In Japan, small music venues are called ライブハウス ( raibu hausu) or live houses. Once your set is starting to sound good, the next step is taking your music to the stage. If you Google “スタジオ” (studio) you will get options in your local area or you can try this nationwide studio searcher (Japanese).īecause they know they won’t lose money, Japanese music venues are more likely to take a chance on a new face… What is a live house? I’ve been constantly impressed with the quality and affordability of studio rental here. Music friendly apartments do exist, but you will probably have better luck renting studio space. Unless you live in a house, you may have problems with your practicing being heard through the walls and Japanese neighbors complaining. Alas, noise complaints from people who don’t understand your talent are universal. Now that you’ve gathered your musical brethren together, the next step is to find a place to practice. I’ve met English-speaking musos on Meetup Japan and I’ve known people who have had success with other expat Facebook groups and even Craigslist. The GaijinPot site is one place to start: you could try posting in the classifieds or on its private Facebook group. If you want to search for fellow foreigners or Japanese musicians who speak English, there are additional options. Many bands want to write lyrics and sing in English and so may well find your perspective valuable and be forgiving of imperfect Japanese language skills. I’ve had most luck with Oursounds (Japanese), a nationwide social networking site for bands with a system that’s easy to use even if you don’t speak Japanese. If you speak even a little Japanese, there are websites dedicated to finding bandmates across the country. Luckily, there are many ways to find your musical soulmates. While I’ve had a lot of fun performing solo in Japan, to reap the social benefits of playing music, it’s better to join or form a band. I’m a harpist and singer-songwriter from the U.K. If this is a passion or an itch you need to scratch, well then: “If music be the food of love” - read on. Through music, I have formed the majority of my friendships here, improved my Japanese and had the time of my life. But the benefits of starting a band in Japan go above and beyond. Monkey Majik, a band started in Sendai by Canadian brothers Maynard and Blaise Plant, were signed by Avex and reached the top of the Oricon charts in the mid- to late-2000s. Donna Burke sings on the game Metal Gear Solid, does the announcements on the Tokaido shinkansen (bullet train) and is founder of the Dagmusic recording studio and talent booking agency. Of course, some foreign musicians have achieved fame and (more rarely) fortune in Japan. We couldn’t speak each other’s languages, but we had shared musical experiences. The pre-rehearsal chitchat was a little difficult but once we got our instruments out and started playing, everything improved. I was fresh off the boat, my bandmates-to-be spoke next to no English and my Japanese was little better. I’ll never forget the day I tentatively stepped into a Japanese rehearsal studio for the first time after agreeing to try out for a band that wanted a native speaking English singer. Music isn’t quite a universal language, but it can break down language barriers pretty well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |