Otocare at Shinkomoji Hospital in Kitakyushu-city

Research in Progress
“Otocare the first trial report”

text: Hikari Sandhu, Nick Luscombe, Yu Morishita
The University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science
Published on July 6th, 2023
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Background

Occupational health and environment

Studies of occupational health increasingly show the importance of a positive ambient environment to support workers’ health and well-being ^{1, 2}. In their studies, several elements including gender, thermal comfort, floor planning, and environmental sounds are considered to be important elements to determine the quality of work environment experience ². Further, research shows the environmental sounds and occupational stress have an important association; lower levels of ambient noise can boost negative job stress ³.

Hospital environment and sounds

Modern medicine is developed upon well-maintained hospital environments comprised of standardized hygiene practices and noise control, yet it lacks of perspectives on patients’ care. As guided by World Health Organization ⁴, hospital environments require standard principles for hygiene maintenance, which includes ventilation, spacing for each patient, quality of water, dressing of healthcare workers. As per the noise control, World Health Organization also guides noise level inside the wards as lower than 40dB during the night-time to prevent patients’ stress level ⁴. Followed by multiple guidelines the hospital environments created safe and inorganic spaces. Despite the environmental settings for any disease prevention for patients, ignorance of patients’ experience of hospital environment creates negative effects on patients’ and their family’s health and well-being such as anxiety, insomnia, and lack of motivation for treatment. Monti et al. show a positive effect of pictorial interventions to improve the perception of the hospital environment among pediatric patients’ family ⁵. The importance of positive environmental settings was clearly illustrated in previous research.

OTOCARE Project

With all background illustrated above, we conducted our first Otocare trial at Palliative care, Saiseikai Kanagawaken Hospital, in 2020 (https://memuearthlab.jp/2021/06/22/otocare-saiseikai-kanagawaken-hospital/). The result showed the potential to implement nature sounds in the hospital environment as a therapeutic use for healthcare workers. The trial was limited to a palliative care unit that focused on the calming environment as care. The first trial led us to another question: How do healthcare workers who generally work in acute medical settings react to natural environmental sounds? To answer this question, we had moved our trail location to Shinkomoji hospital in Kitakyushu-city, where had a 93.13 million population ad a 30.7 % aging rate as a comparison Yokohama city had a 372.5 million population and 24.7 % aging rate ^{6, 7}. The research aim was to explore healthcare workers’ perception of natural sounds in acute to general medical settings.

Methods

We conducted the second trial at Shinkomoji Hospital, Kita-Kyushu city, Fukuoka Prefecture. We collaborated with a nursing department to conduct this trial. The trial period was divided into two phases: The first phase was conducted from May 26th to June 8th, 2021. We targeted a total of 353 nurses (all registered nurses in the hospital), prepared five speakers that contained 12 hours of nature sounds mixed music (Scene 1), and were allocated in 5 staff rooms in 5 hospital wards. As the intervention, participants listened to the music mix at staff rooms during their break time. After listening to the sounds, the participants filled out a questionnaire (Questionnaire A) including five questions about their daily physical and psychological status and the impact of nature sounds. After the intervention period, we distributed another questionnaire (Questionnaire B) including background, music history, and detailed questions of their sound experience and preferences of environmental sounds.

The second phase was conducted from June 16th to June 30th, 2021. We expanded the participants from nurses to multidisciplinary healthcare workers to gain wide range of insights by allocating seven speakers in seven locations. Locations included a general medicine staff room, a surgical department staff room, an outpatient treatment room, a nurse station, a community care room, and an outpatient consultation room. As the intervention, participants listened to the music mix at each location during their break time. After the intervention period, we distributed Questionnaire B as the first phase, which included participants’ background, music history, and detailed questions of their sound experience and preferences of environmental sounds.

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Findings

We collected 128 responses for Questionnaire A and 76 responses for Questionnaire B for the first phase, and 125 responses for questionnaire B in the second phase. Table 1 showed the details of participants:

Table 1: Participants details

The results showed three main findings. The first finding presented listening to nature sounds music can enhance relaxation among nurses, yet it may not directly reduce stressors. Diagram 1 showed the results from nurses during the first phase, and diagram 2 showed the results of the second phase from multidiscipline, including nurses and other occupations. Both diagrams showed that over 70 % of respondents answered positively to having nature sounds music in the hospital; in contrast, diagram 3 showed that the nature sounds did not reduce stress reduction daily. That is, natures sounds based music may not be enough to induce strong stress reduction but can provide a temporary relaxed experience.

Diagram 1: Subjective impact of nature sounds in the hospital environment from Nurses

Diagram 2: Subjective impact of nature sounds in the hospital environment from Nurses + other disciplines

Diagram 3:  Subjective evaluation of nurses’ daily stress reduction by nature sounds

The second finding showed that the sound of the river, western classical music, and slow tempo music is preferred (diagram 4 and diagram 5). Among all nature sounds, river sounds or beach sounds contain mono-toned continuous sounds compared to other sounds such as birds or rain sounds containing changeable irregular sounds. The mono-toned continuous sounds may contribute to stabilizing the environmental sounds and the atmosphere created by the sounds. As for the preference for western classical music and slow tempo music, both sounds have more familiarity as the hospital usually plays mellow musical box sounds as background music. This familiarity leads to a preference of sounds and music.

Diagram 4: Preferred sounds to listen to in the hospital (Nurses)

Diagram 5: Preferred sounds to listen to in the hospital (Nurses + other disciplines)

Finally, the third finding showed that participants perceive sounds differently depending on their locations and circumstances. We allocated speakers in seven different locations as a total. Results showed that participants who listened to the sounds at a surgical department staff room had a different perception of sounds than participants in different locations. The high-intensity workplaces may need to maintain tension to keep high-quality work and productivity, which relaxational sounds, including nature sounds, may not be suitable.

Table 2:  Comparison of ‘Disagree’ responses from survey data

Appendix 1: Thematic analysis from written interviews

Perspectives-

Otocare second trial showed that nature sounds could reduce stress among healthcare workers who work in acute to general medical fields. Further, we explored river sounds or beach sounds were more preferred sounds compare to other nature sounds. Importantly we were able to collect over 100 responses that had a scientifically sufficient sample size. Consequently, Otocare trials suggest to increase implementation of nature sounds into healthcare fields as a part of psychological care for healthcare workers. To drive forward this care, we need to explore implementation methods suitable for the healthcare environment, such as allocations, sound management systems, device choices, and the sustainability of entire systems. Otocare will continue to investigate such points in collaboration with architectures, sound system engineers.

References

1. Gatti, M.F.Z. & Silva, M.J.P. (2007). Ambient music in the emergency services: the professionals’ perception. Rev Latino-am Enfermagem, maio-junho; 15(3):377-83.
2. Mulville, M., Callaghan, N. & Isaac, D. (2016) “The impact of the ambient environment and building configuration on occupant productivity in open-plan commercial offices”, Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 18(3), pp.180-193.
3. Leather, P., Beale, D. & Sullivan, L. (2003). Noise, psychosocial stress and their interaction in the workplace. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23, p.213-222.
4. Berglund, B., Lindvall, T., Schwela, D.H .& World Health Organization. (1996). Occupational and Environmental Health Team‎. Guidelines for Community Noise. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/66217
5. Monti, F., Agostini, F., Dellabartola, S., Neri, E., Bozicevic, L, & Pocecco, M. (2012). Pictorial intervention in a pediatric hospital environment: effects on parental affective perception of the unit. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32, p.216-224. et al. (2012)
6. City of Kitakyushu (2022. Retrieved from https://www.city.kitakyushu.lg.jp/soumu/file_0311.html
7. City of Yokohama (2023). Retrieved from https://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/city-info/yokohamashi/tokei-chosa/portal/jinko/maitsuki/saishin-news.html

Thank you to our partners –

Sound : Scene 1

We are co-producing a radio program “DARE2CARE”.

Starting from February 4th, 2022
On: InterFM 89.7 Friday 3pm – 4pm

Playback @ Radiko for 1 week

DARE2CARE produced with 東京大学・Memu Earth Lab Otocare プロジェクト | InterFM897 | 2022/02/04/金 15:00-16:00

https://www.interfm.co.jp/dare2care

Otocare Scene 2 – Melody Forest

Title：Otocare Scene 2 – Melody Forest

This album features four traditional folk songs, performed on violin by Midori Komachi, who also arranged each piece. Nick Luscombe recorded the forest sounds at Yamanakako and blended Midori’s violin as a mix.

The tracks featured are as follows:

Down by the Salley Gardens (Irish Folksong arr. Midori Komachi)

Hamabe no Uta /Song of the Seashore (Tamezo Narita arr. Midori Komachi)

The Water is Wide (Scottish Folksong arr. Midori Komachi) – this song is also known as O Waly Waly in Wales, and Hiroi Kawa no Kishibe in Japanese

Home Sweet Home (English Folksong arr. Midori Komachi) – this song is also known as Hanyu no Yado in Japanese

このアルバムは、小町碧（こまち みどり）が編曲し演奏した4曲の民謡と、ニック・ラスカムが山中湖の森で集めたフィールドレコーディングを用い構成されています。

ダウン・バイ・ザ・サリー・ガーデン / Down by the Salley Gardens (アイルランド民謡　編曲：小町碧)

浜辺の歌 / Song of the Seashore (成田為三　編曲：小町碧)

ザ・ウォーター・イズ・ワイド / The Water is Wide (スコットランド民謡　編曲：小町碧) – この曲は、ウェールズでは「O Waly Waly」として、日本では、「広い河の岸辺」として知られています

ホーム・スイート・ホーム / Home Sweet Home (イングランド民謡　編曲：小町碧) – 日本では、「埴生の宿（はにゅうのやど）」として知られています

First Mix: September 2021, Duration: 00:46:22

Violin and musical arrangements – Midori Komachi
Field Recording – Nick Luscombe
Mix composition and production – Nick Luscombe

https://www.midorikomachi.com/

Otocare at The London Festival of Architecture

Date: June 1st – 30th, 2021
Location: Potter’s Field Park and Gibbons Rent, London, UK

We have joined the London Architecture Festival 2021, which theme was “Care”.

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MSCTY x OTOCARE x Team London Bridge

MSCTY, the leading global agency for music + architecture, is partnering with the University of Tokyo’s OTOCARE project to sonically enhance Potter’s Field Park and Gibbons Rent via exclusively commissioned soundscapes by Kirk Barley and Elsa Hewitt. Both tracks respond to each location and draw inspiration from LFA 2021’s “care” theme and are available via www.mscty.space .

Listen @ https://www.mscty.space/project/mscty-x-london-bridge

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The London Festival of Architecture

The London Festival of Architecture is the world’s largest annual architecture festival, with a mission to uncover and promote new talent. With an amazing programme of events and activities taking place right across London every June, we welcome everyone into the conversation around architecture and our city. We work year-round to help new individuals and organisations feel empowered to stage their own festival events.

https://2021.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/event/otocare-london/

Otocare at Saiseikai Kanagawaken Hospital

Research in Progress
“Otocare the first trial report”

text: Hikari Sandhu
The University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science
Published on January 14th, 2021
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Introduction

We live a life that is inseparable from sound. 

Through our work at Memu, situated in the south of Hokkaido, we collected various nature sounds. The largely agricultural landscape of Memu is far from any significant urban areas and is surrounded by all kinds of sounds, which people comfortably live with. On the other hand, in modernised urban cities, car horns and construction noise are what we hear on a daily basis. City dwellers barely hear the sounds of the natural environment. Our sense of hearing has been compromised as we have become more accustomed to the sounds of the modern world as a result of rapid urbanisation over the decades. This in turn has led to people forgetting how to listen to nature, and how to integrate those sounds into our everyday life.

In the modern architectural field, building interiors are designed to eliminate any intrusive sounds, to apparently assist with the wellbeing and comfort of office workers, with each building setting a noise standard to create as much silence as possible. Every noise is considered an enemy to humans, with the mantra of silence is golden. However, we have to ask: Is silence natural?  When we look back to our origins, we have never been in complete silence –  even before we were born. We hear the flow of water and our mothers’ heartbeat in the womb. We develop our senses with human voices as we grow up. Despite these natural development stages in all of our lives, we deem the creation of silence inside buildings as a way to make them a more comfortable place.

Recent studies regarding the links between sounds and health uncovered many positive effects of naturally occurring sound on our health. The research reported the positive relationship between natural sounds and human health; some researchers reported that environmental sounds can be beneficial to people’s physical recovery from injury and disease as well as positive effects on mental health. (Hansen et al., 2017; Lee & Son, 2018). Another report showed that inaudible high-frequency sounds from nature can activate brain functions (Oohashi et al, 2000). Furthermore, the field of urban design reported that soundscape effects can increase psychological health (Hedblom et al., 2017).

With increasing interest in the relationship between sounds and health described above, we began to explore for ourselves the potential uses of nature sounds for everyday life and their impact on health, architecture, and society. The project name is OTOCARE (Sound-Care).

What we did…

The first OTOCARE goal was to deliver some of the environmental sounds from Memu, to urban cities (e.g. Tokyo, Yokohama). As we planned this experiment in the Spring of 2020, the Japanese government declared the first state of emergency in April, and many hospitals around the world reported healthcare workers’ psychological burnout including at hospitals here in Japan. With this rapidly developing situation negatively impacting many lives, we quickly moved to deliver the sounds of nature captured in Memu in the hope of easing some of the stress among healthcare workers. With generous cooperation and a welcoming, open-minded approach, we were fortunate to be able to make a collaboration with the palliative care ward^[1] at Saiseikai Kanagawa-Ken Hospital, Social Welfare Organization Saiseikai Imperial Gift Foundation, Yokohama, Japan (http://www.kanagawa.saiseikai.or.jp/).

We used five types of environmental sounds for the experiment: insects sound, birds, rain sounds, human voices, and daily-life sounds (e.g. cooking, car driving, etc.). In addition to these natural sounds we worked with MSCTY (https://www.mscty.space/) and London-based ambient music producer Ski Oakenfull to create a 60 minutes mix of music and sound. (click the sound on the page) The mix was played for two weeks from June to July 2020. Twelve healthcare workers working in the ward joined this trial. After two weeks of the trial, we distributed questionnaires to the participants to ask their honest impression towards listening to this original mix of nature sound and music in the ward.
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How was nature sounds to healthcare workers?

Results from the questionnaire survey showed that nature sounds eased stress among healthcare workers to some degree. Some participants reported nature sounds as relaxing and comfortable, and the nature sounds did not disturb the process of medical treatments (Figure 1). That was, the sounds were not considered as noise, rather it gave them a positive emotional experience. The participants found birds and water sounds as comfortable; on the other hand, people’s voices and daily living sounds had a less positive effect (Figure 2).

Figure 3 showed that implementing nature sounds in the hospital unit changed the atmosphere and that it somewhat created a relaxing environment. The results explain that nature sounds have a positive effect on refreshing the environment and workers’ mindset.

Figure 1: Result of question 1  “How did you feel about the sounds?”

Figure 2: Result of question 2  “Which sounds did you remember the most?”

Figure 3: Result of question 3  “Why did you remember the sound?”

Figure 4: Result of question 4  “What do you think of playing nature sounds in the unit?”

Prospectives –

OTOCARE first trial showed that the natural sound from Menu created a positive impact on healthcare workers and the hospital unit (Figure 4). This trial leads us to new questions; what are suitable nature sounds for hospital environments? How long should we listen to the sounds to experience comfort in our environment? Our exploration of sounds and the environment also shed light on a new perspective on the architectural sound design of healthcare facilities. Although this experiment did not have a scientifically sufficient sample size, we can understand that having nature sounds in the hospital can bring a positive impact and it has opened up a new perspective in the architectural sound design field. OTOCARE will continue to explore other possibilities for and effects of nature sounds in our life.

Footnotes:

^[1] The palliative care unit is a ward for terminal cancer patients, and many patients with a short life expectancy are hospitalized.

References:

Hansen, M. M., Jones, R., and Tocchini, K. (2017). Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and nature therapy: a state-of-the-art review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14 (851).

Hedblom, M., Knez, I., Ode, Sang, Å., and Gunnarsson, B. (2017). Evaluation of natural sounds in urban greenery: potential impact for urban nature preservation. Royal society of open science, 4, 170037.

Lee, H. J., Son, S. A. (2018). Qualitative assessment of experience on urban forest therapy program for preventing dementia of the elderly living alone in low-income class. Journal of people, plants, and environment, 21(6), 565-574.

Oohashi, T., Nishina, E., Honda, M., Yonekura, Y., Fuwamoto, Y., Kawai, N., Maekawa, T., Nakamura, S., Fukuyama, H., and Shibasaki, H. (2000). Inaudible high-frequency sounds affect brain activity: hypersonic effect. Journal of Neurophysiology, 83 (6).

Thank you to our partners –

Sound : Scene 1

Otocare Discussion 1

Wellbeing Through Sound

Otocare with Laura Sampson, Georgia Rodgers, and Madoka Tsuchida

Date：March 11th, 2021
Time：18:00~19:00 JST
Location: CIC Tokyo & Online (Venture Café Tokyo, Thursday Gatherings)

Register Here

Type: Open to the public
Language: English

Otocare’s mission is to foster a deep sense of wellbeing through the use of sound, drawing from years of individual research and planning and by forging new partnerships with healthcare professionals, urban designers, artists, and scientists.

Otocare was founded by Yu Morishita and Hikari Sandhu from the University of Tokyo and Nick Luscombe from MSCTY, initially as a response during the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic, to conduct research around the use of sound recordings to improve the wellbeing of staff and patients in high-stress medical environments. The project has since expanded into other areas of study and application. (Otocare Scene 1)

This panel discussion will feature a mix of speakers working as sound artists, musicians, and scientists from the UK and Japan.

The main themes of our discussion will include the ways that sound shapes our daily lives, how we can improve the sonic environment of our cities, the use of music as a way to stimulate memory, and what the sounds of the natural world can provide as a resource for our wellbeing.

Introduced and moderated by Yu Morishita, Hikari Sandhu, and Nick Luscombe.

The discussion will take place as part of Venture Café Tokyo, Tokyo Thursday Gatherings.

Otocareは、2019年末に発生した新型コロナウイルスによるパンデミックにより、高いストレス状態にあった医療従事者や患者に対して、環境音を介したウェルビーイングを向上を目的として作られました。

この度のウェビナーでは、英国と日本にて、アーティスト、音楽家、研究者として活躍する方々をお招きし、我々の日常の中の音の在り方、街中の音響環境の向上、記憶を刺激する音楽の使い方、そして我々のウェルビーイングを向上させるメディアとしての音の在り方について議論を致します。

登壇者 / Speakers

Laura Sampson
Laura Sampson is a storyteller and arts promoter from London with a degree in medieval literature (Univ. College, London). She has studied noh since 2011 and became a member of Theatre Nohgaku in 2014. She is co-producer of the Noh Training Project UK.

Georgia Rodgers
Georgia Rodgers is a composer of instrumental and electronic music whose work focuses on textural and spatial aspects of sound. In 2016 she was selected as one of Sound and Music’s New voices and in 2018 she was an Oram Award winner. Georgia studied Physics and Music followed by a Masters degree in computer music with Michael Edwards, both at the University of Edinburgh. She was recently awarded a Ph.D. in composition from City, University of London with a particular focus on music for instruments and electronic sound and the human experience of listening and space. Georgia has also worked as an acoustician for a firm of consulting engineers, specialising in architectural acoustics, and as a scientist researching the effects of environmental noise on human health. She lives and works (and was born) in north London.

Madoka Tsuchida
Madoka is a PhD student at the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Graduate School of Arts and Science, The University of Tokyo. Her research interests is a relationship of people with hearing loss and music, and she particularly focuses on hand-sign as their main language. She has conducted field research in a ‘deaf village’ at Bali island, Indonesia.

Yu Morishita
Yu Morishita is a researcher of building informatics at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo with Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Information Studies. Currently, a Project Lecturer leading Memu Earth Lab, a university-wide project exploring ways of listening to the uniqueness of places through fieldwork, figuring the role of infrastructure for the next society.

Hikari Sandhu
Hikari is a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Science with a Ph.D. in Health Science, and a registered music therapist certified in Japan. Hikari has been interested in using sounds and music for human health. She has experience of working with terminal cancer patients in the U.S. and Japan as a music therapist. Her recent interest has been on the health benefits of nature sounds and joy of music in our everyday life.

Nick Luscombe
Nick is a BBC radio broadcaster, producer, music curator/collector and field recordist. He is the founder of the international spatial sound practice MSCTY (www.mscty.space), the leading agency for music and architecture. His previous roles include Chief Music Editor at iTunes Europe, Director of Music at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) and presenter of BBC Radio’s Sony Award Winning Late Junction programme.

Otocare Scene 1 – Soft Haze

Created by Nick Luscombe (MSCTY), Hikari Sandhu & Yu Morishita

Title：Otocare Scene 1 – Soft Haze

Field Recording：Nick Luscombe & James Greer (MSCTY)
Music：Ski Oakenfull
Music Production Guide: Hikari Sandhu
Composed by: Nick Luscombe

This soundtrack features a blend of environmental sounds recorded in and around Memu, Hokkaido by Nick Luscombe and James Greer. Electronic music producer Ski Oakenfull created the musical pieces in response to the field recordings. It was produced to search and experiment with the role of environmental sound or music in closed-off architectural spaces, such as hospitals. In 2020, it was introduced to Saiseikai Kanagawa-ken Hospital, then in 2021, to Shinkomoji Hospital in Kitakyusyu to conduct a sonic intervention with the participation of nurses at the practice. With the questionnaire survey, it was suggested that the sound acted as a medium to ease tension amongst those who look after and are being looked after.

このサウンドトラックは、北海道、芽武周辺でNick LuscombeとJames Greer が集めたフィールドレコーディングにより構成されています。これらの環境音に応答する楽曲を、アンビエント・電子音楽プロデューサーのSki Oakenfullが作りました。病院などの建築的に閉じられた空間における環境音、音楽の役割を探求、実験するために制作されました。2020年に済生会神奈川県病院にて、2021年には北九州の新小文字病院にて看護師の方々にご協力いただき、現場にて音を介した介入実験を行いました。アンケートの結果、制作された音は、看護する側と看護される側の関係性、コミュニケーションに作用することが把握されました。

Report from the experiment at Saiseikai Kanagawa-ken Hospital / 済生会神奈川県病院における実験のレポート（English Only)
Report from the experiment at Kitakyushu Shinkomoji Hospital / 北九州新小文字病院における実験のレポート（English Only)

Work in Progress

First Mix: May 2020, Duration: 00:59:13
Second Mix: November 2020, Duration: 00:55:23
Spring Mix: May 2nd, 2021, Duration: 00:29:00 for BBC Radio 3
Cassette Mix: June 23rd, 2021, Duration: 00:29:39 (side A), 00:28:10 (side B)

Music Written by –

Ski Oakenfull

Kicking off his musical career in 1991 as a keyboard player with the band The K-Creative, Ski went on to play with bands such as Galliano & Raw Stylus. At the same time he began to find his own creative voice and released his first 12″ Ain’t Gonna Justify on Dr. Bob Jones’ label Black On Black Records in 1994. He has subsequently gone on to become a full-time remixer, producer, writer & keyboard player for artists such as Incognito, Jakatta, Valerie Etienne, Two Banks Of Four, Rose Smith, Earl Zinger & The Bays, as well as releasing 2 solo albums Life Changes & Rising Son. In 2007 Ski launched his own label Primaudial Records to enable him to release music including his latest project Ayota.

https://www.skioakenfull.com/

Played @

On Air @ British Airways Highlife Entertainment

May 22nd, 2021~ / Introduction Video to works of tona by Rika Kawato / JP / EN / Duration 00:02:51

May 3rd, 2021 / 7:30 JST / May 2nd 23:30 BST / BBC Radio 3 – Slow Radio  / https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vqjq

January 25th, 2021 / 15:00~15:45 JST / CIC LIVE – Nick Luscombe Presents / https://fb.me/e/gXNp7V0nF

November 3rd, 2020 / 20:08~20:11 JST / Radio: J-WAVE SPECIAL TSUCHIYA EARTHOLOGY No.2 / Playback @ 02:07:29 ~ 02:10:00

June ~ July 2020@ 35.48137357946931, 139.63425241609045
Palliative care ward of Saiseikai Kanagawaken Hospital, Social Welfare Organization Saiseikai Imperial Gift Foundation, Yokohama, Japan / Detail

Otocare Fuji Iyashi no Mori – November

Created by Nick Luscombe (MSCTY), Hikari Sandhu, Yu Morishita

November 15th 2020
Transmission starts at 1 pm JST

As the world is experiencing an unprecedented global pandemic, we are increasingly exploring a new normal to build our everyday life. The role of Otocare Fuji Iyashi no Mori is to unravel how sound and music can enrich our experience of the forest, and how, in turn, the natural environment can inspire the way we listen to and appreciate sound in nature. We will be discussing, a form of sound made by forest and music, potentials in our new places, and the future relationships between the forest and ourselves.

Date：November 15th, 2020
Time：13:00~15:45
Location: UTokyo Fuji Iyashinomori Woodland Study Center (FIWSC)
Type: Not open to public onsite / Open online

「Otocare 富士癒しの森」

今世界的パンデミックの中で、私たちはこれまでの当たり前が大きな変化を向かえています。大きな変革の渦にいる一つが音楽の世界です。人との交流の制限によって、音楽業界はコンサートの開催が困難になるなど、新しい音楽の形を求められてるなか、私たちは音楽と自然の新しい関係性に注目しました。Otocare Fuji Iyashi no Mori では、5組の音楽演奏を介して、森と音楽が作る音の形、私たちの新しい居場所、そしてこれからの人と森の関係づくりについて考えます。

日程：2020年11月15日
時間：13:00~15:45
場所：東京大学富士癒しの森研究所

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Sound Path Through the Forest:

Performers Include:

Emiko Miura – toy piano

Emiko Miura is a pianist, arranger and composer. She performs using the toy piano, melodica, piano and synthesiser. Her work   connects classical, modern composition and experimental electronics.

三浦永美子

ピアニスト、編曲者、作曲者。トイピアノ、メロディカ、ピアノ、シンセサイザーを演奏する。クラシック、近代作曲、実験的エレクトロニクスに繋がる演奏をする。

Played @

February 13th, 2021 ~ 29 days / Radio: BBC Radio 3 / Playback @ 01:29:41~01:35:48 / https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000s8dz

Masanori Oishi – solo saxophone

Masanori Oishi is a Tokyo-based saxophonist who has earned recognition as a dynamic player with an energy that allows him to reflect the sonic scope of a wide variety of music – from works by modern composers to improvisational pieces.

大石将紀

東京に拠点を置くサクソフォン奏者。力動的でエネルギーに溢れる表現によって、現代音楽から即興的音楽まで幅広い音楽ジャンルの演奏をする。

Chihei Hatakeyama – guitar, keyboard, laptop

Chihei Hatakeyama is an ambient electronic music artist who processes guitars, pianos, and vibraphones to create slowly evolving aural landscapes. He is known for being incredibly prolific and has released over 70 albums since 2006.

畠山地平

東京出身のエレクトロニックミュージックアーティスト。2006年に最初のフルアルバム、Minima Moraliaをリリース。畠山の音楽は、ラップトップでギター、ピアノ、ビブラフォンを繰り返し処理することによって作曲され、特徴的に非常に遅いのが特徴。2020年現在70枚以上のアルバムをリリース。

Nobuhiko Chiba (Hawhawke) & Mari Ono – tonkori

Nobuhiko Chiba (aka Hawhawke) sings and plays the tonkori  – a traditional Ainu five-stringed harp instrument that evokes different landscapes through the use of simple, repetitive melodies. Chiba has been involved in the Ainu music community since 1990 when he began studying Ainu music and instruments under the tutelage of Ainu elders in Hokkaido and the Kanto Region (Tokyo).

千葉伸彦（別名　Hawhawke）

トンコリ奏者。トンコリとは、アイヌ文化に伝わる５本の弦によって構成されている琴型の楽器であり、伝統的なシンプルで反復する奏法により異なる風景を想起させる。1990年以来アイヌ音楽文化やアイヌ音楽教師より楽器を学び、現在伝統的なアイヌ音楽の美しさと文化的価値をより多くの聴衆に広めている。

Mari Ono

A vocalist working in music, space science, and cultural education. Ono also closely works with Ainu music culture to connect people, astronomy, and its culture with hope for a better understanding of humanity and nature.

おのまり

主に音楽を軸とし、宇宙科学、民族文化伝承、の３つの分野をつなぐ活動を行っている。関東アイヌ民族の文化伝承団体「レラの会」に所属し、うたで人と繋がり、星で広い視点を持ち、民族伝承で多様な価値観の共生を生むことを、日々志している。

Chor Fujimarimo – local philharmonic chorus

Founded in 2011. 18 women and 9 men members (avg. 71 years old) voluntarily run the group with a vision of bringing voices in Yamanaka Lake. They sing Japanese traditional and popular songs.

コール・ふじまりも（山中湖混声合唱同好会）

2011年「山中湖に歌声を」を動機に創立、現在有志による女性18名、男性9名の会員からなる。平均年齢は71歳。クラッシックから日本の歌、ポピュラーを持ち歌として混声合唱活動を実施中。

Documentation Team:

Film: Sam King Film
Live Narrow Casting: Henry Morse

Researches Include:

Cyber Forest: Akio Fujiwara (Fuji Iyashi no Mori): Forest Informatics
Listen to the Fuji Iyashi no Mori Sound Live from Cyber Forest

Morikatsu de Kenkou (Promotion of Health through “Mori Katsu” = Activities in the Forest)「森活で健康」は山中湖村と東京大学大学院農学生命科学研究科附属演習林富士癒しの森研究所との地域交流に関する協定に基づく共同プロジェクトです。

Biometric Measurement: Hikari Sandhu, Yukiko Matsunaga (Institute of Industrial Science)

Acoustic Measurement: Mitsuru Yabushita (YAB Corporation)

Postscript:

「Otocare」は、空間における音の可能性を再読する取り組みです。これまでに、音楽療法のプリンシパルを用い、自然音と音楽を用いた楽曲を、普段は音が極力遮断されている、病院環境で流す実験などを行ってきました。自然環境と都市環境におけるそれぞれの音の役割、人と空間、音が交差する場所について初心に戻り考えています。

これまでにコンサートホールやライブハウスなど、いわゆる建築の箱は、想定された音楽を正しく奏でるために、想定された人の集まり方を演出するために作られて来ることが多かったと思います。そのような箱の中における音の世界の活動が制限されている今日は、二つの方向性を試す良い機会だと考えています。一つはそのような箱のあり方を変えることで、これまでの活動を継続できるように考えること、もう一つは箱から出て、これまでとは異なる環境に、音楽（音）をする場所を探すことです。今回は後者の実験を想定しました。よく、「Think Out of the Box」 という表現が使われますが、その場合、箱の外に出て、なお箱のことを考える、というニュアンスが、特に建築関係の界隈では常態化しています。今回は、「Off the Box」、箱のことは忘れ、森を音楽をする場所として、音を奏でる場所としてみることで生まれる、異なる可能性を探求できるよう、「富士癒しの森」の研究者の皆さまと機会を作りました。

音楽という観点からは、屋内のように音が響かないこともあります。先月現地にて実施した音響計測では、コンサートホールよりも歌舞伎の芝居小屋に近い響き方をするということがまず初見として把握されました。また、鳥の声が背景音ではなく、目の前の環境として音楽の一部になるかもしれませんし、音を聞く側は、固定席で聞こえて来るものを享受するだけではなく、それぞれが聞こえやすい場所を探すことも、森は可能にするのかと想像しています。このような見識から、音響計測の方法に関しても今後検討が必要と感じられました。

今回、いわゆる観客席は決まった場所に設けず、声や音が小さければ近寄り、より鳥の声を混ぜたければ遠くへ足を伸ばし、森という空間を自由に歩きながら、音がある森を感じることも今回の実験の一部と考えています。異なる状態の森の地面が奏でる自分の足音、笹と触れ合う裾の音も、演奏の一部となるかもしれません。異なる状態に管理されている森へ、移動しながら音を体験することと同時に、音を媒体として森の空間を再読できればと思います。

この取り組みは、演奏会と呼ぶことも出来る傍ら、音を通した森の体験会ともとらえられます。実験会、でもありますが、今回は科学的に精密な計測を行うのではなく、参加者全員で、森を楽しみ、また時には不安に思い、時間を共有することで、新しい気づきを共有することが大切でした。

Downloads:

• otocare-fuji-iyashi-no-mori-poster.pdf