大学生の頃、僕はよく「音楽は愛だ」と後輩たちに説教していた。
まあ何となく雰囲気で言っていた部分もあるのだが、一方でその言葉に含まれる真実には確信も持っていた。
日本の大学ビッグバンド・シーンには某有名楽器店主催のコンテストがあったりして、それは学生たちが腕を磨くモチベーションとしては良いのだが、競争心が過剰になる余り他所の学校から優秀なプレイヤーを引き抜いたり、僅かな技術の差がレギュラー／補欠という地位の違いとなって現れ、演奏出来る機会を多く持つ者とそうでない者が生まれたりと、音楽が本来もたらしてくれるはずの心の豊かさを奪う悲劇も起こったりした。きっとそれは今でも起こっているのだろう。僕自身もそういった特有のカルチャーに翻弄された経験があり、反発していた。だから自分がリーダーとなったとき、後輩たちには「コンテストで入賞するなんてことは音楽の本質とは微塵も関係がない」ということをきっと切実に伝えたかったのだ。
ただ当時は、それがどうして愛という言葉に繋がったのか自分でも判っていなかった。
今は判る。そして今改めて「音楽は愛だ」とつくづく感じている。
誤解のないように申し上げておきたいが、僕は決して、技術を軽視して「気持ち」で音楽が何とかなると思っている人たちには与しない。音楽を実際に創る行為には技術が不可欠で、それは身に付けなければならないものだ。情熱だけで家は建たない。釘を打つこともままならないようでは、不格好な小屋さえ建てることは叶わず、永遠に設計図（楽譜）を眺めるに留まるしかない。
そういう精神論ではなく、音楽とは根源的に愛の行為なのだ。
何故なら音楽とは、インスピレーションの泉から汲み上げた美や神秘や真実を慈しむ心から生まれるものだからだ。
何故なら音楽とは、そのような美や神秘や真実を、人々と分ち合いたいという衝動の産物だからだ。
何故なら音楽とは、そのような美や神秘や真実を形にするために、私心を滅し、尽くし、身を捧げる行為だからだ。
何故なら音楽とは、そのような美や神秘や真実に共鳴する仲間と手を取り合い、互いの創造性や表現に敬意を払いながら作品という我が子を育て上げていくプロセスだからだ。
何故なら音楽とは、そのような美や神秘や真実を、音という奇跡的な媒体を通じて伝え合い、感じ合い、響き合わせる、至上の官能的体験だからだ。
音楽は愛だ。
今年一年、愛を受け止め、愛を投げ返し、愛を広めてくれた全ての方々に感謝を込めて。
来る2012年、皆がより一層愛し合える世界でありますように。
12/31/2011
12/03/2011
Music is only a half of a musical experience
You listened to a piece of music and it touched your soul so deeply it changed your life. Now you are his devoted fan, and can't wait to share this artist's masterpiece with someone. One night a friend comes over to your house and you play one of the artist's CD in excitement of blowing his mind...
The result was not what you expected.
Not only was your friend not impressed and didn't care for it, but he went on to explain how and why he didn't like it, and then thanked you for wasting his time.
In disbelief you accuse your friend for being such an ignorant and unsophisticated person.
Are you kidding me!?
How can you NOT love this music?
How can you NOT get this beauty?
You have no depth, no taste, no sensibility!
A while after your friend stormed out, you begin to wonder.
Could it be me...?
Could it be that I was the one with bad taste?
Could it be that I was the one who was ignorant and unsophisticated?
All of a sudden, you feel your love for this artist and his music fading away...
...The above is kind of an extreme example, but similar stories are happening everywhere in the world. Everyday, someone's wonderful musical experience gets dismissed, dimished and destroyed by someone else's opinion. I have certainly experienced such unpleasant moments.
Dear music lovers, don't get discouraged. Your friend can dislike your favorite artist all he wants, but no one can ever touch your experience of being exposed to the artist's music. It is yours and yours only, and no one could ever experience the same thing.
There is no such thing as universally great music that moves anyone, anytime, anywhere. Why? Because experiencing fine music cannot be determined by the music alone, just like experiencing fine dining cannot be determined by the food alone.
Even if the dish is prepared with the world's best ingredients, skills and presentation, it's still only about a half of the factors that decide the whole experience of having a great dinner. The other half is called circumstances. Is the atmosphere good? Is the server courteous and informative? Are you with someone you love? What stage of life are you in? Are you happy? Are people at the other tables nice? Is it reasonably priced? ...all these things can have great impact on your evening, good or bad.
So you see, your friend did not have the same experience as you'd had, when he listened to your favorite music. He couldn't have. Music was the same, but the circumstances were different. Different place, different time, different stereo, different volume, different company, different age, different state of mind, different person... what can you do?
Musicians need to be humble. We strive for excellence, we put a tremendous amount of effort and time into our "dishes," but we cannot control our listeners' musical experience after all. All we can control is our music. Everything else is circumstantial.
The result was not what you expected.
Not only was your friend not impressed and didn't care for it, but he went on to explain how and why he didn't like it, and then thanked you for wasting his time.
In disbelief you accuse your friend for being such an ignorant and unsophisticated person.
Are you kidding me!?
How can you NOT love this music?
How can you NOT get this beauty?
You have no depth, no taste, no sensibility!
A while after your friend stormed out, you begin to wonder.
Could it be me...?
Could it be that I was the one with bad taste?
Could it be that I was the one who was ignorant and unsophisticated?
All of a sudden, you feel your love for this artist and his music fading away...
...The above is kind of an extreme example, but similar stories are happening everywhere in the world. Everyday, someone's wonderful musical experience gets dismissed, dimished and destroyed by someone else's opinion. I have certainly experienced such unpleasant moments.
Dear music lovers, don't get discouraged. Your friend can dislike your favorite artist all he wants, but no one can ever touch your experience of being exposed to the artist's music. It is yours and yours only, and no one could ever experience the same thing.
There is no such thing as universally great music that moves anyone, anytime, anywhere. Why? Because experiencing fine music cannot be determined by the music alone, just like experiencing fine dining cannot be determined by the food alone.
Even if the dish is prepared with the world's best ingredients, skills and presentation, it's still only about a half of the factors that decide the whole experience of having a great dinner. The other half is called circumstances. Is the atmosphere good? Is the server courteous and informative? Are you with someone you love? What stage of life are you in? Are you happy? Are people at the other tables nice? Is it reasonably priced? ...all these things can have great impact on your evening, good or bad.
So you see, your friend did not have the same experience as you'd had, when he listened to your favorite music. He couldn't have. Music was the same, but the circumstances were different. Different place, different time, different stereo, different volume, different company, different age, different state of mind, different person... what can you do?
Musicians need to be humble. We strive for excellence, we put a tremendous amount of effort and time into our "dishes," but we cannot control our listeners' musical experience after all. All we can control is our music. Everything else is circumstantial.
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