I simply forgot to update. There are no work-related announcements. I managed to finish my tax filing in time.
Since I don’t have anything official to announce, I’ll just share some personal updates.
A piano came home
The piano was bought for me when I was around 12 years old, so it’s been with me for exactly 20 years now.
Maybe I was 13? Either way, it’s been about 20 years.
I feel a little hesitant to upload a photo here (I’ll probably want to delete it later),
so I’ll post it someday in the photo section of room333.
I’ve been living apart from this piano since 2017, and back then, I honestly felt like the day I’d be able to have my own piano in my own room was impossibly far away.
There’s a lot I’d like to write about, and to be honest, dismantling the soundproof room and moving the piano in and out was so emotional I couldn’t stop crying—
but I’ll leave the details out for now.
Just knowing the piano was coming made me restless, and I ended up buying a bunch of new gear.
Trying out that gear has been really fun, and though it’s debatable whether what I made were actual pieces or just sketches,
I played around and composed a few. I’ve added them to cocoon in the solo-project section.
I became a certified performer of kouta
I imagine there are plenty of people who studied piano at the master's level and went on to become composers,
but I doubt many have also become certified in kouta on top of that.
Practicing instruments is genuinely fun. And I’m truly happy to have received a name.
Some of you may be wondering, “What even is kouta?” To put it (very) simply, it’s a traditional art form involving shamisen and singing.
Please look it up if you’re curious. I enjoy it so much that I’ll probably write about it someday.
It’s mostly taught orally, which feels very fresh to me. Especially for the singing part, which can’t be notated—
you just have to memorize the pitch and tone by ear.
For someone like me who’s spent 30 years doing music with equal temperament, tonal systems, and five-line staffs,
this has been quite a challenge.
By the way, it’s funny how the 〽︎ symbol pops up when you type “utau” (sing) in Japanese, isn’t it?
What else…? March was honestly really busy, and I hardly had time to read,
though there are a lot of books I’ve been curious about.
I often found myself flipping through “Kurubushi” by Yasushi Machida.
I also want to play games, but I haven’t had the time at all.
I don’t want to keep postponing the things I want to do,
but it’s easier said than done.
I feel like I’ve been saying this since I was a student.
See you again next month.