JapanThe Land of the Rising

Sun

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JapanCapital: TokyoLanguage: Japanese-is also known as

“The Land of the Rising Sun”

Japanese Music

Japanese Music

Japanese music was influenced by the court music of China

Japanese music is monophony in nature. It observes minute

tones, free rhythm and delicate timbre. It is usually written in

duple meter

Japanese Music

two ancient foundation

Japanese Art Music

Folk Music

Japanese Traditional Music

Japanese Traditional Music

has sparse rhythm

Much of the traditional music of Japan was brought by the Chinese and Korean musicians around the

8th century

Japanese Traditional Music

two ancient foundation

shōmyō ( 声明 or

聲明 )

gagaku ( 雅楽 )

shōmyō ( 声明 or 聲明 )

also called Buddhist chanting

type of Buddhist song that is known for being a melody that

is added to a sutra

originated in India and came to Japan during the country's Nara

period

shōmyō ( 声明 or 聲明 )

is sung acapella by one or more Buddhist monks

it doesn't use any musical instruments

at present, the SHOMYO has lost its

real religious nature and has become

more and more of a formal ceremonial

music in the temple and at home

gagaku ( 雅楽 )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bugaku(Naiku)_01.JPG

gagaku ( 雅楽 ) literally means “elegant

music”ga- refined gaku-

music oldest music and dance in

existence in Japan only surviving music in Japan

ancient imperial music and dance

Was introduced about 1,200 years ago

been preserved at the Court and in shrines and temples

Types of gagaku ( 雅楽 )

kigaku( 器楽 )- instrumental music 

seigaku ( 声楽 )- vocal music

Today, gagaku is performed in three

ways:

a. Instrumental ensemble (kangen)b. Dance music

(bugaku)c. Ritual music of Shinto ceremonies

kangen An instrumental music

consisting of an ensemble including the hichiriki, ryuteki, sho, gakusou, gakubiwa, and various

percussion instruments.

bugaku

A dance accompanied by a part or the entire gagaku

ensemble

Ritual music of Shinto ceremonies

The style of playing feel so depressing utilizing only a

simple flute, zither, hichiriki and wooden clappers

Composition of the gagaku ( 雅楽 )

Composition of the gagaku ( 雅楽 )

one melody which has different interpretations

depending on the variations performed on the instruments

Jo-ha-kyū ( 序破急 ) is a concept of modulation and movement applied in a wide variety of traditional

Japanese artsRoughly translated to

"beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all

actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end

swiftlyThe concept originated in gagaku court music,

specifically in the ways in which elements of the music could be

distinguished and described

Japanese Musical Scale

A variety of musical scales are used in

traditional Japanese music twelve-tone (dodecaphonic) Chinese scale has influenced

Japanese music since the Heian period, in practice Japanese

traditional music is often based on pentatonic (five tone) or heptatonic(seven tone)

scalesResembles that of the West in that they both contain seven tones in one octave, although

tone arrangement differ

Diatonic Scale also called as heptatonia

primais an eight-note musical scale composed of seven pitches and

a repeated octave includes five whole stepsand two half steps for each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by

either two or three whole steps, depending on their position in

the scale

Ryosen- -ichikotsu(D)- sojo (G)- taishiki (E)

Ritsusen- -Hyojo (C)-Oshiki (A)-Banshiki(B)

Pentatonic Scaleis a

musical scale or mode with five notes per octave in

contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major

scale and minor scale very common and are found

all over the world

Nohgaku

Nohgaku (Noh and Kyogen)

Noh, along with bugaku or ancient dances with music accompaniment; kyogen, a

form of comedyis the traditional Japanese art which was established in mid

14th century music performed on the NohShimai dance performed in Noh

Nohgaku

has two elements

vocal instrumental

Vocal is known as utai

performed by an actor and eight male singers– who

narrates the story derived from the shomyo

consists of songs and speeches with fixed intonation

Instrumental is known as hayashi

performed by the nohkan, a bamboo flute– three drums, (ko-tsuzumi or tsuzumi, and taiko). The flute plays the

melody

Kabuki

Kabuki great theatrical contribution

of the Edu period comes from the verb kabuku

which, in the 15th and 16th centuries meant “to act in an

unusual manner wearing unusual clotheso-daiko - a large drum was

installed in the kabuki theater in tower over the entrance

- It is used to calm and pacify the customers

- used to signal the opening and the closing of the theater

SOURCES:

www.wikipedia.org

Thank You !!!