This lecture-performance focuses on the life lessons Satoshi Yamaguchi has learned through major turning points marked by both success and setback as a professional musician. Drawing on his personal journey, the talk explores how music, research, and technology became interconnected, leading to the emergence of new forms of creative expression.
Satoshi’s story begins when he lost the ability to play drums due to Musician’s Dystonia, a neurological movement disorder affecting his accuracy in hitting the bass drum with his right foot. After 10 years of living in the darkness due to a lack of understanding around him, Satoshi will present the light – research and technology – that saved him and gave him the ability to play again. In conjunction with the talk, Satoshi will perform using VXD (Voice Controlled Drum-set), a system that enables the bass drums to be triggered through the human voice, a technology co-developed by YAMAHA Corporations and Keio University. This technology combines advanced audio processing techniques, software, and mechanical design, showing that innovative music systems supported by technology can change lives.
