003AFTER TALK

Itoken × Chiaki Miura × Ryotaro Miyasaka

Music That Was Unheard Of,Created By Listening To Each Other

"Earth ∞ Pieces" is a newly launched project by SLOW LABEL with musician Shuta Hasunuma as music director. Supporting musicians who are at the centre of this project are Itoken, Chiaki Miura, and Ryotaro Miyasaka. They have also participated in the Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic and Full Philharmonic Orchestra. We asked them to share their thoughts on the world premiere held on March 16, 2024, in the form of an online roundtable discussion.

"You're All Set!" From The Moment We Arrived

When asked about his impression when everyone gathered together for the first time on the day of the concert, Itoken recalled that, as a support musician, "I was expecting the worst, but it was not like that at all; in fact, it was the best."

Itoken"Everyone came really practiced, and as soon as we got together, I felt like, 'It's all good!' I felt not only a sense of security, but also an added bonus of 'Wow, we can go this far.'"

Chiaki"Usually, with classical music performances, we perform a perfectly rehearsed piece on stage. So, I think the more experienced players felt uneasy at first. They had practiced on their own, but they didn't know, for example, how loud they should play when the whole ensemble played together. However, I received feedback like 'Surprisingly, it was fine when I tried it.' Part of the reason it went well was that we had this kind of players who could enjoy a situation like that."

Ryotaro"I was both excited and anxious because we had no idea how we would sound when we all played together. Percussion instruments tend to be particularly loud, so at first, I asked everyone to 'keep it a little low.' But everyone listened very well to others, and we were able to achieve a good balance of volume. When I first started playing an instrument, I got carried away easily and got scolded for playing too loudly, so I thought they were great (laughs)."

Itoken"The set-up (of playing in a circle) was also good. At first, we were going to build a normal stage and play facing the audience, but in the end, we decided on that shape and I'm glad we did. We could see everyone."

Chiaki"In a publicly solicited group, there tends to be people who disrupt the harmony, but there were no such people. There was no one who complained about the environment, saying 'I can't hear my own sound,' and no one who became grumpy. Maybe everyone was trying to support each other because no one had any idea about what was going to happen."

Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic Way Of "Having A Dialogue With Each Person"

Itoken, Chiaki, and Shuta sat in a triangle formation around the circle, with Ryotaro in the centre -- a formation that made it easy for each to take care of the other. Although the players had practiced on their own before the day of the event, without the experience of working together as a whole, the balance of volume would certainly be a concern. That is why listening carefully to the sounds of others and creating an ensemble together is a form of communication that is unique to music. One of the participating junior high school students commented that the experience of that day motivated him to practice his instrument.

Chiaki"Certainly, it's a great experience for middle and high school students who are learning an instrument. Whether it is a wind or string instrument, the only way to motivate them, usually, is to say they'll get better the more they practice. Even to enjoy playing, we say, you have to get good at it first. That's why this experience, even for just one day, can show them a different way to enjoy music."

Ryotaro"When it comes to an ensemble performance in a situation where we have never met before and where there are both professionals and beginners in terms of instrumental experience, I think there was an option to choose improvisation. But the fact that we performed the Ninth was very helpful. It would have been difficult to play if you were told to 'do whatever you want,' and we needed a map in order to play freely. It was important to prepare such a map."

Chiaki"When I first heard about it, I was like, 'Would it be possible?' If it were a piece that no one knew, we could say, 'That's the way it goes,' no matter how it turned out. But with the Ninth, which everyone knows, that would not be the case. Because everyone already had an image of it, I thought it would be difficult to accomplish it as an ensemble piece."

Itoken"Even in the preparation stage, when I looked at the practice videos that were sent to me, I saw that some people were playing in different keys. This would not match the other people's performance. But then Shuta said, 'No, let's go with this,' and changed the entire section to highlight that person. That was interesting."

Chiaki"It was interesting as a 'scene' as well. It sounded like it developed as an 'arrangement.' Shuta often says that when he performs with a large group like the Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic Orchestra, he is not looking at them as a group, but is talking to each one of them individually, and I do feel that he is. I felt that he was actually doing the same thing with this project as he usually does with his band members.

Loads of "Unexpectedness"

By daring to make performances that would normally be considered "mistakes" stand out, they are transformed into rich music. Such musical know-how must have been cultivated by Shuta and his supporting musicians through their past experiences. On the other hand, in this project, where people of truly diverse backgrounds participate, everyone is unanimous in saying that the established know-how of "this is what works for this kind of person" is not applicable. Shuta's way of "having a dialogue with each person" was exactly what was very important!

Itoken"After all, it is one-on-one. Each person's nature is completely different, so I felt it was important to absorb what kind of care and how much was needed in the preparation stage."

Chiaki"If we simply wanted everyone to play well, we should have prepared an easier music sheet, but some people wanted to challenge themselves. That's why we also wrote articulations in the music sheet that said, 'This is how we want you to play it.' Even if not everyone could do it, we let those who wanted to challenge themselves work on it. We didn't want people to think that we were doing something easy. And we couldn't have known what each person wanted to do unless we interviewed each and every one of them."

Itoken"After-party is definitely necessary. I only found out some things after talking to them personally at the after-party on the day of the event. There was a guitarist who was playing with a rather unusual set-up of controlling the tempo using a tablet device. I thought, if that were the case, it would have been easier to keep a constant rhythm. There were a lot of things that we didn't anticipate."

Chiaki"In that sense, I think we were able to accumulate a little know-how on what to interview in advance. At first, we only assumed the question of whether or not they could read music. On the topic of unexpectedness, I also didn't expect that the string section members would start drinking before the performance (laughs)."

Making Music That Has Never Been Heard Before

From the preparation stage, the three of them were very busy deciding on parts and preparing music sheet after looking at each participant's profile and video. They came up with many creative ideas, such as transcribing "Do Re Mi" in katakana(Japanese characters) and sending sound files of the actual notes to those who couldn't read music. Even so, there were still unexpected things in this project, such as physical characteristics and tendencies in thinking. It was necessary not only to provide easy-to-read scores, but also to prepare as much in advance through careful communication.

Ryotaro"I myself cannot read music, so I could not help in that area at all. That is why I was hoping to dig deeper into communication that was different from music sheet. But this project also made me realize how great music sheet is as well. I realized how much can be communicated with a single sheet of music. I think it was good that various communication methods could coexist."

Itoken"Chiaki has a strong understanding of music sheet, so I felt relieved to have her around. I was like, 'I'll take care of this, and you take care of that.' It was like a team in a company -- we were able to divide roles well."

Ryotaro"I was grateful to be assigned specific roles. It was like having a boss of the office（laughs)."

Chiaki"The preparation was tough, but I'm glad we did it. We had Slow Label join us to interview the participants about what kind of support they needed. After the rehearsal on the day of the event, I felt that what we had prepared was handed down well."

Itoken"This time everything went too well. If we keep going like this, I think we will stagnate or fail at some point (laughs)."

Ryotaro"Many of us don't usually have the chance to play with other people, so of course it is important to be able to just play in an ensemble and to have fun. But I also want to hear the music that comes out as a result. Personally, as a musician, I want to create music that has never been heard before, and I hope to be able to do that with this project. I just don't know how to do it yet. There may be some failures in that sense where I say, 'I have an idea, but I didn't get there.'"

Itoken"I'd rather aim high and fail, instead of failing without knowing why. I think it would be an interesting project if we had one big failure but have found something beyond that."

(Written by Kosuke Shimizu)