Musical Instruments Clinics
On August 18th, the Yamaoka Memorial Foundation held a Musical Instrument Clinic at Shiga Prefectural Nagahama Kita High School and Nagahama Municipal Nishi Junior High School.
This project invites professional musicians from the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra and active soloists to serve as lecturers, teaching band students how to play instruments and express themselves, allowing them to learn how to create music with a wide range of musicality and rich expression.
This time, the students were divided into groups based on their instruments for lessons, and then they had the opportunity to learn performance techniques and expressiveness through a concert led by the instructor.
The lessons included instruction on the basics, such as how to hold the instrument and how to express emotion when playing. During the lessons, the students even used straws and balloons to learn how to breathe in a way that will produce a more beautiful tone.
It was impressive to see the students taking notes to absorb the teacher's advice on how to play, and how seriously they worked to improve their own skills.
The instructor's ensemble played a variety of pieces, from rhythmic pieces that everyone has heard at least once to grand, moving pieces.
In response to the survey, brass band students commented, "Through the lessons, I learned ways to improve and I'm now able to produce a clearer sound," and all of them said, "I learned a lot from participating in the clinic. Additionally, through the ensemble led by the instructor, some students were able to discover a new goal: "I want to be able to play beautiful, heart-warming music just like my teacher."
The event received an extremely positive response, with almost all of the band members who participated hoping to continue holding it next year and beyond.