The song “APT” by ROSÉ & Bruno Mars that was requested by members.
As expected, popular songs seem to be absorbed quickly, and we were able to perform it together right away. Especially children in 3rd grade and above are showing remarkable growth, with some playing slowly but steadily even at first sight.
I’m sharing a comic that was published on social media that made me nod in agreement(Sorry, only in Japanese).
For improving with musical instruments, the habit of regularly touching the instrument is essential, but the mistake is making children feel “I must practice” as a responsibility. People who play instruments daily have songs they want to play or aspirations, and they become absorbed in playing, which results in “practice.”
However, people who vaguely want to play an instrument and impose practice on themselves often give up because they don’t have clear goals for what they want to do with the instrument. That’s why we ask each member to request songs they want to play, naturally helping them set goals. What’s important is not practicing, but encountering music that moves them. If they have desires, they will naturally start practicing without being told.
I want to continue supporting them in becoming independent this way.
We are practicing the popular children’s song Bling-Bang-Bang-Born on the violin. Everyone is working hard on their favorite song.
Indeed, most of the songs we’ve played so far have been in A major or D major, and for them, the C note has always been sharped. This time, it’s a significant step as they’re playing a piece in A minor where C becomes natural.
While practicing with the sheet music, if they make C sharp, the melody turns into a major key. So to help them understand the difference, I played a part of the song on the piano, and they absolutely loved it. Just like when I played Mary’s Lamb in a minor key before and they laughed, this Bling… is really cute.
Until now, I’ve focused on expanding our repertoire, so especially for children under elementary school age, I haven’t spent much time on logical aspects like note reading, preferring to let them learn by feel. As a result, many children think of A major as “Do Re Mi…”, and I’ve struggled to help them understand that it’s different from C major on the piano. I’m not trying to force understanding, but waiting for the time when they’ll naturally accept it as they develop.
But the children’s smiling faces while listening were adorable.
I prepared and distributed five new sheet music pieces to the members. These were arrangements I made based on member requests. Each piece has been shortened so everyone can play them without too much difficulty.
APT
Bling-Bang-Bang-Born
Another Sky
Etupirka
Mickey Mouse March
Members don’t need to play all the songs – they can choose whichever ones they want to try. When children choose songs they actually want to play, they practice with great enthusiasm. The child who chose “Another Sky” practiced continuously for the entire hour and a half at the community center without taking a break, with their mother’s support.
Another child who liked “APT” and “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” managed to learn both songs within the practice period.
While I certainly want them to develop basic skills and knowledge, recommending things that adults consider “good” doesn’t guarantee that young children will agree or engage with them. Even if they do comply, they might just be going through the motions because they’ve been conditioned to follow adults’ instructions. What I want to avoid most is children becoming passive, just waiting for instructions because they’ve given up thinking “they’ll just tell me I can’t do it anyway.”
To prevent this, I consciously try to listen to their wishes and help make them possible. Sometimes I catch myself thinking “I need to make them do this,” but I’m careful not to impose my preferences.
This time, seeing some children become completely absorbed in their playing makes me feel we’ve made a little progress.
Since it seems we’ll be performing at a new event, we’ll work hard toward new goals. First, we decided that the members should find songs they want to play, so I asked each member to search for songs they wanted to perform. The secret to improving with an instrument is being moved or inspired. If you just complete assigned tasks without feeling inspired, your performance becomes something others have taught you rather than your own. I’ve been suggesting pieces for a while, but now that they can play somewhat difficult melodies like Okinawan folk songs, I suggested that they propose J-POP songs which should be quite manageable for them.
As expected, they came up with popular songs. First, “APT.” Bruno Mars’ beautiful melody is enjoyable to listen to, so we decided to try it. Then “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” I was a bit concerned since it has fast-paced vocals (rap?), but I thought it would be good practice for the pinky finger, so we adopted that one too. There were also some classical pieces, and I was happy to see some of Taro Hakase’s music included.
I feel like I may have raised the bar a bit, but they immediately started playing quietly, so I hope they become even more absorbed in the music.
I have received information about many concerts being held in March! I’ll introduce them in chronological order. If you’re interested, please check them out!
10th Regular Concert of Okinawa City Junior Orchestra
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Okinawa City’s Incorporation
Date/Time: Sunday, March 16, 2025 Venue: Okinawa City Hall Main Hall Start: 15:00 (Doors open at 14:30)
Admission:
General: 1,000 yen
High school students and under: 500 yen
Preschool children: Free
Program:
Part 1: String Ensemble
Part 2: Ensemble performances by each section
Part 3: Guest performances by Bitou Elementary School Music Club and Bitou Junior High School Wind Band
Part 4: Orchestra – W.A. Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 First Movement, etc.
Organizer: Okinawa City Junior Orchestra Co-organizer: Koza Community Development NPO Cooperation: Nakagusuku Junior Orchestra, Ryukyu Symphony Orchestra
Ryukyu Symphony Orchestra
50th Regular Concert
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025, 19:00 (Doors open at 18:00) Venue: AIM Universe Tedako Hall (Main Hall) Address: 1-9-3 Nakama, Urasoe City
Program:
Mozart: Overture from “The Magic Flute” K.620
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Piano: Takeshi Shimozato
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 “Italian”
51st Regular Concert
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025, 16:00 (Doors open at 15:00) Venue: Nago City Hall (Main Hall) Address: 2-1-1 Minato, Nago City
Program:
Weber: Overture from “Der Freischütz” Op. 77
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Guitar: Noel Billingsley
Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 “Italian”
Performers:
Piano: Takeshi Shimozato [3/22]
Conductor: Naoto Otomo
Guitar: Noel Billingsley [3/23]
Ticket Information:
General sale starts: Monday, December 16 / All seats reserved
Adult: ¥4,000
Student (university and below): ¥1,500
At Door: ¥500 increase on each price
Organizer: Ryukyu Symphony Orchestra NPO Grant: Arts and Culture Promotion Fund Support: Okinawa Prefecture, Naha City, Urasoe City, Nago City, Okinawa Times, Ryukyu Shimpo, NHK Okinawa, Okinawa TV, RBC, QAB, FM Okinawa, Radio Okinawa, FM Miyako, FM Koza, FM Yomitan, FM Lequio, FM Uruma, FM Nirai, FM21
J.S. Bach: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major “Trout”, D.667, Op. 114, etc.
First Night: Wednesday, March 26 Doors: 18:15, Start: 19:00
“The Joy of Bel Canto”
Rossini: From the opera “The Barber of Seville”
Rosina’s aria “Una voce poco fa”
Basilio’s aria “La calunnia è un venticello”, etc.
Donizetti: From the opera “Lucia di Lammermoor”
Enrico’s aria “Cruda, funesta smania”
Lucia’s aria “Il pallor funesto, orrendo”, etc.
Second Night: Thursday, March 27 Doors: 18:15, Start: 19:00
“Mozart Evening”
Pre-stage with Musica Bambine from 15:00, String Ensemble Stage from 15:15
Serenade No. 6 in D major, K.239
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K.488
Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K.543
Third Night: Saturday, March 29 Doors: 15:15, Start: 16:00
Admission: [All seats reserved]
S seats: ¥5,000 / A seats: ¥4,000 / B seats: ¥3,000
(Day-of tickets: add ¥500)
Three-night pass: ¥13,000 (S seats only)
U25 seats: ¥1,500
Parent-child seats: For each adult, up to two children can attend for ¥1,000 per child
Note: Three-night passes, U25 seats, and parent-child seats are available only through reservation form or email [See reverse for details]
Co-organizer: Naha City Palette Civic Theater Sponsor: Hotel Yuquesta Naha Cooperation: Canon Friends Association / NPO RMAJ Support: Okinawa Prefecture / Naha City / Okinawa TV / QAB / RBC / Okinawa Times / Ryukyu Shimpo / Radio Okinawa / Ticket outlets: Canon Friends Association / Ryubo / Coop Aire
The Kitamae District Community Association’s Fureai Market, which was scheduled for February 16th, was canceled due to rain. Despite this, during the rehearsal practice scheduled for the day before, we played through all our pieces and then discussed our next steps.
For the children who can now play all the songs in the band’s repertoire, I’d like them to challenge themselves with new songs. Rather than assigning specific pieces, I want them to find their own goals, so I had them list songs they like. Disney songs seem to be popular. Some currently popular songs also appeared on the list, so we tried playing them and they seemed somewhat doable. When I showed the children the hand positions and played together with them, several kids seemed to understand, so it looks like we can manage it.
The goal for the younger children is simply to get them captivated by music. Even if they can’t play the melody, it’s fine if they move their bodies to the rhythm. By repeating this process and helping them memorize the songs, we aim for great success if they can play even parts of the pieces.
It seems the date for the next event has already been decided, so we’ll continue to improve our performance!
We had a rehearsal for participating in the Kitamae District Community Association’s “Fureai Market” on February 16th! Although not all members could attend, I think it turned out to be a productive rehearsal. While we struggled with some challenging parts in certain songs, we carefully reviewed and improved those sections. We have another practice opportunity next week, so we’ll continue to polish our performance! On the day of the event, there will be delicious food trucks and vendors gathering. Please stop by!
This orchestra is now entering its third year. With members of varying ages, careers, and individual growth rates, it’s challenging for everyone to perform the same things on the same stage. However, since it’s an ensemble, we’re experimenting with ways to achieve good results by arranging parts to suit each child, whether in melody or background performance.
When trying to have them play violin, children who are pushed beyond their capabilities feel stressed, and I in turn feel anxious when not seeing progress. At such times, I want to remember that “the children are never at fault, no matter what happens.”
I prepared simple accompaniment arrangements, avoiding standard musical notation in favor of simple symbols for them to memorize, and created patterns with simple repetitions. While I wanted them to try this approach, having them actually play would put too much pressure on them. So instead, I decided to first have them learn the piece and follow the score by having them count beats and measures while pointing along as they listen to the music. The aim is to then have them play along while looking at numbers and symbols.
Young children enjoy feeling rhythm, so they became absorbed in counting. Watching them, it seems they’ve memorized the melody. Once they become more comfortable, I hope they’ll be able to hold their violins and play together.
We will be performing at the Kitamae Community Center market on Sun., Feb. 16! Join us!
I’m delighted to hear that one of our members received an invitation to perform from the neighboring community association. It shows that we’re gradually building our reputation.
As it happens, I’ll be away on a business trip that day. This is an unexpected opportunity! Usually, I help keep the rhythm with guitar and piano for them to play along with, but for this upcoming performance, that won’t be possible… In other words, the children will have to perform entirely on their own.
When we tried a practice session, the tempo was indeed uneven, as expected. When I asked them “What do you think?”, they seemed aware of it themselves, and with each practice round, everyone’s focus started coming together!
Even when resuming practice after breaks, I didn’t start them off – instead, I let the children take the lead. It seems that when children are entrusted with responsibility, their motivation increases. The older children were actively speaking up and trying to move things forward.
When children gather to do something, if even one adult is present, activities tend to become adult-centered, and children tend to look to adults for leadership. However, to truly master music, being proactive is absolutely essential.
Actually, there was a time before when I caught the flu right before a performance and had to withdraw. At that time, we hadn’t prepared for the children to perform on their own, so we had no choice. But this can be an opportunity for the group to grow into one where children take the leading role.
It’s been almost two years since we established the Kitamae Orchestra, and I’m excited to see how we’ll evolve from here!
