“I see. So you all went to visit that street.”
“How was it? What did you think?”
“It was very lively, and quite a stimulating experience.”
“That's wonderful to hear!
I thought you'd feel that way, since you're all involved in music.”
(In music...)
“So, that street hasn't changed at all since my dad's time here as a student?”
“Yes, that's right.
Being so close to an academy of music, it's always been like that.”
“Hehe.
Were you surprised to hear that Harumichi liked to go there?”
“Yes, I was honestly a bit startled...”
“As far as I've known, I always thought that he was only interested in classical music.”
“I never imagined him being so drawn a place where you can hear such a wide variety of music.”
“Hmm... Yes, well...”
“I could tell you more about what he was like back then. Would you like that?”
“What he was like back then?”
“Yes.
Back when we were both students here.”
“Yes, I'd like that.”
“Okay, it's story time.”
“I'll try to go slow.
Let me know if you'd like me to repeat anything.”
“Thank you very much.”
“We'll do our best since this should be a good test of our listening skills!”
“Great.
Now, this might feel like a history lesson to all of you...”
“One fateful day, a lone exchange student arrived here on the campus of the New York Academy of Music.”
“This school is full of people who have committed their lives to music.”
“They spend each day practicing and honing their craft in order to reach the top.”
“But the sound this exchange student could produce stood above the rest.”
(Dad must be the exchange student...)
“Rumors of his talent quickly spread beyond the Classical Music department.”
“After getting wind of this student, a certain jazz pianist in training said...”
“He sounds like a hoot!
I bet we'll really hit it off if we get a chance to talk about music together.”
“But actually getting a hold of him would prove very difficult.”
...?
“This exchange student was like a monk.”
“He spent most of his time in one of the practice rooms, or in the library to read books about classical music...”
“And whenever anyone tried to talk with him, he'd always say that he had to practice, and blow them right off.”
“Wait, that means...”
“Becoming friends with him must've been really hard...”
“That's exactly right! It was like there was a vast ocean around him, and not a single landing to be found.”
“But one day...”
“Believe it or not, our exchange student decided to come talk to the jazz pianist.”
Hang on... Did he just say that Toya's dad came to talk to him?
I think so. Umm...
“Was there a reason?”
“Yes, it's because I decided to...”
“Play the classical song which he was practicing, but with a jazzy arrangement. Just a little prank.”
...!
This is a practice piece that the composer was kind enough to write for our family. Happy was likely the last thing he felt as he wrote this... So, if you understand that, you should know how to play this song.
Did you actually take a close look at the sheet music, Toya? You need to think more about what was going through the composer's mind. If you did, you would know how to play this piece already. You're done practicing. Go reread the sheet music again.
(Dad values the composer's thoughts more than anything else. He constantly seeks to achieve a complete understanding of their music.)
(Which is why he abhors irregular arrangements and improvisations. Because they work counter to that...)
“How did the exchange student respond?”
“...”
“The key change you threw in at the end was beautiful.”
“I would love to discuss your performance in more detail.”
“After that, we began to chat more often.”
“And I came to understand that...”
“Our exchange student, Harumichi, is a classical musician through and through, but he also loves other genres of music.”
...!
What?
(Dad...?)
(No, but...)
I don't believe it. Are we talking about the same person here?
I thought you and your dad fought because all he cares about is classical music, Toya...
Sh-Shinonome, you've switched back to speaking Japanese.
I don't think Mr. Lloyd needs to know about that part.
After all, he's a friend of Toya's dad...
“When I began pursuing street music...”
“He was fervently against it.”
“He said it doesn't have any artistic value, because it's just a bunch of kids making some noise...”
“...
Street music was still considered a very new thing when we were students.”
“It was rough around the edges, still taking form... But it made up for it with its energy.”
“It screamed of wanting to be heard by others. This desire to latch onto people's ears and never let go.”
“To be fair, plenty of excellent music was produced. However, for every good song, there was an equally not-so-good one.”
“One day, when Harumichi and I were out for a stroll in the city, we ran into trouble with a group of street singers...”
“Trouble?”
“Yes, they made fun of any music that fell outside of their genre.”
“To them, their music was the best, and everything else was garbage.”
“They were particularly ruthless when it came to classical music. Apparently, playing ”old and dusty music“ sounded like the opposite of fun.”
What...?
They thought they were the best? Uh...
“Were they really that good?”
“No, I can't sugarcoat it. They really weren't.”
“And Harumichi got so mad.
This is just me speculating...”
“But I think that encounter is why he dislikes street music so much now.”
“However...
I was telling the truth when I said that he enjoys other genres of music.”
(I had no idea...
About what happened, or the way he thinks and feels.)
(I was absolutely certain that nothing other than classical music would do for him...)
...
I...
I feel like I know so little about my own father.