Tsuchi's "Taiko Strange Story" 20th | The key to growth is "awareness"

Dear readers of the JPC newsletter, the time has come for the familiar taiko stories.
It's already July this year.
However, as I write this, it's still May, so I'm typing away without really knowing what July will be like this year.
Once I receive a request for this manuscript, it usually takes two or three days at the earliest, or ten days at the latest, to finish it, but this time I was right on the deadline.
The reason is that I can't find anything to write about.
I'm neither a novelist nor an essayist.
I have aspirations of being a writer, but I don't think I'll ever become a writer.
Well, the short answer is that you don't have any talent lol

Even if you simply say, ``I have nothing to write about,'' in this world overflowing with information, there are plenty of things to write about. surely.
Isn't there a lot of fuss everywhere, whether you look to the right or to the left?
Every day when you turn on the TV, it's full of scandals and gossip.
It's already a big fuss.
For some reason, the May flies make me tired...
We get tired of being bombarded with negative news every day.
I'm sure all readers feel the same way.
I've worked every day, rainy and windy, and I'm already tired, but when I finally get home, I sit on the sofa in the living room with a can of beer in hand, and turn on the TV, only to find that there are only a few bright news stories that are depressing. However, I somehow left the TV on.
I think this is a lot of stress without us even realizing it.
In fact, I almost never turn on the TV when I'm alone at home.
Sometimes I watch movies on NETFLIX.
Come to think of it, I don't listen to much music these days...
Of course, I keep up with the latest good music, and I still have time to listen to great music from the past, but I think my life has become much quieter than it was a few years ago, when I was playing music all the time.
In the meantime, I'll read the book. Reread a favorite book you read a long time ago, or pick up an interesting book you found while taking a walk around the neighborhood.
It's a quiet, very pleasant time.
What happens outside feels like something from a completely different world. I'm not talking about another world...

In today's world of excess in everything, it may seem like we, who make music for a living, are just blowing in the wind, but in fact, that's not the case.In fact, I feel that the atmosphere of excess has become even more dense and weighs heavily on our narrow industry.
The development of technology has a profound impact on our lives and culture.
Analysis and research are important tasks for us musical instrument technicians, but if we focus on this too much, we can easily forget important things. What's important to us is the music itself. Of course.
I believe that what I gain from analysis and research is "rational work." Instantly bring out the desired sound. That's all. Everyone may worry about unknown issues given in the field, but there is no need to agonize over something that has already been solved.
The same can be said for any job. If you know something, just do it.
However, there are some people who just don't do it, and if you look at them objectively, you'll find something interesting.
I wonder if such people are thinking ``beyond the results''? That's what I think. It's easy to just grab the result right in front of you and just give it away, but is that result really a happy result for the music? Does it help players and the audience share a happy time together?
Actually, I think about this when I work.
When I look at the people around me, I can understand how it feels like they're looking at me like, ``Does this person really understand?''
But to me, it seems like, ``Hey, hey, wait a minute. Are you sure that's okay?''
Even if someone told me, ``Oh, you can leave it as is,'' I thought to myself (no, no, I can't leave it like this, I won't be able to hear the sound...), so I quickly put my hand in it, and went on to the actual performance as if nothing had happened.
Very few people notice this after the performance is over.
Many sound engineers notice this lol
Either you don't notice it or you just don't see it.
There is no way to know what you can't see. It's a really simple and clear logic.
What should we do to help people who cannot see see? It seems that it is not something that we, others, can do somehow.
I try to talk about things and try to make them see things, but it seems like most people agree that people who aren't aware of them can't see them.
It sounds like a big deal, but it's just a small thing. Even when it comes to running a single cable, there is a clear difference between those who have the ``awareness'' and those who do not.
What's the difference? Well, going back to what I said earlier, when a cable is run by someone who is not aware of it, it feels like the cable is "flying". A simple cable feels like a huge hindrance. If someone who is aware and understands the problem runs the cable, they won't even know there is a cable there. It's natural.

The stage where we work is actually filled with a lot of different things, and cables are strung out all over the place. The area visible to customers has been thoroughly cleaned, but when you step behind the scenes, it feels like a construction site.
What you see there is ``awareness.''
It makes me happy when I see work that may seem sloppy, but is actually very focused and has even been thought about in its own right.
There are many times when everyone gets excited and says things like, ``No, this is crazy. It's amazing!''
Things like that exist so subtly that it's hard to see them when you're being chased.
After all, there is no needless "self-assertion". There are no May flies. This is really important. I think the same can be said for drum tuning. It's a matter of whether it's harsh or pleasant.

This is a story about a certain time when I went to record, and I was a tiger for the job. Basically, a different person was supposed to go, but that person was unable to go due to other commitments, so I went in his place, acting as a "pinch hitter." In the industry, they are called "tora", short for extra. So, at the scene, I assembled a drum set, roughly tuned it, waited with the drummer for the artist to arrive, and when it was finally time to record, I was told about the sound making, ``Please make it a harsh sound.'' I see, that's how it came lol
I was secretly laughing, thinking that someone like me would say that to someone like me who hates harsh sounds, but I said, ``Okay,'' I returned to the booth, drum keys in hand, and took a breath.In short, I just had to do the exact opposite of what I liked, so I tuned up a sound that was so hard and hysterical that it made me laugh, and returned to the control room.
The phrases of the song played by the drummer were all difficult, and the tempo was fast and there were many developments, but the melody line was easy to understand, and the song resembled a modern anime song.
As I listened to the playback, I was convinced and thought, ``I see, this kind of sound would work well for this type of song.'' Both the engineer and the artist were very happy, and it was a great success, but I also had one ``realization'' there.
``There are always places where you need to be noisy.''
It is no good to deny it outright. Then, I find myself wondering about music that I didn't listen to and hated. My boom that has been secretly going on for the past couple of years has been ``listening to music I don't like.''
However, when I listened to it after I had "realized" it, I found that I didn't dislike it.
I started to think that heavy metal was cool, and I started listening to it.
(I laughed out loud when my senior pointed out that it was the heavy metal fashion of the 80s that I hated.)

There is a Native Indian saying that says, "Important things are said in a soft voice."
The indigenous grass flutes of Peru are played at very low volumes.
That's because the music is played ``for myself.''
Play the music you want to listen to. Therefore, the volume should be just loud enough for you to hear yourself.
It's kind of wonderful, isn't it?
Sitting alone on a rocky spot in the highlands of Peru, he picks some grass from around the area and puts it in his mouth to make music. Spectacular natural scenery is right in front of you.
The city can be seen in the distance. I'm sure if I went there, I would get exhausted from altitude sickness lol.

The condominium I currently live in in Tokyo is an old, dilapidated building that was built in 1969, the year I was born, but despite being in the middle of the city, it's very quiet, and it feels like time has stopped when I'm surrounded by old pillars and transoms that have turned a dark amber color.
When I sit here on the shabby sofa in the living room with the window open and the TV on or the music on, the environment already sounds musical. The sounds of the birds nesting on the telephone pole in front of my balcony, the sound of motorcycles, the voices of neighbors talking, and even though this is an old town, I occasionally pass by a newly renovated restaurant or a chindon restaurant. At times like that, I rush out and go see them...it seems like it's been a long time since I've been living a carefree life. That's not the case at all. I really didn't have any work from January to April this year, so I just worked part-time, lol.
That part-time job was also very interesting. Step into a world you don't know. This is extremely stimulating.
After all, you can leave in the morning and come back the same evening.
This was a real culture shock.
When I head home while there is still daylight, I start to feel sad. Moreover, the part-time job is paid daily. There's more than enough food in my pocket for an old man to drink on his own...When I get off at the station closest to my home, my feet naturally turn in the opposite direction from home, and before I know it, I'm sitting at the counter of a bar with a black hoppy carbonated bottle sitting right in front of me. Makoto is my favorite lol After all, having a drink after work is something special.

And it was still evening. There's plenty of time to sell.
When I'm on tour, it's already 11 o'clock at night by the time I finish work. In that case, resting for the next day is a priority rather than drinking. This year, when I was working part-time, I didn't have to think about that and had a lot of drinks on the way home from work, which was fun. The tavern was crowded with workers, but strangely there were no May flies. It's so comfortable.
I guess that's it after all. Heartfelt communication between real human beings never fails.
Those who cling to power and lie endlessly just for the sake of profit and self-protection can't be helped.
It might be their hands too. They make us think that they are disgusting, they make us ignore them, and they continue to do things behind the scenes...The time may soon come when they will no longer be able to write such trivial stories...
If I get arrested by public security, I'm sure Mr. Nishio will come to see me with fried noodles from the flower shop...right?

Well, thank you again for joining me in this silly story. I want this world to be as calm and easy-going as possible, and where debauchery is allowed, so every time I write about it, I vomit blood... no, I don't vomit blood at all. I'm sure it's just a hangover lol
I would like to end this Taiko Kidan by imagining what will happen to our neighbors who crossed the 38th parallel in May, now in July. I was 49 years old and I really wish we could get along better all over the world.

May your days be filled with health, peace, and love...