つっちーの「太鼓奇談」第一回｜ドラムテックって？

Hello everyone reading the JPC newsletter. My name is Yoshinori Tsuchida and I would like to interrupt you for a moment.
You're probably wondering who it is when it suddenly appears.
No, I'm not really worthy of mentioning my name...
I work as a ``drum technician'' for a living, and I have been with Drum City in Asakusa for about 33 years, ever since I was 11 years old, so I was able to write this article. I feel very honored.

Drum technicians are commonly known as drum techs, but I have no idea what kind of work they do! I think there are some people who say that.
On this page, from the perspective of a drum tech,
How to get along with musical instruments, behind-the-scenes stories at concerts and recordings, and stories from around the world.
I'll write about everything from very serious things like delicious restaurants to stupid things that will kill you, so please don't take my word for it.

Now, what exactly is a drum tech? A story that says.
If there's a drum tech, there's also a guitar tech, a keyboard tech, etc., and they are collectively referred to as "roadies" or "instrument techs." At concerts, people who tune their guitars in the corner of their sleeves, or stick up behind the drummer and do various things, yeah, that's it.

We tune and adjust the instruments used by musicians and always deliver them to the players in the best condition. Sometimes there are strong people who try to modify or make it from scratch.
Among them, for some reason, drum techs receive a little special treatment. Why?
This is because most drums and percussion instruments seem mysterious because they do not fit into the theory that they are tuned to a fixed pitch.
Of course, there are instruments such as the timpani that have fixed pitches, and there are also percussion instruments such as the marimba and vibraphone. However, it is not often heard in the world of pop and rock that a snare drum is tuned in C# or a tom-tom is tuned in thirds.
Personally, the first instrument I learned was the timpani, so I played the timpani to the specified pitch.
I had no qualms about tuning instruments, but I didn't want to do it in rock or pop music.
If you do that, you'll feel like you're missing out on some very important sound.

It is a classical music that uses various movement structures and various instruments at various tempos.
The percussion instruments sometimes play rippling snare rolls and thunderous sounds.
The timpani, the glockenspiel and its sounds like the footsteps of a fairy are connected to the events of the world.
I'll go.
There seems to be a demand for the balanced, plain sound that is inherent to musical instruments.
I think so. It's just my imagination.

On the other hand, one of the best parts of pop music is "noise."
Regardless of the size of the sound, this "noise" is electrically amplified and distorted in an electric guitar.
It becomes a synthesized sound of a synthesizer, and it shakes people's feelings as a communication different from classical music.
The most important part of our work is this "noise" that humans have discovered.
It all comes down to how you understand tar. It's getting difficult to talk about something lol
This is also a place called the historic JPC newsletter.ShaftIs it the magical power?
Okay, let's go all the way anyway lol

First of all, what is the background behind the birth of percussion instruments?
The history of percussion began from the moment humans recognized the sounds produced by banging objects together as a musical language. At the beginning of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, ``2001: A Space Odyssey,'' there is a scene in which an ape uses animal bones lying in a field as a weapon to subdue his friends.
What is impressive about this is that stimulation from the "blow" opens up new areas in the ape's brain. With a bone that appears to be an animal's femur, I continue to scream and pound while feeling the power of it slamming into other bones on the ground, shattering them into pieces.
To put it in an extreme sense, you could say that it was the beginning of language, music, religion, and even war. It cannot be denied that culture and war are two sides of the same coin. Although it is sad.
Now, for those of you who have read this far, you are probably thinking, ``What on earth is this guy trying to say?'' Well, it's completely understandable.

In short, both classical music and rock are musics that were born from the same species, and we percussionists are a group of friends who continue to inherit and develop humanity's oldest form of expression.
So, the real purpose of this column is to encourage people to overcome genre barriers, break through, go play in each other's fields, and have fun together.

Breath-taking, delicate control is present not only in classical music, but also in jazz and rock, and even though we don't know each other, the expressions are so similar that we feel a sense of familiarity.
I was fortunate to grow up in an environment filled with music.
One minute Beethoven's ``Pastoral'' was playing, and the next moment Ray Charles' cheerful ``Mess Around'' came out. The only value that was thoroughly instilled in me was, ``Music is so much fun!'' As a child like that grew up, he absorbed all kinds of music, and now, at the age of 44, he is here writing Yota stories. I don't know what's going on in my life.
What all these types of music have in common is that
All the instruments sounded ``very good''.
Of course it goes without saying, but why is the Beatles' snare so cool, why is YMO's kick so tight, and why does the sound of a civilian orchestra that I heard in Cologne Cathedral in Germany feel like it transcends time and space and is alive in the present?
Why does every cell in my body feel numb when I listen to St. Matthew's Passion? It's very similar to when I heard Jimi Hendrix.
The exotic sounds of John Coltrane, Erik Satie, Miles Davis, Luigi Russolo, Martin Denny, Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, Kraftwerk's techno pop...
The music is dizzying and I want to express that vibration myself. With that in mind, we found ourselves holding two sticks.
I'll say it again.
Great music requires great sound.
No matter how good an instrument is, if it's not well tuned, it's useless. There are no limits to how percussion instruments can be tuned, especially acoustic instruments. I believe that by handling musical instruments correctly and carefully, and by carefully and strictly tuning them, we can bring out the best in music.

So, what are the criteria for tuning to a good sound? I am often asked this. That's...
I feel that the best sound is the one that best suits you, the person you are playing today.
Of course, it's all about music.
The word ``tuning'' does not only refer to the instrument, but also includes the performer himself and the connection between the performer and the instrument, and it is very important to be in sync.
As you sit down at the drum set and slowly play the beat, you and the instrument gradually become one, and your body begins to feel like it's floating. Simply put,
“Ah, it’s nice, it feels like this!”
That's what I'm saying. You can get the same feeling by playing a bolero with a snare drum.
It should be.
Tuning is to create that feeling properly and consciously, and you can make it your own.
A drum tech is someone who works for performers and instruments who are not musicians.
When I play an instrument alone in an empty studio or classroom, I concentrate all my attention on myself.
When you are feeling the sound emitted by the minutes with your whole body, if you feel that something is slightly different, pursue that.
Is it the angle of the cymbals, the tension of the drums, the height of the chair, the clothes you're wearing, the shoes? There are various elements. Please seriously pursue these things and build your own world. I think that's what tuning is all about.
It's a good tuning for a good ensemble.
A British drummer says that a good drum tech is like a skilled tailor.
There was. (This is a very British analogy.)
I think it's very spot on.
He throws away all his ego and just dedicates himself to the music.
This is a common feeling among us musical instrument technicians.
Now, the conversation has finally reached its climax.
Fortunately, I've come to see the limit on the number of characters, so
Assuming that you are also asked to do the next issue, let's give a preview of the next issue.
I think the chances of it being canceled will be much lower.

Next time,
“What are the tools of a professional drum tech?”
"This summer, the inside story of the scene"
"Memory failure story"
I am thinking of writing one of these three books. (It could be a completely different story)

Since this is my first time, I have written as much as I like to introduce myself.
I'll probably write whatever I want next time.
After all, that's the kind of order lol
If you see me in Drum City, on any street corner, in the studio or at a live venue, feel free to drop by.
Please give me a shout.
Women who play percussion instruments are especially welcome.
See you soon!

Love and Peace!!!