The Nenes (‘sisters’ in Okinawan) are four women who sing Okinawan folk songs, performing on traditional instruments and in traditional costumes and reflecting the history of Japanese music. Their style pushes the shamisen’s sound from traditional music into jazz, experimental music, rock ‘n’ roll and pop.
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Their music was also used in the TV commercial for Nintendo’s Wii. Their debut album sold over 100,000 copies and since then they’ve toured the US and recorded an album in Los Angeles, attracting international fans. Many of the popular musicians playing the traditional music of Japan release albums and tour globally, bringing their music to a Western audience.įor a great introduction, have a listen to: The Yoshida Brothers During the New Year holidays ‘Haru no Umi,’ a duet with the shakuhachi, is often piped in as background music, and during the cherry blossom ( sakura) season, the popular tune ‘Sakura, Sakura’ is performed on the koto.Įxplore these different aspects of Japanese music culture with our shamisen, shakuhachi and koto tracks. Of these traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and popular. This large, wooden instrument is played with picks worn on the fingers, and uses movable bridges placed under each string to change the pitch. Historians think the koto was invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, with the 13-stringed version coming to Japan during the Nara period (710-794). Sometimes called a ‘five-holed bamboo flute’ in English, it has four holes on the front, and one on the back, and is characterised by its distinctively poignant tone. Photo Credit: The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that’s played by blowing on one end. The shamisen makes some of the best japanese violin music. It’s played with a large triangular plectrum that’s used to strike the strings. It has three strings, with the pitch adjusted by tuning pegs on the head, like a guitar or violin. The shamisen resembles a guitar, with a long, thin neck and a small rectangular body covered with skin. The key instruments used to play Japanese music are: All of the rhythms are ‘ma’-based and silence is an important part of the songs. The music often looks to represent natural sounds, and the sounds of life, through percussion, wind and stringed instruments.Īn interesting feature of classical Japanese music is its sparse rhythm and absence of regular chords. Traditional Japanese music is meditative in character, with highly ritualised performance – sharing much in common with martial arts, and other Japanese art forms such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy. The accompaniment is provided by a hayashi ensemble of three drummers and a flautist. The music has many blank spaces ( ma) between the sounds the negative blank spaces are in fact considered to be the heart of the music. Noh has been dubbed ‘Japanese opera’ and is a ‘chanted drama’, but the singing is dependent on a limited tonal range. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature, with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating the story – usually involving a mask being worn.
Noh is a form of classical Japanese musical drama which has been performed since the 14th century. Kabuki is known for its highly stylised dancing and singing, together with its elaborate make-up (sported by a predominantly male cast). There are several Japanese dramatic forms in which music plays a significant role. Gagaku is the oldest of Japan's musical traditions and includes dances and songs in two styles – kigaku, which is instrumental music, and seigaku, a form of vocal music. Shōmyō is a ritual music sung in a Buddhist ceremony by a group of Buddhist monks – literally translated, the word ‘shōmyō’ combines the characters for ‘voice’ and ‘wisdom’. Two forms are recognised as the oldest forms - shōmyō, or Buddhist chanting, and gagaku, or theatrical court music. Traditional Japanese music usually refers to Japan’s historical folk music. Many popular Japanese musical instruments originated in China and were then adapted to meet local needs. Historically, Japanese folk music was strongly influenced by music from China, with some of its forms being imported from China more than a thousand years ago.
Discover: Sounds Of Japan Classical Japanese Music
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