音楽家が生涯に渡ってクリエイティブな演奏を健やかに行える、文化的に豊かな社会の創造と持続可能性の実現に貢献することを目指しています。
音楽家は、文化の担い手です。なぜなら、数世紀に渡り、世界中で創り紡がれてきた人類の文化資産たる音楽を、現代の私たちに届けてくれる存在だからです。豊かな創造性と高度な知性に基づく多彩な表現を生み出すためには、洗練された心身の働きが不可欠ですが、その獲得には幼少期からの数万時間に及ぶ膨大な練習が必要です。音楽家はその過程で心身の問題に悩まされるリスクと常に隣り合わせにいます。
心に溢れる素晴らしい創造性を音楽として具現化するために研鑽を積む過程で、深刻な怪我に悩まされ、時にアーティスト生命が絶たれるといった問題は、今なお後を絶ちません。にもかかわらず、音楽家の心身を守り育むための身体の使い方や練習法について体系的に学ぶ機会は、世界中で未だに整備されていません。
また音楽家が演奏において、より創造性を発揮できるようになるための身体の使い方や心身のトレーニングに対する研究は、スポーツ科学などと比較してまだ十分に行われておらず、音楽家が練習に練習を重ねても創造性を十分に発揮できずに苦しむ「見かけの限界」の問題が改善に向かっているかは、未だ不明です。
音楽家が生涯に渡り創造性の限界を突破し続けられる社会の実現
音楽家が生涯に渡り創造性の限界を突破し続けられる社会の実現には、芸術教育と相乗効果を生み出せる身体教育が不可欠だと考えます。
芸術教育の目指すことは、楽譜という記号・文字の情報を「こう聴こえるような知覚体験を生み出したい」と変換する"音楽の文法"を身に着けることがであり、そのために知識や解釈、感性や美的感覚を養います。一方、身体教育の目指すことは、理想の知覚体験を生み出す音楽を創造するために必要となる身体の使い方や注意の向け方や練習の方法といった”身体の文法”を習得することです。
研究開発と教育のシームレスな循環の実現に向けた取り組み
音楽表現を生み出すために必要となる、最適な心身の使い方や練習方法を明らかにするための学問である「ダイナフォーミックス」の研究と技術開発を通して、音楽家の演奏の熟達支援と故障予防に取り組んでいます。研究成果として得られたサイエンスに基づく確かな理論を、テクノロジーの力で音楽家に還元すべく、身体教育カリキュラム「PEAC（Physical Education for Artist Curriculum）」を構築しております。さらに、このPEACと芸術教育を組み合わせた包括的な教育プログラム「Music Excellence Academy」を実践することによって、指導の現場で明らかになった課題や解決法を体系的に整理、暗黙知の継承を可能とし、研究開発と教育のシームレスな循環の実現に取り組んでいます。
基礎的な研究から実践で使うことのできる技術開発、そして教育プログラムの提供を通して、芸術と科学が相乗効果を生み出す仕組みを作り、実社会に展開することで、"持続可能な文化の発展"に貢献することを目指しています。
We aim to create a society in which musicians can continue creative and healthy performance throughout their lives through making synergy between art education and physical education.
Musicians are individuals who can inherit the culture. They let people listen to live music, which is intangible cultural heritage that has been created over centuries worldwide. To produce various musical expressions based on creativity and intelligence requires sophisticated sensory, motor, and cognitive skills, which are acquired through years of extensive training from childhood. Musicians are thus at potential risks of developing physical and mental problems throughout this process.
Eventually, in the course of practicing to create music with creativity of musicians, many of them have been suffering from serious injuries that potentially terminate their professional career. Unfortunately, such problems are not yet solved. Nevertheless, all over the world, there are still no systematic opportunities for musicians to learn how to make use of their bodies and to practice effectively and efficiently, so that they can maximize the abilities of their bodies and minds.
Moreover, research on how musicians can use their bodies and train their mind to embody creativity in performance is still insufficient compared to disciplines like sports science. It is still unclear whether the problem of the "ceiling effect," in which performers suffer from no further improvement of skills to embody their creativity even after extensive practice, can be solved.
Achieving a Society Where Musicians Can Continuously Surpass Their Creative Limits
Physical education that can make synergy with art education is essential to create a society where musicians can continuously surpass their limit of creativity. The aim of art education is to learn "musical grammar" that converts the symbols and text characters of musical scores into the desired hearing experience, and to this end, we cultivate knowledge, interpretation, sensibility, and aesthetic sense. By contrast, the aim of physical education is acquisition of "physical grammar," which includes ways to use the body, what to pay attention to, and practice methods.
Efforts to Seamlessly Circulate Research, Development, and Education
Through the research and technological development of "Musical Dynaformics,", a discipline that challenges to clarify the optimal mental and physical practices and training methods necessary for musical expression, we are working on supporting the mastery of musical expertise and preventing injuries among musicians. To provide theories and principles based on scientific evidence obtained from research for musicians through the power of technology, we have built the "PEAC (Physical Education for Artists Curriculum)," a physical education program. Furthermore, through implementing the holistic educational program into "Music Excellence Academy," which combines PEAC with arts education, we systematically compile the issues and solutions identified in teaching towards seamlessly circulating research, development, and education.
By providing a framework where art and science create synergistic effects through fundamental research, development of technologies, and educational programs, we aim to contribute to the "sustainable development of culture."
