From percussion rooms around the world vol.27｜Switzerland, Bern, Zurich Chiharu Takei

``We're turning an air raid shelter into a marimba room.'' When I say that, most people shake their heads.
yes! Every Swiss home has an air raid shelter in its basement, which Swiss residents today use as storage space. That's why I use the air raid shelter as my percussion room.

Few people come, and the noise problem has been solved. Best of all, it's your own air-raid shelter studio, which is spacious, has four lights, and allows you to record at home. If a bomb were to fall, my marimba would definitely be safe. Yes, it's an air raid shelter.
This is my castle『World percussion rooms』It is. The downside is that I can't use my smartphone due to lack of Wi-Fi, but I like it because it allows me to concentrate and practice.

Gruessech! Hello. This is Chiharu Takei from marimba.

After studying under Keiko Abe for a long time at Toho Gakuen University, she studied for two years at the Zurich Graduate School of Art, and is currently based in Switzerland, having moved to a rural area in canton Bern.
When I studied abroad in Zurich, I lived in the city (although I was able to go to as many wonderful concerts as I wanted every day!) I woke up to the sound of the tram and couldn't really feel nature.
On the other hand, the place where I live now is very rich in nature. Every day is a concert of birds in the clear air. A stream so clear that you can see the bottom flows smoothly, a gentle breeze that feels like a fawn passing by sways the flowers, and a warm spring breeze envelopes me. When I looked towards where the wind was heading, I saw the majestic white Alps. My heart is so captured by these beautiful mountains that I think there are magnets in the mountains.

Then the smell of hay wafts on the wind, and the sound of cowbells and the bells of a small church in the next village can be heard in the distance. At dusk, the pink Alps mark the end of the day.
This is the comprehensive art of nature. I'm fine just the way I am. When I think of this, the tension in my shoulders suddenly relaxes and a smile naturally spills over my face. I feel like I've become more free since I came here.

However, leaving the people who helped me during my study abroad days and starting my music life in a new place was a series of difficulties. My favorite marimba tooJapanIt was airlifted from.JapanHowever, it is difficult to get a marimba solo job in a place where you have no connections, or even quite difficult. Even if someone who doesn't know me at all looks at my career and thinks I'm glamorous because I've won four awards at international competitions.
At first, we were desperately trying to figure out what to do, and even performed on the streets of Bern.

I had created an accompaniment sound source on a marimba in advance, and I carried a 3.3 oct xylophone (Adams, which I bought at a bargain price on a site like Swiss Yahoo Auctions) on the train. As I continued to send out flyers, business cards, CDs, etc., more and more people approached me, which led to work and opportunities to perform at parties and events on my own. He also sends emails to nearby churches, invites close friends he has met through walks, etc., to concerts, and from there he begins to secure more concerts.

Through such steady efforts, I have managed to establish myself as a solo marimba player. It took a lot of courage at first to perform on the street (after all, I was accosted by plainclothes police the moment I assembled the music stand), but when I think of the hardships I went through while studying abroad, it's no wonder. In fact, if I don't try harder, I feel sorry for my past self, and that is also my driving force. When I was a student, I didn't have the funds to participate in international competitions, so the Zurich University of the Arts sponsored me. Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, my thinking was becoming more and more limited, and my professor, who was worried about me, asked me to go somewhere to refresh my mind after the lesson. He was kind enough to secretly give me the money, and I followed his advice and went up the mountain. I will never forget the view I saw at the top. Someday, I hope to be able to return the kindness I received during my student days to the next generation.

He continues to communicate with the people who have helped him since those difficult times in Zurich, and not only is he active in the Marimba Duo in Zurich as well as in Bern, but he also goes to cafes and sometimes mansions to hold home concerts. Of course, I would like to perform solo at the place where I performed as a duo! I also don't miss talking about it.

Marimba player in Switzerland. It sounds good, but in reality, there is a lot of effort involved in overcoming difficult situations on your own, which goes beyond just playing. Ultimately, as long as you work hard at playing, you can do anything. Try as many things as you can that you can write about in your career. If you accumulate those treasured experiences and do your best and give a good performance, there will definitely be people watching. Invisible efforts other than playing may also be important. I also believe that sometimes painful experiences will definitely make you stronger.

In this way, I steadily built up my career and recently became a Yamaha Music Europe artist. I am deeply indebted to the support I received as a Yamaha Scholarship student when I was studying abroad at Zurich University of the Arts. From now on, I am very happy to be able to fulfill my dream of ``I want to convey the charm of the marimba to as many people as possible and share the excitement of music'' with Yamaha, and I would like to repay your kindness in some small way.

Chiharu Takei - Yamaha - Other European Countries
Get to know Yamaha Artist and Percussion Player Chiharu Takei
 

Chiharu Takei Uses Yamaha Marimba | YM-5100A Overview
It has a 5-octave range, and its diverse tones and clear resonance allow you to play a variety of songs regardless of genre. Unique height adjustment and easy assembly support musicians.
 

Also, in Europe, there is a percussion association called Marimba Festiva, and as a member of that organization, I sometimes give concerts there. In the future, it looks like I will be involved in more Keiko Abe international competitions and events.

I am someone who is learning languages ​​without attending any language school, so naturally I encountered some language barriers at first.
First of all, the local language is Swiss German, but even though Swiss German is simply called Swiss German, it is divided into many different languages, such as Zurich German, Bernese German, and Emmentaler German within Bernese German.
When I don't understand, I clearly tell the other person, "Please use High German (standard language)," before starting the conversation, but when I'm a beginner, I don't even understand that standard language! Even if I went out of my way to ask them to speak in standard Japanese a second time, I still couldn't understand what they were saying... That was really painful at first. I'm the type of person who can be easily talked to, but when I asked an elementary school-age child to speak to me in standard Japanese and I couldn't understand him even after I asked him three times, the conversation ended in silence. .... Speaking of the atmosphere at that time. That happens all the time. But everyone who has learned a language must have overcome that experience.
I learned one thing while studying. Learning is something you do with your heart. I realized that studying is the process of creating a ``self'' that will be with you for the rest of your life. The same goes for marimba, but when I was a student, I failed many auditions and had countless painful and frustrating experiences on stage and during practice. Because that's who I am, I don't want to feel like that anymore. It's okay to fail. I will take on any hardships. I can do my best with a spirit of congratulations. As a result, it develops the mind, and that process is what leads to nurturing people and creating themselves.
Marimba brought me to Switzerland, but everything else is connected, not just music.
Effort means training your mind and living a fulfilling life. Music, acoustics, and sounds are difficult. There are various types of music, but I would like to be a person who continues to have a strong will to not only sing marimba music, but also to grow my heart single-mindedly. And art has the power to heal people's hearts. I believe in that power and want to be the person who generates the energy to live a rich tomorrow even in a foreign country like Switzerland.

Now, I think that many of you reading this are people who play percussion instruments for a living, or are elementary, junior high, and high school students who play percussion instruments. Finally, I would like to talk about the way of thinking about practice that I have acquired through exposure to European music since coming to Switzerland.
High artistry of classical music. A pinging sound that seems to reach the sky, a swirl of energy, and a strong attention to detail that makes you feel like every pixel is beautiful when you zoom in on a photo. A sound that transcends history, vibrates the air and is transmitted to the listener. Now that I live in Europe, I feel very fortunate to be able to experience many performances that are difficult to describe. (I sometimes perform with him.) His beautiful melodies, which will be passed down for hundreds of years to come, have provided me with many inspirations for myself.
Listening to good performances. I think this is more important than anything else. Then, whether it's a lesson or something else, I try to put together the knowledge I've gained by myself. While listening with your heart, get into the habit of always asking yourself, even vaguely, ``What do I think and what do I think?'' I believe that it is important not only to be moved, but also to question the smallest things.

I think that if you put aside your desire to become better and actively stop and think about why you think the way you do, you will gradually be able to get to the bottom of things. I believe that if you develop the habit of thinking like this, your path to improvement will be faster.

Well, this is long, but thank you for reading to the end.
I thought about writing about the glorious days when I won many international competitions in Europe, and the concerts I held when I toured Europe, but I decided to write honestly about how I started my first steps in Europe as a young marimba player at the end of my student days, despite some difficult feelings. I decided to do music with such determination that I was willing to die, so it's only natural that something like this should happen. Rather than that, I want to perform in a way that can liberate the hearts of as many people as possible.
Yeah. There are so many things I want to do. I want to start playing Basel Taiko, and I'm also interested in yodeling. If I had the opportunity to be a judge for a marimba competition, I would definitely like to do that. I had decided to quit Facebook etc. until I was able to speak German, but I'm thinking of restarting them soon, and from now on I'd like to be more active on You Tube and social media. Please feel free to say (comment?) if you see it.

I still remember like it was yesterday that when I was a junior high school student, I grabbed my pocket money and went to JPC in Asakusa to buy my first mallet in my green school uniform. It was my first time seeing so many mallets, and I had to worry about choosing just one pair for an hour. I still cherish that mallet. Mr. Yamada for giving me the opportunity to contribute this time. thank you very much.

Seniors, please take me out for drinks when you return home.
Elementary, junior high and high school students, let's play together someday!

I hope everyone is doing well.
thank you very much.

2024.5.23 in Bern
Chiharu Takei

Chiharu TAKEI Profile

Born in Tokyo in 1994
Graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Arts, Toho Gakuen University, Faculty of Music, and Graduate School of the same university.
Studied at Zurich University of the Arts Graduate School.
In 2014, won 1st place in Poland (under 20 years old) at the 23rd Drumfest International Marimba Competition.
2019 “1st International Percussion Competition” Conversano Italy 2nd place
1st place in the 2019 Swiss Percussion Competition.
In 2019, won 1st place at the 17th Italian International Percussion Competition, Pescara Italia (25 years and over).
(All of the above are in the marimba category)

Studied marimba and percussion instruments with Keiko Abe, Raphael Christen, Klaus Schwärzler, Benjamin Forster, Julia Matsumura, Rika Fujii, Tomoko Nakamura, (the late) Yoshiyuki Tsukada, and Sawako Yasue.

2017 Segi Arts Foundation Scholarship Student
2018 Yamaha Music Scholarship Support Scholarship Recipients
2024 Yamaha Music Europe Artist