To Deliver Music as “Love Beyond Words.”

/ My musical mission / By /

As a Cosmopolitan Musician, what can I do to contribute to this world?

As a citizen of Japan and a resident of the U.S.
who grew up in Hong Kong and Japan.
As a pianist with the benefit of a world class education
and the privilege of an international career.
As a musician with faith in music
to remind us how what we share is greater than our differences.
And as a musician collaborating with neuroscientists
to gather scientific data on the benefit of music.

I want to deliver music as LOVE BEYOND WORDS
to diverse communities all over the world.

To that end, I am delving into content marketing to reach a wider audience.

My schoolmate from my Colburn days, flutist Gina Luciani who now has 33K followers on Instagrams gave me some points to consider for my marketing journey. I am going to make these public for you to join in on my venture. I would appreciate your comments, observation, feedback, questions… anything!

 

1）Identify YOUR Brand 
– How do I call myself?

  • Musicalmakiko
  • On-Call Musical Doctor (That’s more my business, not me.”
  • Dr. Pianist
  • Makiko Hirata

– How do you want to be perceived

  • Intellectual: Applying my knowledge of neuroscience and music history to my practice of music.
  • Messenger: To promote the power of music with historical, scientific and empirical knowlege.
  • Cosmopolitan: a musical ambassador to enhance harmonies throughout the world.
    • An embodiment of “music as a universal language” as a Japanese pianist.
  • Approachable: Promoting enjoyable, participatory experience of classical music in unconventional venues.
  • Humanist: Ultimately, music is about empathy. True musicians are humanists.
    • “Robin Hood” Music Delivery Service: Music not to cater to the haves, but to collect from the haves to deliver the benefit of the music to the marginalized and oppressed to aid their recovery and confidence.

– What are my colors/style?

  • Colors: On the use of different colors for marketing, there have been lots written about.

 

  • What I want to convey through my projects are harmony, peace, health, happiness…So, GREEN it is.
    • Incidentally, my favorite color is olive green.
    • I also like mint green with lots of blue.
  • Because my general message is serious, not so many colors: one, maybe two colors, with different gradations.
    • This makes sense for budgetary concerns too, in case you have to physically print your promotional materials.
  • So, in conclusion, GREEN with various gradations, and maybe one more color for an accent.
  • This is still a rough sketch, but a draft of logo for Makiko Hirata=Musical Healer.
    • Which one would you vote for out of these three?

ミ Next is style: Without my logo or name, what identifies me as me?

  • According to this article, my message should be expressed in three words, like McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” and Nike’s “Just do it!”
    • 「MUSIC＝LOVE BEYOND WORDS」　4 words…, and already being used.
    • 「MUSIC = LOVE > WORDS」I also like the association between music and math
    • 「MUSIC = LOVE」Music is Love is a title of a song. Music for Love is a non-profit organization.
    • 「MUSIC = LOVING LIFE」
    • 「MUSIC DEFI(N)ES TIME」
    • 「MUSIC HEALS」This is taken, but it parallels with Makiko Hirata.
  • And how should I decide on my style?
    • Writing: “Roughly 45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what a brand says and how it says it.”
    • How do I want to sound?  – Musical.
      • Does that mean poetic? No – for me, it means efficient , to the point, no flurry, and perfectly timed. All of which makes it beautiful.

– What are your career goals? (how do you make your social platform reflect that?)

  • My Goals:
    • To make the benefit of classical music for accessible and enjoyable to a broader audience.
    • To connect with more communities and areas  throughout the world through my musical activities.
    • I want more people to realize how music encourages empathy, and how it can ultimately contribute to world peace in a real way.
  • Ho can I reflect my goals on my social media platforms?
    • Have it reflect the kind of music making I want to promote: fun, approachable, and interactive.
    • Relevant and applicable posts about music to diverse and broad audiences.
    • Encouraging empathy: a reminder that what we share is greater than our differences.

– as of now, who is your goal audience and how do you hope to connect with them?

  • Young professional, music students, aspiring professional musicians.
    • Caught up in the Romantic notion, like “suffering is necessary to understand beauty/art, etc.”
      • The underlying influence of the nineteenth-century Romanticism creates a counter-productive culture in conservatories and classical music industry.
    • Musicians wondering how to build a future/career in music
    • Musicians worried about burning out without a clear purpose and goal.
    • Musicians struggling with stage fright.
  •  Music lovers and amateurs.
    • Those who are too shy and apologetic to share their love of music with the rest of the world.
      •  Music should be accessible and enjoyable at all levels!
    • Those with ambitions but clarity on how to achieve their hopes and dreams.
    • Those without clear goals and focus in their daily practice.

….To be continued.