Title:
The first theory of silent street live music without bothering others:
Three practices - non-noisy, non-occupying, being acknowledged - make a flow field of musical improvisation.
Abstract:
Silent street live music without bothering others is generally defined as a street musical performance played in a local space with a radius of about 10 meters - in silence, excluding the use of headphones or similar devices and without bothering others - through which both the performer(s) and audience members listen to a performance.
I, the author, have been putting on such a performance, playing by myself on the street while using a mobile digital piano and wireless headphones. I have experimented with this form of music in different locations mainly within Kyoto City, Japan, many times over two and a half years. In order to make it easier to perform in public spaces without permission, I have established three practices - non-noisy, non-occupying, being acknowledged (these terms will be explained later in Section 5).
In this paper, the music performed is not in question; the music performed is held back within the internal field (to be mentioned later in Section 4.3). Rather, I focus on the concept that the performance of musical improvisation makes a flow field, or a field of musical performance with flow date, flow location and flow audience (these terms will be defined later in Section 4.1.2).
I am going to describe how the performance, helped by these three practices, makes a flow field - citing reports of my performances, including video clips. Flow field includes flow audience, which is detailed in the climax of the description of this paper (in Section 12). Finally, flow audience is generalized as mediator between the internal field and the external field.
Contents:
1 Introduction
2 The performer and his motive
3 The definition of silent street music
4 Field
4.1 Fixed field and flow field
4.2 The internal field and the external field
4.3 The music performed is held back
4.4 To make a flow field
4.5 To keep the flow field
5 Three practices
5.1 Practice 1: non-noisy
5.2 Practice 2: non-occupying
5.3 Practice 3: being acknowledged
5.4 Changing practices
6 Outline of the description
7 The process of implementing the three practices
7.1 Preparation and equipment
8 Establishing Practice 1 - non-noisy
8.1 The first performance - welcomed by street artists
8.2 Subway Performers
8.3 Coexisting with Dancers
8.4 In an open door shop
9 Establishing Practice 2 - non-occupying
9.1 Performing legally on public roadsides
9.2 The first outdoor and mobile silent street music
9.3 At Hyakumanben
9.4 The issue of the reconstruction of Kyoto Kaikan
9.5 Non-occupying of humans
10 Musical improvisation and flow field
10.1 Improvising to cope with changing circumstances
10.2 The JASMIM roundtable on silent street music
10.3 Making a flow field
10.4 Changing the field itself
11 What to log?
11.1 Records of people's reactions
11.2 Recording a DVD
11.3 Recording a document
11.4 Breathing out and in, and breathing in and out
11.5 I end reporting about being listened to
12 Establishing Practice 3 - being acknowledged
12.1 Re the roundtable
12.2 Audience becomes performer
12.3 Greetings as a radical action
12.4 No [You are noisy], but [It's an air piano (laughs)]
12.5 A street art performance without permission
12.6 People not listening acting as mediator
12.7 The mediator and the flow field
12.8 Re flow field
13 Changing practices
13.1 Jazz mobile stand (with real sound)
13.2 Playing the piano in silence at an art festival
14 Conclusion
Article:
1 Introduction
Silent street live music without bothering others, hereafter referred to as silent street music (to be defined later in Section 3), which I, the author, have been putting on, is a street musical performance played by myself while using a mobile digital piano - in silence, excluding the use of wireless headphones and without bothering others - through which both the performer and audience members listen to a performance. I have experimented with this form of music in different locations mainly within Kyoto City, Japan, many times over two and a half years. A sign reading "Silent street music without bothering others - Please listen through wireless headphones" is placed on the piano (reference Toshimori 2009.06.12 Shijo Ohashi). Three sets of wireless headphones are available. The range of the radio waves covers about 10 meters.
I performed in June 2009 for the first time (reference Toshimori 2009.06.12 Shijo Ohashi). After 18 performances in less than 18 months, I began to perform more frequently from October 2010, doing 147 shows in underground spaces with permission and 95 shows in outdoor spaces without permission, resulting in a total of 242 performances over two and a half years from inception until November 2011 (shows in several locations in one day are counted as one performance). The largest audience was while playing for five hours, watched by about half of the approximately 20,000 passers-by and listened to by about 200 audience members (reference Toshimori 2011.01.03 Subway Performer). The smallest audience was while playing for 40 minutes, watched by every one of about 30 passers-by and listened to by no audience members (reference Toshimori 2011.12.13 Kamogawa Kaikan).
Recently, people, and especially young people, use Twitter to tweet to their friends about interesting events that they encounter around the city. I have discovered a lot of tweets about my performance by searching for keywords such as 'silent street.' It is a 'lonely and bizarre' performance, as evidenced by my favorite tweet that someone wrote - "He played lonely and got down but in silence without an audience, making a bizarre scene" (reference @kshoji 2011.01.25 Tweet).
2 The performer and his motive
As I, the author, am the performer in this paper, to introduce him is to introduce myself. I was forced to learn piano (using music scores) from age 3, and quit of my own accord at 10. I began to play jazz piano at 15, became a professional jazz pianist at 19 and retired at 27. In addition, I graduated from the Mathematics Department of Kyoto University at 28. After retiring, I practiced jazz piano by myself for about 20 years, initially while building my log house and living close to mountains from ages 29 to 39. When I was 36, I began to play the piano only in atonal, quitting chord progression, at a fixed tempo. I resumed chord progression and my musical activities at 48. I'm now 55 and an amateur jazz pianist living in Kyoto City.
My life's work of researching musical improvisation has been primarily to clarify jazz swing. I have been thinking for many years about the relationship of swing and improvisation and the mathematical analysis of timing (a series of timing fluctuations of several tens of milliseconds constitutes bounce)(milli=0.001). However, I have not understood the problem in depth. It is because my perception of bounce may not be sufficiently developed. I hope to achieve this understanding in the near future.
Apart from this hope, I determined in this paper to only write about that which I have already completed by myself. The reason for writing is that silent street music (to be defined later in Section 3) does hold back the music performed (to be mentioned later in Section 4.3), but I would like to emphasize that it does not throw away the music performed.
The following outlines my very simple motive and the process of two and a half years of silent street music: I want to play in public; and let me do so on the street in front of a lot of people; moreover, let me play in silence without bothering others, providing wireless headphones through which audience members may listen to my performance (Practice 1: non-noisy). Let me be able to move in order to perform legally on public roadsides (Practice 2: non-occupying). Also, let me get smiles from people without having cold water thrown at me so that I can continue my activity (Practice 3: being acknowledged). I have determined these three practices, one by one (to be explained later in Section 5).
3 The definition of silent street music
Silent street music is generally defined as a street musical performance played in a local space with a radius of about 10 meters - in silence, excluding the use of headphones or similar devices and without bothering others - through which both the performer(s) and audience members listen to a performance. Below, I will classify it.
3.1 All of the following elements should abide by the condition of 'without bothering others.'
3.2 In a real and local space:
Performers play in a local space - on a street, or in a square or a building, etc. - with a radius of about 10 meters.
3.3 Actually playing:
Performers play for real.
3.4 Silent instruments:
Performers use digital instruments, or voice/instruments that are virtually silent (e.g. solid guitar). Performers may emit a small external sound depending on surroundings.
3.5 Mobile instruments:
Performers use instruments that can be moved, if possible, in order to have flexibility.
3.6 Playing in silence:
Performers play silent instruments (Section 3.4) in silence, apart from the use of headphones, etc.
3.7 Transmitting the music, but not through sound waves:
Performers can transmit the music through cables but, instead, do it through radio waves in order to have more flexibility.
3.8 Radio waves and transmitters:
Types of transmission systems of radio waves employed include a short-range FM transmitter, a 2.4GHz wireless headphone system (my current system) or a 2.4GHz Bluetooth; all without the need for license or registration. The Internet is a global network, with a different concept to this local network, but using it is possible if the quality of sound and miniscule time delays are acceptable.
3.9 Receivers:
Both performers and audience members listen to the music through headphones, etc. The music is received via FM radio in the case of the short-range FM transmitter. As a 2.4GHz transmitter possesses neither a flexible nor easy way of pairing (setting the connection), performers must prepare receivers or headphones etc. by setting this pairing in advance.
3.10 Number of performers:
Many performers can play. Multiple performers transmit the resulting sounds of the multiple instruments through a transmitter, consolidated by cables and a mixer.
3.11 Three practices:
The above points (Sections 3.1-3.10) form a list of general definitions of silent street music; I aim to realize it through three practices (to be explained later in Section 5).
4 Field
I am going to give definitions of terms, such as field etc. A field of musical performance consists of all those involved in a musical performance, such as performers, audience members and performance space etc. in addition to the music performed.
The field of silent street music involves people who are not listening to the music performed.
4.1 Fixed field and flow field
4.1.1 A fixed field: a field of musical performance with fixed date, fixed location and fixed audience.
4.1.2 A flow field: a field of musical performance with flow date, flow location and flow audience.
Flow audience includes the flow wherein someone or no one listens as well as the flow of who the audience is. Flow audience is generalized to mean mediator between the internal field and the external field, and the explanation of flow field will later be changed (in Section 12.8).
4.2 The internal field and the external field
With silent street music, people who are listening to the music through wireless headphones constitute the internal field, while people who are not listening to it make up the external field. The internal field and the external field share the performance space but are clearly divided concerning the music performed.
4.3 The music performed is held back
In this paper, the music performed is not in question; The music performed is held back within the internal field.
4.4 To make a flow field
To make a flow field is to satisfy the conditions in Section 4.1.2 or 12.8.
4.5 To keep the flow field
As a flow field tends to be fixed and to disappear, it is necessary to keep the flow field. To keep the flow field is also expressed as to 'make a flow field' in this paper. Terms that have the nuance of fixed, such as to 'complete the flow field,' are not used for flow field.
5 Three practices - non-noisy, non-occupying, being acknowledged
5.1 Practice 1: non-noisy
Only people wearing headphones can listen to the music. So, the performance is silent apart from the use of the headphones. It leads not only to the effect of 'without bothering others' but also to the 'flow wherein someone or no one listens,' depending on whether an audience member wears wireless headphones or not, and leading to flow audience (defined in Section 4.1.2).
5.2 Practice 2: non-occupying
There exists a practice of non-occupying of space that performers play in, while moving or being able to move immediately, and that of non-occupying of humans, meaning that performers do not occupy audience members according to a fixed schedule or human relations. It leads to flow date, flow location and flow audience (defined in Section 4.1.2), in addition to the effect of 'without bothering others.'
5.3 Practice 3: being acknowledged
Being acknowledged means that the external field (people who are not listening to the music) acknowledge the internal field (performers and audience members). It shall hereafter be referred to as the internal field being acknowledged by the external field. (As mentioned in Section 2), my aim is getting smiles without having cold water thrown at me by the surrounding people (the external field). The external field acknowledges the internal field not through the music performed.
5.4 Changing practices
I shall not only play performances that satisfy the three practices but shall also change them in various ways and perform in order to cope with changing circumstances. I shall provide examples of these changes later (in Section 13).
6 Outline of the description
What follows is a description of the subtitle of this paper: Three practices - non-noisy, non-occupying, being acknowledged - make a flow field of musical improvisation; citing reports of my performances, including video clips (in Sections 8-12). The outline of the description is as follows.
(Sections 8-9): Practice 1 - non-noisy - results in flow audience, and Practice 2 - non-occupying - leads to flow date, flow location and flow audience (defined in Section 4.1.2). Thus, Practices 1 and 2 make a flow field (defined in Section 4.4). However, it's important to note that this flow field tends to disappear.
(Section 10): I will focus on the fact that a performance of musical improvisation copes with changing circumstances so as to make a flow field.
(Section 11): The music performed is held back. The relationship between the music performed and circumstances is not a question to be addressed.
(Section 12): Practice 3 - being acknowledged - in addition to Practices 1 and 2 allows the flow field to be kept.
7 The process of implementing the three practices
I have written a report and posted it on my blog (reference Toshimori blog) every night after a performance of silent street music for a period of two and a half years. I will quote reports below (Sections 8-13) as well as video clips of less than 2 minutes - movie01 - movie09 - which are component parts of the description as opposed to just references.
7.1 Preparation and equipment
I hit upon the idea before 2009 that a method of silent street music without bothering others was a worthy concept, even if it meant playing the piano on the street. I prepared the equipment for such a performance in 2009.
Model and number of transmitter and receivers:
1 unit of SONY MDR-RF5000K (transmitter and wireless headphones) and 3 units of MDR-RF5000 (wireless headphones).
Digital Piano:
Roland FP-4.
Power:
SANYO eneloop Rechargeable Ni-MH Battery. 1.2V*8=9.6V.
8 Establishing Practice 1 - non-noisy
8.1 The first performance - welcomed by street artists
(embed "movie01")
(Excerpted and edited from the author's blog and translated)
(reference Toshimori 2009.06.12 Shijo Ohashi)
A fortune-teller guided me to the best place to avoid other street musicians performing loudly. Street artists have difficulty talking with their audience if loud musicians are playing nearby. I was welcomed by street artists.
Several young men giving out flyers to passers-by for a host club were standing right next to the piano within one meter. It's unusual for anybody to stand so close to standard musical performances. I found that silent street music results in much less of a barrier to keep people at a distance than standard musical performances do.
(End excerpt)
8.2 Subway Performers
I began to perform daily from October 2010 in the allocated space for Subway Performers at Kyoto City Subway. Registered musical performers are able to play in the space after making a reservation. At peak times, more than 2,000 people an hour walk through the passage in front of the space.
8.3 Coexisting with Dancers
(embed "movie02")
(Excerpted and edited from the author's blog and translated)
(reference Toshimori 2010.12.08 Dancers)
Young female dancers entered the space (mentioned in Section 8.2) and practiced dancing to CD music adjacent to my performance. The space is a favorite among dancers because it has a wall resembling a mirror. The dancers and I performed side by side for more than one hour. I found that the territory of silent street music is much smaller than for standard musical performances.
(End excerpt)
I discovered the reason on another day.
(Excerpted and edited from the author's blog and translated)
(reference Toshimori 2010.12.22 Subway Performer)
Concerning the dancers, I confirmed an interesting fact. The next performer to occupy the space was a singer/songwriter. Just after I left the space, the performer and dancers entered it. The dancers left immediately upon seeing the performer with his guitar. They show consideration to standard musical performances but not to mine.
(End excerpt)
If I were to maintain the usual ego and pride of musical performers, the ignorance of the dancers would have got into my head. However, as I held these thoughts back, I discovered another interesting characteristic of silent street music - the ignorance of the dancers and the welcoming from the street artists both belong to a certain category, i.e., silent street music has a high capacity for co-existence.
Returning to the day 2010.12.08, several audience members listened to me through wireless headphones for some time during a period of more than an hour. Some of these applauded me after they had listened. They might have been wondering if the two performances were in some way related but mostly watched the dancers (showed in movie02).
Even if ignored (welcomed) by adjacent performers, I maintained my performance as well as my relationship to audience members. The dancers and silent street music coexisted as independent or related performances, with each musical performance (mine in external silence) existing in a small space.
8.4 In an open door shop
(embed "movie03")
(reference Toshimori 2011.04.17 Silverwing)
From January 2011, I began to perform at an accessories shop, SILVERWING STUDIO, in the underground town Zest Oike, to which the Subway Performers' space is adjacent, for a short time on weekends. Many shops in underground towns have their doors wide open. It is essentially impossible to perform music there as the sound travels, but performing silent street music is possible.
However, as can be seen in movie03, two girls were told to look and listen to it, but just listened to it; the fun of silent street music is not enough. There is limited flow audience because of a lack of the 'flow wherein someone or no one listens.'
I became accustomed to performing 125 times in the busy streets (mentioned in Sections 8.2 and 8.4) or fixed locations with permission for about six months from October 2010 until April 2011.
9 Establishing Practice 2 - non-occupying
9.1 Performing legally on public roadsides
When, in the spring of April 2011, I began to perform at public roadsides, I thought about performing legally in addition to being sufficiently careful enough - without bothering others. If performing at public roadsides, traffic police will get rid of street performers according to the following scenarios.
9.1.1 The police receive a complaint from neighboring residents about noise.
9.1.2 By way of reason of no permission having been granted for occupancy of roadsides as outlined in Road Traffic Law, the police will either arrest performers or order them to desist from performing and leave the area.
9.1.3 The police will follow the same procedure (as in Section 9.1.2) if they deem an audience is so large that it is interfering with traffic, according to Road Traffic Law.
The scenario (Section 9.1.1) does not apply due to Practice 1 - non-noisy. Section 9.1.3 can be avoided by unknown performers due to the fact that there is little or no audience. Of course, performers should be careful so as not to interfere with traffic. Section 9.1.2 provides the legal basis to arrest unknown street performers. Therefore, in order to overcome Section 9.1.2, I devised a mobile system and added Practice 2 - non-occupying. I made a portable frame on which a digital piano and its stand can be carried. Moreover, I play the piano in silence while moving or being able to move immediately.
9.2 The first outdoor and mobile silent street music
(embed "movie04")
(reference Toshimori 2011.04.24 Oike)
9.3 At Hyakumanben (embed "movie05")
(reference Toshimori 2011.05.18 Hyakumanben)
9.4 The issue of the reconstruction of Kyoto Kaikan: Music can be performed without any concrete box.
(embed "movie06")
(Excerpted and edited from the author's blog and translated)
(reference Toshimori 2011.12.07 Kyoto Kaikan)
In opposition to the city's plan of building an opera house to replace Kyoto Kaikan at a cost of about 10 billion yen, I presented a completely different perspective. The present civilization's practice of building big concrete boxes until now has been predicated on fixed field, but the foundation of the next civilization will be based on flow field.
(End excerpt)
9.5 Non-occupying of humans: performers and friends do not stick together.
(Quote from the author's blog and translated)
(reference Toshimori 2011.07.02 Shijo Ohashi)
Six old friends of mine suddenly arrived at the location.[...]From the viewpoint of passers-by, these friends and I appeared to stand close to each other. I asked them to stand a little bit away[...]because I felt an instinctive fear of not being able to see the entire surrounding area.
(End quote)
As 'occupying of humans' makes performers and audience members stick together, the flow field is lost and becomes a fixed field. A fixed field requires a security guard, but I gave up any barrier guard (described in Section 8.1), so I felt an instinctive fear.