Japanese Music I INTRODUCTION Shamisen Performance The shamisen is a Japanese instrument with three strings.

Japanese Music I INTRODUCTION Shamisen Performance The shamisen is a Japanese instrument with three strings. It was originally played by geishas and street singers and was used in traditional Japanese theater performances. Modern composers are now writing for the shamisen. Michael Maslan/CORBIS-BETTMANN Japanese Music, traditional music of Japan, performed by small ensembles of instruments and voices. Compositions often follow a three-part form called jo-ha-ky? , which consists of an introduction, a scattering effect in the central section, and a rushing effect near the end of the piece. This form has permeated much of Japanese music and applies to individual musical phrases as well as to entire compositions. Western-style harmony is not usually present in Japanese music, which emphasizes melody and rhythm. II MUSIC FOR WORSHIP The music of Shinto, the ancient Japanese religion, is called kagura ("god music"). It is used on formal occasions at shrines or imperial functions and at Shinto folk festivals. Shinto prayers (norito), recited by a priest, seek purification and blessings. Festival songs and dances add entertainment for the gods. Shinto ritual music characteristically includes an instrument called the suzu, a cluster of shaken pellet bells. Drums, flutes, and handheld kane gongs are typical in festival music. Dancers at these festivals perform inside and outside the shrines, and their performances are interspersed with chants to the gods. Buddhist chants (sh?my?) are written in one of three languages: Sanskrit, Chinese, or Japanese. Unison or solo lines are sung from notation that indicates conventional ornamentations, often set in free rhythm with phrases or ritual sections marked off by bells or percussion instruments. Congregational hymns and prayers in Japanese are simpler than chants, and more rhythmic. The circular dances (bon-odori) of the Buddhist folk festival (o-bon) are accompanied by singers and sometimes flute, drum, and shamisen, a three-stringed lute. Their dance movements are the same for all ages and sexes. III COURT MUSIC Sh? The sh? , a Japanese mouth organ, is a member of the family of musical instruments known as free reeds. Its ancestor is the 3000-year-old Chinese sheng. The sho consists of 17 bamboo pipes and a wooden wind chamber. It is played by blowing air into the wind chamber while fingering holes in the pipes. The New York Public Library The origins of ancient Japanese court music (gagaku) were noted by the 6th century or earlier and were categorized in the 9th century as komagaku (Korean and Manchurian music) and tôgaku (Chinese and Indian music). Performances vary from small ritual ensembles to orchestras of musicians playing woodwind, plucked-string, and percussion instruments. The winds include flutes--the ry? teki, komabue, or kagurabue; short double-reed hichiriki pipes; and the sh?, a mouth organ consisting of 17 bamboo pipes inserted into a wooden bowl with a mouth hole. The flute and the double-reed pipe play the melody while the mouth organ provides a cluster of background tones. The stringed instruments are not played in dance music (bugaku). Music phrases are marked off by the sounds of a small, horizontal, two-headed drum (kakko in tôgaku, san no tsuzumi in komagaku), a large hanging drum (taiko or tsuridaiko), and a small gong (shok? ), as well as by short melodies and arpeggios played on a 4-stringed lute (biwa) and a 13-stringed zither (koto). Gagaku music utilizes six modes, or scales, of Chinese origin, all derived from two basic pentatonic (five-note) scales: ryo, D E-flat G A B-flat, plus F and C as auxiliary pitches; and ritsu, D F G A C, plus auxiliary pitches E-flat and B-flat. The meters in gagaku music are basically duple (in twos). IV DRAMATIC MUSIC Classical N? Drama of Japan Inspired both spiritually and artistically by Zen Buddhism, the Japanese n? theater is composed of four main components: music (voices, instruments), choreography (dance, gestures), literature (texts), and dramatic effects (masks, costumes). Instrumental music, vocals, and action are intricately combined in n? theater productions and often perform various roles. For example, the guttural vocal interjections uttered by the drummers serve to mark time as well as to create a mood or appropriate atmosphere for the play. Like the drum beats, these vocal cries are not improvised, but are clearly marked, representing basic units of rhythmic organization. "The Stone Bridge" from Japan 5: Music of the Noh Theatre (Cat.# Ocora C 559005) (p) 1987 Ocora/Radio France. All Rights Reserved./UPI/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE Japanese theatrical music during the early Middle Ages was influenced by earlier Buddhist music and consisted of lute accompaniments to narrations called heikebiwa and of music for n? dramas (see Japanese Drama). The lute accompaniments consist of set melodic and rhythmic patterns often representing specific emotions or situations. The n? music contains parts for voices as well as for instruments. The actors or a chorus sing while instrumentalists accompany them on the shoulder drum (ko tsuzumi) and hip drum (? tsuzumi). The entire instrumental ensemble (called hayashi) also includes a flute (n ?kan), which signals formal divisions within the drama, adds color to lyric moments, and accompanies dances, for which the taiko stick drum may also be used. N? music uses named, conventional melodic and rhythmic patterns within prescribed forms. The drummers' vocal calls (kakegoe) are part of each pattern and may influence the timing of the music. The most popular form of traditional Japanese theater is kabuki, which began in the early 17th century and was well established by the mid-17th century. Kabuki music makes use of instrumentalists and singers, most of whom sit at the back of the stage; others remain offstage to provide sound effects and special incidental music. The main form of dance music in kabuki is nagauta, performed by the n? instrumental group and the shamisen. Among other kabuki narrative shamisen genres is gidayû, derived from the famous bunraku puppet-play tradition (also called j? ruri). See also Asian Theater. V CHAMBER MUSIC Shamisen With Plectrum The shamisen is a Japanese flat-backed, long-necked lute. It is a descendant of the Chinese san-hsien, which existed as early as the 13th century. The shamisen has a catskin belly and back and three strings that are struck with a bachi (a bone plectrum, pictured). The shamisen is a traditional instrument in Kabuki theater. Dorling Kindersley Ancient instrumental solo and chamber music have disappeared, but after AD 1500 music for the shamisen, koto, and shakuhachi (end-blown flute) became popular, as did two indigenous pentatonic scales: the in, D E-flat G B-flat (D), auxiliary pitches, F and C; and the yo, D F G A C (D), auxiliary E and B-flat. Originally koto and shamisen music consisted of suites (sets of instrumental pieces) of short, unrelated songs (kumiuta). Koto music (sôkyoku) developed forms that are wholly instrumental (danmono) and others that alternate vocal and instrumental interludes (jiuta). Shamisen music is of two types: utamano (lyric pieces) and katarimono (narrative music for kabuki drama or puppet plays). Solo shakuhachi music is famous for its flexible rhythm and subtle variations of pitch and tone color. Ensembles of three instruments (sankyoku) contained koto, shamisen (here called sangen), and the shakuhachi or kokyû bowed lute. The koto player often sings as well, and other koto parts can be added. VI THE MODERN PERIOD Western music became a strong influence in Japan after the Meiji emperor took power in 1867, and new forms based on Western models were developed by both traditional and Western-trained composers. Western music dominated Japanese music education. Many excellent orchestras, opera companies, and music schools appeared while traditional music (hôgaku) survived independently. In 1946 Suzuki Shin'ichi combined Japanese and Western teaching methods and business acumen to create an internationally famous music lesson industry. At the same time, modernized traditional drum ensembles and shamisen performers entered the world market. Among modern Japanese composers, T?ru Takemitsu is best known for using Japanese instruments in a Western manner. His November Steps (1967) is a double concerto for biwa, shakuhachi, and orchestra. The electronic piece Vocalism AI (1956) evokes the textures of n? drama, while the film music for Kwaidan (1964) abstracts the sounds of a biwa-playing narrator. VII FOLK MUSIC Japanese folk music shares with the world the need for religious festivals, work, dance, love, and regional songs. Japan is especially rich in folk theatricals that reflect the history of ancient rituals and dramas. The Ainu, an indigenous tribe based in northern Japan, maintain traditions like throat games (rekkukara) that relate to cultures of Siberia and Alaska, while Okinawan music to the south contains elements of Chinese and Southeast Asian music. By the 1920s radio had increased the knowledge of regional folk music in Japan and generated not only "stars" but also folk song preservation societies (hozonkai) whose goals are to sing the "perfect" version of a given song, even competing with other clubs from around the country. The rise of karaoke in Japan created new competitions for singing all kinds of music. The constant interplay of new and old Japanese music never stops. Reviewed By: William P. Malm Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.