User Manual

Educator Series
PERCUSSION
Establishing Your Originality:
A Way to a Meaningful Performance
By Nanae Mimura
Nanae Mimura is on the faculty of Berklee
College of Music. She received her master of
music in marimba degree from the Boston
Conservatory in May of 2000. She has performed
numerous solo recitals and concerto concerts in
the United States, Japan, Europe, Asia, Central
America and South America. Sony Classical
Japan released her debut CD recording in the Fall
of 2000 and released her second solo album in
the Spring of 2002. In the 1999-2000 season,
Mimura made her Boston debut, her New York
debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and
her Tokyo debut at Kioi Hall. Nanae is a Yamaha
performing artist and she performs on a YM-
5100A Grand Marimba. Her official web site is
http://webs.to/nanae/
People who I admire move me in many ways through their great abilities to communicate. They could
be movie stars, authors, musicians, or just close friends around me. After wondering how they affect-
ed me, I realized they all have something in common. They all know who they really are, and they all
have a deep understanding of what they are trying to convey, each through a unique talent. This prob-
ably means that they have already established their identities in their own ways. As a musician, I strive
to make my audience feel good about my performance. I do not think it is wrong for me to say that
all musicians wish to move audiences with their music. In order to do this, it is most important to
really know yourself.
It is essential for you to find out and know what you are good at and what kind of music brings out
your best. I teach undergraduate students at the Berklee College of Music. Most of them do not know
their abilities as musicians yet. Of course, part of my job is to help them with their technical weak-
ness. It is very important to pay attention to your weakness and overcome that, because you want to
give a “high quality performance.” However, that is not the only thing I spend time on. I put a lot of
emphasis on helping them find their strong qualities and how to amplify them. I do this so they know
and accept their unique qualities, which will lead them to achieve a “meaningful performance.” I
believe that meaningful performances (or concerts in which you actually communicate your feelings
and thoughts to your audience through music) happen only when you make full use of your best qual-
ities as a musician.
In any setting, when a person wants to communicate with others, one needs to have “confidence”
and “persuasive power.” For example, if I want to persuade someone about something about which I
have little understanding, I would try to use someone else's words or surface knowledge that I
obtained from a book. Even if I were able to make sense with words, those words might not have
enough power to affect anyone. In order to have successful communication, I need to have a deep-
rooted knowledge. The same thing applies to musical performances. They come from having a deep-
rooted knowledge of your instrument, as well as carefully chosen repertoire that best reflects your
qualities. In addition, much care should be put into phrasing, as well as mallet choice and stroke. You
must have a clear vision of what it is that you would like to convey to your audience.
Remember, you need to have a good understanding about yourself. It is when you are confident of
your intention that your originality and identity will be established. With that, your music will become
more meaningful and you will be able to give a performance that has power to affect your audience.
This is why I strongly believe that having an original identity is one of the most important elements
of being an artist.
Nanae Mimura
NANAE MIMURA 1
Yamaha Corporation of America • Band & Orchestral Division
3445 East Paris Ave., SE • P.O. Box 899 • Grand Rapids, MI 49518-0899
www.yamahapercussion.com