#enjoy_play_music Band Practice in a Studio with my Colleagues!
Hello everyone, I’m Mao from the MCO.
Are you all aware of the Slack channel #enjoy_play_music?
We received word from the members of the channel that they would like to have more people join, so they want to spread awareness of the group through the open newsletter.
I will now pass the baton to a music loving beBit member!
Hello! I’m a music loving beBit member!
beBit’s internal Slack has various channels for hobbies and entertainment called “#enjoy_〇〇”. In this newsletter, we will introduce a studio performance event from “#enjoy_play_music”. We hope this article will help you learn about the opportunities to experience music even after you join our company!
日本語の記事はこちらから！
What is #enjoy_play_music?
There are a handful of individuals at beBit who have experienced some kind of musical instrument during their school days through lessons, club activities, etc. I am one of those individuals.
Here are some examples of our members’ experiences:
Learned piano from an early age
Experience concert band in junior high and high school
Started playing electric guitar in junior high and played pop music throughout high school and college
Being in the channel #enjoy_play_music or listing experience in music on company introductions also allows us to know about others who play music.
The #enjoy_play_music studio performance event is a gathering started mainly by those who have experience in pop music. One of us mentioned that they’d love to make some noise in a studio once in a while, and that’s how it all began.
Since Vol.0, our trial event held in early summer of 2022, the event has been held every 3~4 months. The number of participants increased gradually while we shaped our events, and this time, Vol.3, was held in March 2023.
Who comes to these events?
Some have a background in pop music and have played in a band, some have played in a concert band, some have played piano, and some have no experience playing an instrument but want to try singing.
There are also those who haven’t played since they were a student, those who have continued to play to this day, and those who want to start playing instruments as well.
Typically, we have about 7~10 people join us.
About #enjoy_play_music Vol.3
Let me explain the flow of the event while telling you about how Vol.3 went.
First, we decided on a date and announced it on the #enjoy_play_music Slack channel to find participants.
Each attendee will submit their suggestions for pieces they want to perform, and then a vote takes place.
Afterwards, the organizer will decide which pieces will be performed based on the number of votes along with the balance between the songs and degrees of difficulty.
These were the songs selected for Vol.3▼
●Relieve／toconoma
●Killing In the Name／Rage Against The Machine
●circus／showmore
●考え事／GO!GO!7188
●Can’t Stop／Red Hot Chili Peppers
Once the songs are decided, all that remains is practicing. Typically, we practice individually while occasionally discussing song arrangements with each other, leading up to the day of the event. I, the writer, listen to the songs as my work BGM and head to a studio to practice after work and on weekends. While it does get difficult practicing music between work, I feel that it was good to have an opportunity to be in touch with music during my daily life, and these events also gave me motivation to practice!
On the day of the event, we gathered at a studio in Tokyo and played together!
Since the number of participants have been gradually increasing, we used a pretty large studio this time around.
First, we practice the songs that were chosen, one at a time. It’s difficult to convey through a photo, but we had a lot of fun, saying things like “making noise in a studio is exciting!” or “the first time practicing a song is always pretty rough haha.” It was refreshing to see my colleagues, whom I usually only see during work, enjoy playing their instruments.
The members all practice and share their opinions in order to make the best performance possible within the limited time available. Teaching each other about how to use the equipment and learning through each other’s experience and knowledge is definitely one of the highlights. “Let’s make sure the bass and drums are in line.” “It would be great if we had a chorus for this part. Who wants to do it?” Refining the performance by updating and prototyping is another part of the fun.
Making music while discussing with each other is a thrill that can’t be experienced while practicing alone!
After all the twists and turns putting the performance together, we record a video of our performances and call it a day! (As a side note, it’s possible to take a video of a performance with a single smartphone and get relatively decent quality footage. The world has become so convenient for the casual musician compared to when I was a student…)
We ended up playing for 5 hours, but time flew by. We returned home with a pleasant level of fatigue.
We later published the performance video on our channel #enjoy_play_music, where it can be viewed by other employees. Please, take a look!
I look back at the videos and reflect on phrases that went well, and the parts that I messed up on, thinking that I should have practiced more. However, this is one of the best parts of the event as it gives me motivation to keep practicing.
Summary and about future plans
We plan to continue holding studio events every 3~4 months. Even if you don’t participate in the performance, you are welcome to come and observe your colleagues play music.
In addition to studio events, we have also held lesson events in the past that have been well received by the participants.
Vocal training workshops by people who studied singing in graduate school and have experience teaching
A drum experience workshop with the goal of “enabling inexperienced drummers learn to play common beats” for those who are interested, but have not had the opportunity to play
In addition, the following are still in the conceptual stage, but we are planning to hold various other events as well.
Band performance at company events (as there used to be frequent band performances pre-covid)
Events at live music venues
Collaborations with other “#enjoy_〇〇” channels
etc.
If you are at all interested or if you would like to participate, please check out the #enjoy_play_music channel!