7月27日
富士見園で朝食をいただき、井口港8:40出発のバスで8:45大三島BSへ。そこで、しまなみライナーという高速バスに乗り換えて、瀬戸内海の美しい景色を走り抜け約2時間後、新白島で下車。新白島駅からアストラムラインという電車で本通駅へ。本通駅から徒歩で平和記念公園へ。
7月27日
富士見園で朝食をいただき、井口港8:40出発のバスで8:45大三島BSへ。そこで、しまなみライナーという高速バスに乗り換えて、瀬戸内海の美しい景色を走り抜け約2時間後、新白島で下車。新白島駅からアストラムラインという電車で本通駅へ。本通駅から徒歩で平和記念公園へ。
7月24日の夜10時に僕らを乗せた東京駅発のサンライズ瀬戸・出雲は、深夜に、先行する東海道本線上の貨物列車が小動物と接触した影響で、約35分遅れで高松に到着。25日朝8:04分。
夏合宿というものを2008年から始めた。
各年の参加者は、1~5人ぐらい。参加希望者がいれば行うもので、希望者がいなければやらない。なので、行わなかった年もある。募集人数自体も少ない。小学生が5人を超える場合には、私以外にも大人の同行が必要だろうから。
行先は中国四国地方だ。瀬戸内海と言ってもいい。
ここ何年かは、行きに新幹線ではなくて、「寝台特急サンライズ瀬戸・出雲」を利用している。今年は7月24日の夜にサンライズで東京駅を発ち、31日の夜に新幹線で東京に帰ってくる。
サンライズの切符を確保するのは、特に夏休み時期は大変だ。この切符は駅ねっとなどでは買えない。出発1ヶ月前の日の朝10時に始まる、みどりの窓口での発券の際に行列の1番目にいないと・・・いや、たとえ、ある駅で1番目であっても、全国の駅が一斉に10時から発券するのだから、自分が最初に席を確保できるわけではない。
それで、マルス(発券機)で、用意ドン!で座席を取る時の駅員さんの入力速度が競われる。駅員さんは10時の時報を聞くやいなやマルスを指先で叩き始める。激しい争奪戦がコンピュータネットワーク内で繰り広げられているのだろう。う~ん、これはピアニスト並みの指の動きだ!
ちなみに、これを「10時打ち」というのだが、10時打ちをしてもらうには、まず8時から受け付ける発券予約(整理券みたいなもの)でも1番目を確保していないとだめだ。それで、朝8時よりずっと前から(前日以前では認められないので当日早朝)駅に行って、まだ開いていないみどりの窓口の前でさえも先頭に並べるようにしなければならない。
僕が6月24日に買いに行った市ヶ谷駅で自分は発券予約の一番手になれた。(後日記:市ヶ谷駅では当日8時からの発券予約をこの年の7月31日をもって廃止しております。)それで10時打ちをしてもらえた。
B寝台シングル大人1枚小人2枚の切符のために、駅員さんはひとまず6席を確保してくれた。2階に3席と1階に3席。2階の方が眺めが良いので2階の3席を買って1階はキャンセルした。2階席は進行方向左側(太平洋側)が1席と、右側が2席という内訳であった。
寝台車が瀬戸大橋を渡る頃には朝を迎えていて、左側の席からも右側の席からも瀬戸内海の美しい朝景色が眺められるのだが、瀬戸大橋を渡るとき東側となり昇る朝陽が望めるためか、左側の席の方が人気が高く確保が難しいらしい。今回、2階左側の席は1席しか取れなかったが、それでも駅員さんのご健闘に拍手を贈ろう!
Photo @Tokyo Station 2013 Summer
7月24日以降は、夏合宿道中記をスマホから入って書いてみたい。
井藤 好
Natsu Gassyuku 夏合宿
I take a trip around the Setouchi region almost every summer. When some students want to come with me there, I usually take them. This trip we call Natsu Gassyuku may be more of a summer excursion than summer camp. We just enjoy beautiful scenery and nature of the Setouchi region about for one week. We may have a chance for playing the piano during this trip, but no one will be compelled to do so because we don't aim at training in music.
Children 8 years old or over can join this trip. You may have a lot of plans to do in your summer vacation, so you are allowed to get back home before completing the whole trip in case where you are regarded as safe on the way home alone or with other participants. If you are interested in this annual trip and have some questions, feel free to require me anytime to elaborate on it:
ko-ito2016@outlook.jp
Ko Ito
春は恋愛する季節! ぢゃないよ。
ビートルズクラブ-Beetles Club-とでも名づけちゃえる生徒たちとの関係。それは、カブトムシをあげたり交換したりして育てる関係・・・。
Ryoko Fujiwara has come to OK studio and started to offer her lessons to most of the vocal students from January this year.
She has an outstanding career as both a vocalist and a voice instructor. After graduated from Tamagawa University (voice major), she released her first album from Sea Bird Records and has recorded some albums and singles on different labels. On the other hand, she has been performing on a large number of live music stages not only domestically but also internationally, especially in Cambodia and US; in New York, she performed on her own live stages while studying high-level vocal performance skills under Brvon Neal and Serina Miyazaki.
The vocal class students of our school tended to rely on sheet music even at Happyo-kai, our annual concert, that's because the former instructor in charge always taught them by using sheet music until last year; however, Ryoko seldom uses sheet music while teaching, she just uses karaoke downloaded to iPhone. I've never seen pop and/or rock music vocalists look at the sheet music on their stages, they always look towards audience. I do want the vocal students not to read the sheet music at least on stage.
by Ko Ito
アーティストとしても大活躍の藤原綾子さんが今年からヴォーカル科の先生として定期的に来てくれることになった。
http://ameblo.jp/immusic/theme-10088975555.html
http://ameblo.jp/inosryo/
ヴォーカル科の女子中学生たちはポップスやロックばかり歌うわりにはステージでおとなしいのが残念だった。今後は今までの先生に鍛えてもらった音程の良さも活かしつつ、ステージでもっと積極的に聴衆にアピールするパフォーマンスを学んでほしい。僕などはレベッカの世代だから、バンドのヴォーカリストというとNokkoみたいにステージ上で飛び跳ねて踊るイメージがある。https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TTXS-CJMX4 なかなかあんなまねはできないだろうけど、ステージ上ではスターになって輝いてほしい!がんばれ中学生!
井藤好
A new 2016 entering student whose first language is English started to take the piano lessons January, and his mother who perhaps doesn't speak and write Japanese well asked me some questions about the fees of OK studio piano class and I answered them. The following Q and A are based on the chat we took in English using LINE App.
Q: Hello sensei, thank you so much for your advise. I am sorry for not checking earlier, but my kids have a christmas party they have to go to on Saturday the 12th and we leave for ●● (her home country) on the 19th. I think it makes sense to start in January. So finally can we book 3.45 for ○○ (her son's name) on Wednesday afternoons from January? Please confirm sensei and thank you for your patience.
A: I understood what you said. I agree with you on the whole. ○○ can have his lesson from January, 3:45-4:15 every Wednesday, and I'd like to know what date he will take the first lesson.
Q: Thank you sensei. Can he start on the 6th Jan?
A: Yes, he can. I book him on Wednesday 6. Please get in touch anytime if you have any questions or need some help.
2015 had gone, 2016 came.
Q: Happy New Year sensei! ○○ (her son's name) is looking forward to the lesson! Sensei, may I ask again about the fees? There is one at 2,000 per session and another pacakge 10,000. How many sessions does the latter cover?
A: A 30-minutes lesson costs 2,000 yen. A 60-minutes lesson costs 3,000 yen; however, if you take a 60-minutes lesson four times a month, all you pay is 10,000 yen. The latter covers 4 sessions spending 60 minutes each. This is a monthly payment system.
Q: Sensei, we would like to have the 10,000 per month course as my son is really eager to improve his piano skills. Do you have another 30 minutes slot for him on Wednesday afternoon or Saturday afternoon?
A: I am available at 3pm on Saturdays. Would you like to shift today's lesson to Saturday 9? I will be able to offer a 60-minutes lesson from 3pm every Saturday this month, 9, 16, 23 and 30.
Q: Yes. That would be great. Could it be possible to have the lesson on the 30th moved to today 6th (30 min as he has been looking forward to it and 27th the other 30 min as we are going to skiing on the 30th)?
A: I am sorry but you cannot devide a 60-minutes lesson into two 30-minutes lessons in the monthly payment system.
Q: I understand. Can you accommodate him today for a 1h lesson instead of the 30th?
A: I am very sorry but other students' lessons occupy before 3:45 and right after 4:15. However, I can offer a lesson 5:15-6:15pm.
Q: OK Sensei, we will take the 5:15 slot. Thank you.
A: I am glad to hear that it is convenient for ○○ to have a lesson 5:15-6:15 today instead of 30th.
Q: Thank you for arranging sensei! See you soon!
A: My pleasure! Thank you for his entering the piano class!
What's the Monthly Payment System of Our Piano Class?
The monthly payment system requires the students to fix the lesson day of the week. For instance, once you decide to take the lesson every Thursday 4 times a month, basically you cannot change the dates except when you are sick or you have some school event or some accident unavoidable.
If you often need to change the lesson dates, it is appropriate for you to take the lessons one-by-one basis, though each lesson costs 3,000 yen an hour. In this case, you don't have to take the lesson 4 times but at least take it once a month.
by Ko Ito