Pianovan Adventure①：Planning

The Japanese version of this post is here. この記事の日本語訳はこちらです。

WHAT is a Pianovan

Pianovan is a van that houses an upright piano. It gives mobility to pianists. The pianovan I will be driving around for my upcoming adventure belongs to an amateur pianist who drives the van to play the piano in the wilderness on weekends. He has generously offered to let me borrow it for my experiment on weekdays.

Pianovan Adventure: WHEN? WHERE? With WHOM?

When: Mon. Nov. 15~ Fri. Nov. 19
Where: The San Francisco Bay area
With Whom:
- Self Help Hunger (Tues 16th from 1-3PM)
  - Genoa Street @ 61st St. and Stanford Ave, Oakland, CA 94608
- SockPop Shop Berkeley. (Wed 17th from 10:30-1:00PM)
  - 2926 College Ave., Berkeley CA 94705
- SAVE-dv (Wed 17th from 4-5:30PM): Fremont Main Library Parking Lot:
  - 2400 Stevenson Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538
- California College of the Arts (Thurs 18th from 4-5:00PM):
  - 1111 8th St, San Francisco, CA 94107
- Street Soccer USA (Thurs 18th from 6-6:30PM)
  - 200 Folsom St. 94105 SF
- More events TBA!!

WHY Pianovan NOW

To reach isolated and/or underserved communities with the power of music that I believe can help.
- For me to listen to their stories and learn how a musician like myself can contribute to their wellbeing
To promote music as an overlooked social resource that can enhance our individual and collective wellbeing.
To present a new prototype of music outreach to other musicians.

Pianovan Adventure: BACKGROUND

I received a phone call from a social worker at the onset of the pandemic in spring, 2020. She said that there were many seniors who did not speak English or use the internet. With the social distancing, they became super isolated. Many were showing signs of depressions like lack of appetite and difficulties with sleep. They wanted me to make a video of piano music. I was happy to oblige but did feel conflicted. Through my research, I’d known that a part of the power of music to heal came from its social component. What makes a live performance special is its communal experience, spontaneity, and interaction that is unique to that shared space and time. With a pianovan, I can offer all the benefits of live music outdoors with as much social distancing as each audience member wants!

And I started thinking about other communities that the pianovan would enable me to reach with the power of music. There are many people with difficulties getting to concert venues: People without an access to adequate transportation, people with physical mobility issues, people with family members that require constant care, etc. The pianovan would give me the mobility to reach them, instead of having to ask them to come to me!

HOW I Met A REAL PIANOVAN!

And then, I encountered a real life pianovan at a conference in early September. Late at night, after the closing ceremony, I was taken outside to meet this pianovan. Its owner happened to be attending the same conference, and offered it in case I wanted to perform for my fellow conference attendees. Below is a video from that impromptu performance.

It was a love at first sight. I was so excited, and blabbered on to the owner about my dreams about a pianovan. He generously suggested that I borrow it to test some of my ideas. That’s how my pianovan adventure came about.

The FUTURE I Envision for Pianovans

Since I joined the coalition Tempo:Music for Climate Action, I came to the opinion that performing arts must reconsider its presentation format. As it is, audiences travel to concert halls and theaters to attend a performance, leaving massive amount of carbon footprint. Instead, if the performers were to deliver their offerings at places of local gathering, that would be so much greener. It can also help encourage local economy, and community solidarity.

In addition, I want us all to consider musicians as second responders. With global warming, we expect natural disasters with increasing frequencies and severities. While each medical care professional can only tend to one patient at a time, music can help mitigate the sufferings of many at once. It helps reduce not just the perception of our physical pain, but also emotional. Music reduces our stress hormone level, easing our anxiety, regulating our breath, pulse, blood pressure, encouraging us to be empathetic, and to remain humane. With a pianovan, musicians can drive to places stricken by disasters!

With this pianovan, I want to offer a prototype of new way of communal music experience. And I already feel its effectiveness with the enthusiastic responses I have been getting from everyone I speak to. It must be the right timing. I am not active on Facebook, but when I posted about my upcoming Pianovan Adventure, I’ve received nearly 200 “Likes.” I consider that already a success in a certain sense.

HOW TO BE A PART OF THIS PIANOVAN ADVENTURE

MONETARY DONATION
- Donate through my website (Paypal -2.29%+30 cents):
  - https://musicalmakiko.com/en/support
- Donate through Venmo (no fee, but you need to register for your own Venmo account)
  - Venmo is available ONLY within the U.S.
  - You will need my email address (musicalmakiko@gmail.com), and the last four digits of my number (2581)
- To mail a check, or for a larger sponsorship, please write to muscialmakiko@gmail.com
PUBLICITY
- Spread the word about Makiko’s activities and message
- Arrange performances and speaking engagements for Makiko
- Subscribe to her social media accounts
  - Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/musicalmakiko
  - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicalmakiko/
  - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MakikoHirata
- Share her social media posts, and YouTube videos.
Leave a comment to this blog with any questions, suggestions, ideas, introductions, encouragement…