INDEX
Graduated at the Top of Music College: Approaches Music from Sensory and Theoretical Perspectives
-At Osaka College of Music, you took classes to study melodies of various genres, didn’t you?
Shetona: I was taught Indian music, Okinawan music, Hawaiian music, folk songs, Enka …… rock, from rock ‘n’ roll to hard rock, in each genre in detail. The school trains so-called professional composers, so we learn the skills to respond to any order from a client. They would decide on a reference piece and then try to break it down first to learn its structure. So I got into the habit of analyzing other artists’ songs even when I was listening to them (laughs).
– After learning the structure of various music genres in this way, which artists did you fall in love with?
Shetona: For example, I became attracted to artists like SIRUP, Suchmos, and WONK, who play jazz and black music in a J-POP format.
At first, I had no idea about jazz and black music and just listened to them because I thought they were “pleasant,” but when I went to see a friend of mine who was majoring in jazz play live, I saw them play saxophone and piano, and I suddenly became interested in them. I took a jazz theory class, and as I learned to write big band scores and improvise, I fell more and more in love with it. In jazz, I especially like Charlie Parker and Sam Gendell’s balance of layering notes, melodic themes, and improvisation. I became more and more attracted to the theoretical and esoteric aspects of music.
-Your last work, “MUSEUM,” was your graduation project.
Shetona: Yes. I wanted to show that I could create music of various genres, so I created this work with the image of a museum with various pieces of music on display. Until then, I had put vocals on tracks I had made myself, but for “MUSEUM,” I wanted to try something new, so I aimed for a band sound.
I used the sound of Kroi and BREIMEN as references. Their alternative sound, influenced by jazz and hip-hop, felt very familiar to me because I have similar roots. Moreover, I don’t think there have been many patterns with female vocals on that kind of sound image.
-When she entered university, Sitona said she could barely keep up with the classes, but last spring she graduated at the top of her class. Was there a turning point in your development to that extent?
Shetona: The Corona disaster was a big one. I think the turning point was that I learned a lot of theory during that time because I was in remote classes all the time. Until then, I had been making music by “feel,” but that only reduced my ability to draw out the music, so I decided to relearn jazz theory and popular theory from scratch and understand everything about scales, chords, and so on. By doing so, I was able to put chords on melodies that I had created with my senses, and conversely, I was able to put melodies with a strong theoretical foundation on chord progressions that I had laid out with my senses, which greatly expanded the range of what I could do.
-It is a fusion of sensation and theory.
Shetona: In addition, I also thought about what kind of skills are needed to sell my work as a “product. While searching for quality, sound makeup, and originality that only I could bring to the table, I asked myself, “What is commercial music?” This research led to the improvement of my skills.
