What I want to teach children through music

Minori is a singer-songwriter who runs a music school called "M's music" in Yokohama. She is active in a wide range of fields, including teaching special classes at kindergartens and elementary schools where she writes songs together with children, and creating theme songs for companies and organizations.
This time, we asked him about what inspired him to start his musical career, how he has progressed to the present, and what his future holds.

My first encounter with music was in my childhood

A live performance (Photo provided by Minori)

-Please tell us about your recent activities.
While performing live and on YouTube as a singer-songwriter, I also teach music classes in Yokohama. I also produce insert songs for TV shows, background music for musical plays and short films, and am involved in special classes where I help elementary school students in Yokohama write songs from scratch as part of a "school outreach program" that provides live music experiences.

-You're active in many areas. I'm interested in all of them, but what got you involved in music?
My first exposure to music was when I accompanied my older sister to her piano lessons. Apparently she had wanted to play the piano since she was two years old, so I started going to her when I was three. The piano teacher at that time was not a special education, but was always very kind to me, and taught me that "music is fun" through various approaches, not just piano. After that, I continued to take piano lessons at different piano schools in the third and sixth grades of elementary school. Although there were times when the lessons were not only fun but also difficult, I took lessons from a teacher who was a part-time instructor at a high school with a music department, which led me to go to a high school with a music department. I also went to a music university.

-How about continuing to play the piano for your whole life and perfecting something that interests you?
Of course, I loved it and continued to study it, but somewhere in my heart, I had doubts. In high school, I was surrounded by teachers and friends who were serious about music, and in an atmosphere where going to a music college was the norm, I felt like I couldn't escape this flow, and I felt pain and fear. Looking back, maybe the classical music field wasn't suited to me. As a teenager, I didn't understand the point of studying music from a different era, even if it was said to be a masterpiece.

Even after I entered the music college, the feeling of wanting to run away and quitting remained the same. Even when I asked my friends and seniors how they felt about practicing and playing, I still felt confused. I guess I wasn't mature. Of course, that feeling has now been resolved, and I have come to understand the importance of learning classical music.

--Even though you loved doing it and continued doing it, there were long and difficult times.
When you're young and not yet fully developed, there are times when you have to overcome hardships. I want to teach my children that "there is always a new view to see ahead." I believe that experience has led me to who I am today.

A hesitant journey searching for my true self

-After graduating from university, did you work in a music-related field?
At first, I was a eurhythmics instructor at a cultural school. I really enjoyed playing music with small children aged 0 to 3 years old. Instead of following a set song according to the score, I improvised freely based on my reactions on the spot. Playing the piano while singing seemed to suit me very well.

After that, I discovered gospel music and started a team to teach classes for adults while accompanying gospel singers on the piano. I didn't have sheet music, I copied the chords by ear and conveyed them only with the lyrics. If I felt like it, I would repeat one phrase. Music created on the spot is very free and you can do whatever you want, there's a world like this! It was a new discovery for me. I also liked old jazz, and joined a New Orleans jazz band.

The world outside of classical music has expanded, and although I think it's fun and suits me, I can't think "This is it!" Maybe it's my nature, but I can't help but wonder, "Why am I doing this?" I spent my early twenties going through many twists and turns, unable to find "music that moves my heart."

-Even though you were inspired by a variety of music, you still had doubts. What happened after that?
At the age of 25, I started a music school for children called "Music". At that time, I was also teaching eurhythmics, so I needed a large space and a grand piano. I searched for a place that was comfortable and had the right environment, and found a good place in Yokohama, so I moved there and started by handing out flyers for the school.

However, as the music school got on track and I had a little more free time, I started thinking about my future musical activities. I want to use my skills in activities! I want to provide something useful for the future! I started to think that.

-So you've set a new goal that is unique to you.
When I was 28, I went to the 60th birthday concert of Hirotaka Nakagawa, a singer-songwriter, picture book author, and one of the first men in Japan to obtain a nursery teacher's license. When I was a child, I loved Nakagawa's CDs that were at home and listened to them many times. His song "Niji" is famous.

I was really moved by Nakagawa-san's free style of playing at the concert. Expressing yourself without being boxed in. I was liberated from the fixed idea that "you have to do it like this", and my shoulders were relaxed and my attitude changed completely. I thought that I should take a step forward without overthinking it, and try to write a song from the depths of myself, and that I wanted to be involved with music as a tool to express my true self.

--That's a big change of mindset. Did it affect your activities?
Well, yes, there was quite a bit.

Another person I met after that was comedian and singer-songwriter Takemori Takumi of the comedy duo Up Down, who also gave me valuable insights. I had a planned live performance of my own piano pieces, and when I contacted him because I wanted to sing Takemori's song "Your Hometown," he came to see the performance. After hearing me sing, Takemori said to me, "All your experiences up until now have been the fuel for your singing," and "You should sing more." His words encouraged me to start writing lyrics and composing songs as a singer-songwriter.

The hesitation and discomfort I had felt while working on the music I loved for many years disappeared, and I finally felt that this was the style of expression I had been looking for!

I want them to grow strong through music

A music class at an elementary school (Image provided by Minori)

-I heard that you also hold special classes at elementary schools. What prompted you to do this?
When a hall called "Midori Art Park (Yokohama City Midori Community Cultural Center)" was built in Nagatsuta, they were looking for artists to join, so I applied and was accepted as a pianist. During my activities, I became friends with one of the staff members. After a while, that person was transferred to Kanazawa Ward, but he remembered me and asked me if I could give a class on songwriting at an elementary school.

We tend to think of music as something we receive, but it's actually something we can create ourselves. In fact, most of the elementary school students I met initially responded with questions like, "How do you make your own music?"

-Indeed, when we think of music, we tend to think of it as something to listen to, or something to learn and practice existing songs. What is a composition class like?

The class will be held three times, and the students will present the songs they have created (Image provided by: Minori)

It depends on the request, but we generally offer a total of three lessons.
In the first session, the group will discuss the type of song they want to make after getting a feel for how songs are made using popular songs as examples. In the second session, they will think of lyrics based on the words they came up with last time and try to put them on a melody. In the third session, they will practice the completed song together and present it. At the end, they will ask for feedback and then hold a mini live performance.

All the children are surprised and happy that they can make songs by themselves. I don't think many people have the idea of "making a song," but if they take a step forward, anyone can do it. I hope that my classes will be an experience that takes them into the unknown and lead to other things.

-This class is possible only because of your own experience.
I myself was in a state of uncertainty for a long time, and I think there are many people who are in the same state of uncertainty. I don't want the children who will shoulder the future to see adults who have given up and think, "That's all I can do." I want them to live strong and hopeful lives. That feeling is what connects me to all my current activities.

-Does the music school you run, "M's Music," have a curriculum that focuses on challenges?

A recital for the music school she runs, "Music" (Image provided by: Minori)

Our recitals allow students to perform in the style they prefer. Some students perform as piano soloists, as ensembles with siblings, family, or friends, or as bands with piano, keyboard, or singing accompanied by a professional bassist and drummer.

The children are also actively involved in the management of the event, and an executive committee has been formed with volunteers from third grade and above. They meet to decide on the theme and the song for everyone to sing together, and then assign roles. The stage banners, program covers, decorations, etc. are all handmade by the children. The executive committee will also be in charge of the MC, venue announcements, and stage lighting on the day.

Three years ago, we started planning a "children's band" as part of our recitals. Based on the concept of "just do it ourselves!", children in the fifth grade or above who want to do it form a band and perform without the guidance of a teacher, from song selection to instrument arrangement and stage composition. I was really moved when I saw the stage that the children I had been watching since they were toddlers had completed on their own.

And on March 31, 2024, they will finally go beyond the recital and hold their first live band performance. Eleven students who have experience playing in bands at recitals are planning, managing, and promoting everything themselves, through trial and error. They come up with fresh ideas that adults don't have, and they are often surprising us. You can watch for free from 3:00 p.m. at the live house and jazz bar "INTO THE BLUE" in Machida. Please come and see it.

--It's rare to see a live performance created by students!

"Music" presentation where you can perform with professional bassists and drummers (Image provided by: Minori)

In a typical recital, you perform within a given framework. Of course, you practice hard for that, but somewhere in your heart, you have the feeling that "someone will do something." Some children rely on others from the beginning, relying on adults to do something in the end, but I think they can become stronger if they can get rid of that mindset. It is a child's privilege to be able to fail, and I want them to try with the security of adults watching over them, and no matter what the result, I want them to use it as a good experience. As adults, we worry about leaving everything to the children, but we are also very excited to see what we can see as a result of entrusting important things to them without limiters. I want them to grow strong while enjoying the unknown world. I hope they will grow while making use of their strengths, weaknesses, and each individual's characteristics and abilities.

--It seems like it will be a good experience that will be useful even after you enter society.
We think for ourselves, discuss and create. I feel that this is a microcosm of what it means to live in society. I hope that we can continue this not only this time, but next year and the year after. It will be a good stimulus for the young children who see this live performance, and by making them feel like they want to try it, I think we can create a cycle of continuing this type of live performance in the future. There are difficult times in continuing to make music for a long time, and I don't think you can overcome them just by feeling happy. Still, the memories of the music that I enjoyed so much as a child supported me during the difficult times. I hope to nurture an attitude in children that allows them to grow up toward a bright future without lying to themselves or becoming apathetic.

- I'm excited about the future of our children. Please tell us about your own future plans.
In parallel with teaching music, I will also be actively working as a singer-songwriter. I would like to perform live in places I have not been to yet. I am looking forward to the day when I can have fun with people I have not met yet.

Minori
Singer-songwriter / Music school owner

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Born in Saitama Prefecture. Graduated from the Tokyo College of Music Piano Performer Course (special scholarship student). Won the F-class silver prize at the 2007 Young Artist Piano Competition. After graduating from university, she worked as a pianist while also opening a music school called "M's Music" in Yokohama. In 2018, she began performing live on the piano, singing her original songs. She also focuses on education, such as holding concerts at kindergartens and elementary schools, special classes on songwriting, live shows and workshops at commercial facilities, and content production. She provided an insert song for the NHK BS Premium program "The First Train Story." She is also the author of the children's piano textbook "I'm a Pianist." She also produces background music for musical plays and short films, and theme songs for companies and organizations.

Instagram, YouTube, etc. Official link site: here

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