, and arrange there, both for myself and for others. My style? It should be humorous and evoke positive emotions, that's the common thread. I want people to be emotionally touched by my music and feel well taken care of. That's my mission.

I've known Bernhard Kronowetter since school. We often sat with his guitar on Roter Berg and dreamed of becoming musicians. Back then, we also had a choir with nine singers, called 'Piaccapellano.' It was an a cappella choir with piano accompaniment. Technically, a contradiction in terms, but it was beautiful.

In 2014, we reconnected. Bernd approached me after a concert at Vienna's 'Metropol.' He had long stopped singing, but the concert reignited his passion. He didn't have to tell me twice! In homage to Pirron & Knapp, we called ourselves Schaller & Bernd, co-wrote the songs for the CD 'Des is jo des,' and gave some wonderful concerts together.

Then we dove into the next idea, one that Bernd had already been successful with before: YourTeamSong. We visit companies and record a song with the employees. And the best part: the people don't know what to expect. Yes, it's true: in two hours, we create music, lyrics, and recording, and the team gets a download link to enjoy their own team song for a long time.

Birgit and I have two wonderful children, Alina and Nico. In 2012, the two of them came to me with a serious question. They had big aspirations: Alina, who was 15 at the time, wanted to become a star actress, and Nico aimed for Olympic gold in diving. 'What if we don't make it?' they asked me. 'What then?' 'Don't worry,' I replied, 'big goals are important. And if it doesn't work out, you get up and keep going.'

After that conversation, I became quite contemplative. Then, I sat down at the piano and wrote the song 'I geh' weiter' (I keep going). Ronnie Hein produced the video for it. In one part of the video, I pluck shoes from a tree ('naturally grown footwear'), and I end up with two different-colored ones. I liked the idea. For the next seven years, I walked around with two different shoes. They reminded me that everything has two sides. I believe in individuality, diversity, and a variety of opinions - these things are important to me. 

In 2020, from one day to the next, I started wearing matching shoes again. The other had become a compulsion, a dogma. I don't like dogmas, especially not self-imposed ones. I can express my values in other ways. However, my car still has two differently colored side mirrors.

One of my teachers at the conservatory always used to say, 'If you want to play many gigs, learn to play all songs in all keys.' He couldn't have given me a better lesson. In 1996, during my first engagement at Krallerhof, I actually practiced that. Soon, it became easy for me to play the entire repertoire in all twelve keys. It provides security, a system in which you can reliably navigate.

But what I didn't understand was: Why does one number groove and the other doesn't? What does it depend on? I searched for the key for a long time in vain. I found it during a trip to Morocco. We were traveling by bus from Marrakech over the Atlas Mountains, the driver was playing Moroccan music, it was grooving intensely, and I was tapping my fingers along. But the system that these musicians were referring to didn't become clear to me. Then I had an idea: If you learn and internalize all the speed ratios that exist up to the number 12 – so 2:3, 3:4, 5:7, and all the others – if you learn them all, you create a template for yourself. With its help, you should be able to recognize and reproduce everything you encounter in music, whether in heard, written, or improvised form.

So, I started practicing all mathematical ratios from 1 to 12. With the higher numbers, like 7:11, the number line you had to visualize was quite long. One morning, I had an insight: What if you bend the ends of this number line together and form it into a circle, and then divide it using polygons, in other words, many-sided shapes. It worked! Even very complex rhythms were suddenly visible at a glance.

As a result, I composed 16 piano pieces that incorporate all 34 polyrhythms, the so-called 'Polytüden.' A pianist who plays these pieces can practice all polyrhythms up to the number 12 – and they will all groove. The pieces are published in my book 'The Polybible of Rhythm,' and the method is explained comprehensively there.  

This insight has greatly enriched my teaching at the Music School Wienerwald Mitte and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. These rhythms are for eternity!