Axon Board Member Volunteers for Tasing Weeks After LAPD Tased Unarmed Black Man Who Died Hours Later
When Silicon Valley investor and Axon board member Hadi Partovi strutted onstage to address a packed crowd at this week’s TASERCON event, he did it to put to rest a nagging critique often levied at the policing tech company’s top executives. If the so-called “non-lethal” electric-shock weapons, Axon’s patented Tasers,…
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When I got to the theatre before the recital began, I prepared my greetings to all the people whom I had met the week prior: students, Shachu people, concert helpers. It was a beautiful thing having the support of the others present, since we were all in this together. When I got backstage, I immediately started getting dressed. A few of the older Shachu men were impressed that I could dress myself, and every so often I would catch them glancing over to make sure I wasn't screwing something up. The only fix was centering the obi knot in the back, but otherwise, it was an A+ job. Chizuko and Eri, thanks for teaching me well!
I sat in the audience for most of the performances in the first half. Everyone did a fine job, although you could definitely point out the nerves in some people. Watching them, put my mind at ease, at least a little bit.
When it was my turn to head back, I took off my glasses (for the first time ever in a performance!) and circled up with the Shachu members performing with me. Suzuki-sensei chose some incredibly talented players for me, and all that was running through my head was that I couldn't screw up the same parts as during the rehearsal: the tama (solo) sections from Shichome, the fourth piece in the suite.
I was blessed to claim about half of the audience for myself: Gaba instructors and clients, as well as friends from Japan and Hawaii. I wanted to make them proud, but what made this performance different was that I was focused on making myself and my sensei proud of my hard work. As I knelt down in seiza for my fifteen-minute performance, I mentally prepared myself for the moment, and when my bachi finally hit the drum for uchikomi (the introduction solo), the sound echoed throughout the hall...
I don't want to overanalyze my performance, but there are a few things need to be prefaced. The performance was fantastic by audience standards. I was exactly on beat with Suzuki-sensei for the entire time, and the audience most likely couldn't tell what happened midway through. In Hawaii, I performed so much that I learned two important things about messing up: keep recovery time low and fake it well. Naturally, the tama sections did not go as planned, and while I did keep my recovery time low and faked it very well, I ended up improvising instead of playing the real parts. Rather than let Suzuki-sensei call out the kuchishouga for me on stage (like he did when others blanked out), I made the selfish decision to pretend like I knew what I was doing. So from the on-stage perspective, I feel like I disrespected his teachings and kicked my own hard work out the door. I apologized to Suzuki-sensei and the other members backstage when we thanked each other, and all Suzuki-sensei said was 「それから勉強して下さい」. Gulp.
Despite the mishap, it felt good to be on stage again surrounded by incredibly talented musicians. I haven't felt that "together" with others on stage very many times, and I am proud of myself for being able to do that. However, this experience begs the question: Who is a performance for? Is it for myself, my teacher or the audience? I still haven't found a clear answer to this question, but I'm sure as is the case for most open-ended questions, it depends on the situation. Or maybe a performance is for all three... if that's the case, then it makes sense why I am such a perfectionist when it comes to music.
If anyone has some enlightenment, please feel free to share. Otherwise, thanks to everyone who came to show support. It meant a lot to see each and every one of you there.
Thus far, I have had two lessons with Suzuki-sensei. We have been focusing on the taiko (shime) part to the kihon-kyoku, or basic suite, of matsuri-bayashi. While I did substantial work on the piece in Hawaii, I have had to break bad habits in the past month during my practices. Conveniently, my commuter pass extends all the way to Asakusa, so I have managed to rent studio space at Miyamoto for merely 420円 per hour, twice a week! Next month, I'm upping it to three times a week so that I can have some time to practice chu-daiko as well for Yuu-sensei's lessons.
Taiko here has been a very different beast. I have seen many performances so far, and there seems to be a huge emphasis on nuance and perfection. I had the pleasure of attending Oedo Sukeroku Daiko's 発表会 happyokai, or end-of-the-year recital last month. Their students performed pieces that I got to play with KETE, but the level of musical interpretation here was impressive. Such a treat!
This attention to detail has been mirrored in my lessons. Thankfully, I get to record my Edo-Bayashi lessons with Suzuki-sensei for review. On my first lesson, not only was I introduced to traditional etiquette, but I finally began to realize what kind of musician I am striving to become. I knew that I found the right teacher, and I have Kenny-sensei to thank for this. Between many "lost in translation" moments, and disrespectful involuntary use of うん instead of はい , my first meeting was a demonstration of the skills I had acquired in Hawaii and an assessment for what I would do next. He told me I was ready to begin "Level 2" of the kihon-kyoku for the following lesson. I quickly learned Edo-Bayashi is a deceptive mix of similarity and difference that I will have to internalize before I can master it.
My lessons with Yuu-sensei have taken me on a very separate journey. My first two-hours with him were focused entirely on correcting my form on the chu-daiko. As I already know, even the slightest change in one's kata can be a very painful process, but ultimately, I will become a better player for it. The group lessons have been incredibly mentally stimulating. From duple-meter to complex phrases, the material covered is presented in the way of REPETITION, something that I had lost touch with in Hawaii. My focus had been on absorbing and learning as much as possible in a short period of time, which was all very important to my development as a musician; but now, I am taking a step back to hone in on perfection.
I'd like to conclude this first chapter with an announcement. I was asked to participate in the 2014 恭の会 (Suzuki-sensei's school) 発表会 on Friday, June 29. The price is pretty steep to pay for the theater space and other expenses, but it's an opportunity that I cannot pass up. Sensei says I would be ready to perform what I am working on at present, which is a great honor to hear. Anyone who is in the Tokyo area is welcome to attend, and the concert is free of charge. More details coming soon, but I would love the support of any and all who can make it!
