Sarah Poff

• Gagaku : Ancient court music from China and Korea. Oldest type of Japanese, traditional music
• Biwagaku : Music played by the Biwa , a kind of guitar with 4 strings.
• Nohgaku : Music played during Noh performances. Constists of a chorus, the Hayashi flute , the Tsuzumi drum , and other instruments
• Sokyoku: Music played with the Koto, a type of zither with 13 strings. Accompanied by Shamisen and Shakuhachi
• Shakuhachi: Music played with a bamboo flute
• Shamisenongaku: Music played with the Shamisen , a guitar with only three strings
• Minyo: Japanese folk song

• Main style of music in the 17 th century, brought to Japan by Buddhist and Confucisit monks spreading spiritual and philosophical teachings.
• Gagaku= means elegant/refined music
• Entered japan 612 and became the priveledged music of the court.
• Gagaku had influences from Korean, Chinese and Indian music

• The instruments forming a Gagaku ensemble (7 th century were made of strings, percussion, and wind.
• These instruments were the first foreign musical instruments to reach Japan from China
• Percussion instruments
• Drums, da-daiko, gongs, cymbals
• Stringed instruments
• The wagon, 7 stringed zither, gaku-so, 13 stringed table zither, the ancestor of the koto, the gaku-biwa, 4-stringed lute
• Winds
• Hichiriki, short double-reed instrument, the sho, a mouth organ, three transverse flutes (the kagura-bue, koma-bue, ryuteki)
• Shakuhachi

• 1) The Biwa
• A lute
• Ancestor: Arabic Ud
• Came to China during Nara period (553-794) from China
• \Pear shaped body
• Four/five strings
• Strings are plucked with a large wooden plectrum (bachi)
•
•
Creates a buzzing resonance (called sawari or rattle)
The strings are made of silk and are very elastic

• 2) The Koto
• Most praised instrument by Japanese court and commercial class
• Similar to the Piano in western countries
•
•
A table zither, 2 meters long
Originated from Chinasimilar to China’s guzheng
• Japans national instrument
• In the 17 th century: it was used to accompany dances, and became a part of ensembles
• During the Nara period
• Gaku-so (12/13 strings)
• Wagon (6 strings)

• 3) The Shamisen
• 3-stringed lute with a resonance box covered either with cat or dog skin
• Came to Japan around 1562 from Okinawa (edo period)
• Different sizes of Shamisen were created for different occasions
• Became the instrument of choice for the developing social life of
Japan
• Produces buzzing sound
• Used for all types of occasions: theatres, geisha houses, festivals, folk music

Japanese folk songs can be classified in four main categories
1.
work songs
2.
3.
Religious songs (sato kagura)
Songs for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, festivals
(matsuri)
4.
Childrens songs (warabe uta)
Many minyo are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were orignally sun between work or for specific jobs. Other minyo function simply as entertainment, as dance accompaniment, or as a components of religious rituals.
Distinct to different areas of Japan, each have different styles.
Differing scale structure, language and textual forms.

民謡
• Before westernization (1850) in Japan (there were no western influences) and the most popular form of music was min’yo, regional folk songs
• STRONGLY influenced by music from China
• Due to the use of Chinese instruments (koto, shakuhachi, wadaiko drums)
• Minyo was inspired and created by the lullabies of farmers planting their rice crops, fishermen catching fish in their nets.
• Nostalgic references to these ways of life
• Songs from different districts and areas in Japan are very different from other districts.

民謡
• Originally sung by non professionals, ordinary people
• Developed through the performance of professional female singers (geisha) with a shamisen accompaniment.
• Originally sung unaccompanied, solo, or vocal groups.
• Call and response chant
• Developed to become highly virtuosic in the 20 th century
• Later on, during Edo Period, instruments were added as accompaniment on shamisen, koto, biwa.
• These accompaniment parts later formed their own genre such as Tsugaru-jamisen.

• Sparse rhythm
• Regular chords are absent
• Impossible to beat time to the music
• Silence is an important part of all songs
• Structure: Scale Theory in Japanese Folk
• Focus is on creating music that flows in an attempt to mirror the behavior of nature
• Typical for songs to start off at a slow pace and pick up speed as they progress

• The term shin min’yo refers to new songs that have been composed since this time to attract tourism and greater national awareness of a particular area in Japan.
• Radio has spread these songs to a much wider audiencespreading traditional values nationwide

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chwADnoFDng
• Traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, season of
Cherry blossoms
• Popular urban melody of the Edo period
• Pentatonic scale

• http://www.farsidemusic.com/historyJa.html#folk
• http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/japan.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Sakura
• http://www.facts-about-japan.com/traditional-music.html