My first Japan tour in 4 years was a success last month, despite that the pandemic shook the whole world for a few years. I was reunited with old friends and also made many new friends and fans.
先月行なった4年ぶりの日本ツアーは成功だった。パンデミックで世界が数年の間、大きく揺らいだにも関わらず。今回多くの友人達と再会し、また新しい友達やファンもできた。
One of the notable changes was the rise of female musicians in Japan. Out of my 10 guest/support musicians, 3 of them were females this time. This trend will surely continue. Obviously there is no such thing as gender boundary in music. For my next tour, I have booked four female players to perform.
中でも特筆すべきは、日本で女性ミュージシャンの台頭が著しいことだ。今回のツアーのゲスト及びサポートメンバー計10人の内、3人が女性であった。これからもこの傾向は続くに違いない。言うまでもなく、音楽に性別の境界などあるはずがない。次回の日本ツアーでは、既に4人の女性プレーヤーとの共演が決まっている。
Also noteworthy was my performance of lefty guitar upside down for the first time in Japan. The reverse string play provides me with deep bending of high notes by pulling down the strings. It was well received by the audience. To learn how to play the guitar in this very unique way, all it took me was my commitment and conviction.
さらには、今回初めて左利き用のギターを日本に持って行った。ギターを上下ひっくり返して、弦逆張りのまま高音弦を引っ張り下げることでより深く曲げることができる。この奏法は聴衆にも良く受け入れられた。このユニークな弾き方を身につけるには献身的な努力と信念が必要だった。
The only difficulty I had was to carry both right and left handed guitars while I was traveling. They were bulky and heavy. However, after I came back home, I have found that dual guitar bags specifically designed for travel were available in the market. Where there is a will, there is a way.
ただ一つ困難な点は、右と左利き用のギターを2本持ってツアー中移動することだった。カサが張るし重い。しかしツアーを終えて家に戻った後に、ギター2本を収容出来るギターバッグが世に出回っているのを見つけた。強い意志があると道が開けるものだ。
I am looking forward to going back to Japan again next Spring.
来春の日本ツアーが今から楽しみだ。
