Homo sapiens emerged from the forests of Africa and onto the plains, and has spread all over the world. Even 100,000 years ago, they enjoyed music, fashion, and physical gestures. They have created a wide variety of languages and religions, and supported their survival through a variety of lifestyles. Among them, there are some things that are characteristic of humankind. Even if the regions are different, what makes people happy and what makes them sad are often similar in all countries and regions. According to analysis by cultural anthropologists, myths and stories from around the world can be classified into about 30 patterns. It is said that the music and body language in these 30 patterns express true joy and sadness. Musical expression takes place through the voice and instruments. This expression is connected to the fundamental joy of human beings.
As time has progressed, research into the brain activity of musicians has become more popular since the 1990s. Research examining brain activity has led to efforts to utilize the results to improve musical performance. Sony Computer Science Laboratories began educating teenage pianists in 2020. There are some great features here that you won’t find at other piano schools. One of the features is learning about the mechanisms of the brain and body involved in musical performance. The other reason is that we have made it easier to learn tips such as how to use your fingers and how to apply force. Students who have studied at the academy have achieved excellent results in competitions both domestically and internationally, and it is said that their teaching has gotten back on track.
On the piano, a difficult movement is to alternately raise and lower the index and ring fingers, the middle finger, and the little finger. At Sony, students learn through lectures about the history of music research and medical knowledge about the joints and muscles involved in playing musical instruments. In addition to these lectures, they also try to improve performance using cutting-edge science and technology such as robots. For piano performance, they have introduced an exoskeleton robot that can train how to move the fingers. A uniquely developed hand-attached robot is used to practice moving fingers freely. By wearing the programmed robot and practicing, students can naturally learn how to move your fingers in ways they have never experienced before. The robot conveys complex movements that are difficult to perform on their own, drawing out the latent abilities of their body and brain. This is a great feature that allows you to move your fingers faster than before even if you remove the robot. It seems that Sony has created a tool that helps humans find their fundamental joy.
