Songs

"20th Century's Gone"

This song was composed during the winter of 2000.
Not only did we have two World Wars, but many other wars during the 20th century.
A possible contributor to this might be that the music of the 20th century seems to be focused on expressing agony, anger, irritation and sorrow.
Not only music, but also art and literature during this time were the same way.
Now that the 20th century is gone, what will the 21st century bring to this world?

"For The Moon"

I was trying to come up with a Blues oriented tune.
I could hear all separate parts of this tune in my head, but I still could not hear it in its entirety.
To get my mind off of this, I went to the sento (public bath).
I usually go to the sento whenever I experience this kind of writer’s block.
On my way back home, I saw a beautiful full moon on the horizon and it looked very large because of its reflection.
Like the full moon on its reflection in the horizon, the main theme collided with separate parts in my head and I could finally hear the song in its entirety.

"Little Steps"

Imagine children joyously playing, screaming and running with their short legs.
In this song, I have made my dream of playing music with myself come true.
I intended for the pianist on the left to sound much older and more self-confident as opposed to the one on the right, which is much younger and more naive.

"A Star Above A Roof"

You have a flight at night and you are close to your destination.
You look down and you see a lot of city lights.
Each of these lights could represent a person’s life.
You might even be surprised at the fact that every one of those lights has their own unique lives and each one of them is special.

"Preludes"

Another term for prelude is introduction.
Because I like to improvise, I enjoy creating a different introduction every time.
This is why the titles are “A Prelude”, not “The Prelude.”

Polyrhythms

Polyrhythms are the simultaneous use of two conflicting rhythms.
Two separate numbers of beats pulsing regularly during a period of time.
The two most basic patterns of polyrhythms are 2:3(two against three) and 3:2(three against two).
The Following diagrams will help to demonstrate these polyrhythms.
Each beat is represented as a vertical line on the diagram.
Figure 1 shows 2:3 and Figure 2 shows 3:2.

I developed a basic 2:3 pattern to create the rhythmic foundation of “Vesper Over the Siberian Sky” which is shown in Figure 3.
The meter of this song is 9/8; meaning one measure has 9 beats.
The number 9, which is an odd number, cannot to be divided evenly.
However, these 9 beats have been cut in half (4.5) and both of these have 3 beats in them.

“Toward Sirius” is based on 3:2 and was made a little more complicated by a longer cycle of polyrhythms, which goes over two 4/4 measures.
Figure 4 shows this.

So you might be thinking why I’m explaining such a concept to you.
I am showing one of the most excellent compositional techniques in existence to you!
Through polyrhythmic music, we can experience a different kind of emotion than we can’t find in regular music.
Personally, I really enjoy experiencing these emotions.

From 1995 to 2000, I have been obsessed with polyrhythms.
“So Far So Long” “All The Flowers” and “Logan Airport Terminal B” are songs from “Take Zero” which are composed as polyrhythmic tunes.
“Jinchouge” “Leisure Pleasure Treasure” and some parts of “Requiem” from “Take One” have polyrhythms in their rhythmic structures.
“Vesper Over The Siberian Sky” and “Toward Sirius” were the last two pieces of my career as a polyrhythmic composer.

I have tried to improvise on the piano on these tunes in many gigs in Tokyo and I find it very difficult.
They demand a lot, including an extremely solid time feel, a high level of technique on an instrument, so on, and so forth.
On top of all this I have felt that most listeners are not interested in polyrhythms.
In conclusion, I have resigned as a composer of polyrhythmic pieces and gave up my dream of being an expert on polyrhythms.

Music

Music is a very mysterious thing.　
Music is so hard to comprehend that I am still puzzled by the fact that I can communicate with listeners by means of playing an instrument.
Music itself doesn’t have any meaning but communion occurs wherever there is music.
Because music is so mysterious, I think the easiest explanation is that a goddess of music is somewhere in this world and she is constantly watching and listening to all music in the world.
She seems to be whimsical, not having any strict rules, and changing her mood like a butterfly flying back and forth.
Sometimes she helps and sometimes she doesn’t.
I have experienced this for myself as well, sometimes she helps me and other times she doesn’t.
She most probably has rules when it comes to helping people, but I am unaware of what they are.

Ultimately, all I can expect is that there will be communion between you and me through your listening to this CD and also wishing the goddess’ mercy on me!

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