"BLUE GIANT" Shinichi Ishizuka and Masaki Hayashi's jazz lectures starting with instruments - PIANO edition

When did you start?

I went to kindergarten, but I didn't enjoy it at all so I quit in the second grade of elementary school.

Wow, that was quick!

But when I was in fifth grade, I tried playing the music from my favorite Dragon Quest game and was like, "What is this?" and I was so happy. Even in middle school, everyone was happy when I played J-POP songs. I've always been bad at performing in front of people, but I realized that if I had an instrument, I wouldn't be nervous and I could express myself.

How did you get started in jazz?

When I was in my first year of high school, I heard Bill Evans' "Someday My Prince Will Come" and once again thought, "What is this?" I was amazed that a familiar melody could be transformed like this, and I wanted to try it myself.

That's the appeal of jazz, isn't it? So what is the appeal of the piano?

It can produce delicate harmonies and rhythmically play notes with a tsk-tsk-tsk rhythm. Its range is wide, spanning more than seven octaves, and it can play both melody and accompaniment on its own. However, it cannot match the persuasiveness of a trumpet or saxophone when singing a melody with a single note. I really admire that. But it's difficult to achieve that kind of persuasiveness on the piano.

What do you value most when playing jazz piano?

It's the tone. I'm conscious of producing the most beautiful sound that the instrument has at that time. In the case of jazz, from halls to clubs, I almost always use the instrument that's available at the venue that day. It's different from wind instruments, where you take your own instrument to the venue, and from classical piano, where you often play in a favorable environment.

What exactly will you do?

I consider the touch that suits the instrument while feeling the resonance of the sound in the room. This is just my opinion, but I feel that if I suddenly start playing forte, I won't be able to fully bring out the dynamic range (the range between the loudest and softest sounds) that the instrument should have. I try to keep a range in my dynamics, touch, and finger speed.

Finger speed?

The tone of the instrument changes not only depending on the volume of the sound, but also on the speed at which the sound is produced. My preference is "gentle but fast." Pressing the keys too quickly results in a loud sound, but I control this with my fingertips and the way I apply my weight.

By the way, Mr. Hayashi plays in a genre-less band.

The difficult thing about playing in a band is that each instrument has a different volume range. I want to play even a small pianissimo sound. But I don't think it's comfortable for a saxophone or trumpet to play a sound so small that it drowns out the other instruments. That's why I want everyone to be able to hear each other's sounds at all times while playing. The ideal situation is to be able to listen to each other's sounds and "communicate through sound."

The piano allows you to connect with a variety of sounds. By the way, do you ever get bored of it?

As long as I keep playing acoustic instruments, I'll never get bored. With an acoustic piano, when you press a key, the hammer hits the string, and the vibrations travel down the soundboard, vibrating the air, which then reaches your eardrum and becomes sound. I think there are unknown tones there that I haven't yet been able to bring out.

So, what would you say to someone who is having trouble with the piano?

Why not just play the songs you like? You can enjoy jazz piano without studying classical music, and you don't necessarily need sheet music. Jazz is an expression of sound that connects with your emotions. The most important thing is to love it.