japan music- updated 2015

Japanese Music
7th Grade Music Technology
Eastwood Middle School
Japan
Population: 127,728,000
Capital: Tokyo; 35,327,000
Area:145,902 square miles
Language: Japanese
Religion: Shinto, Buddhist
Currency: yen
Life Expectancy: 81
GDP per Capita: U.S.
$28,700
£  Literacy Percent: 99
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Japan Info
£  Country of islands in Pacific
Ocean: Honshu, Hokkaido,
Shikoku,and Kyushu
£  Only 18% of the country is
inhabitable because 73% of
the country is mountainous
£  Japan was once unopen to
foreigners and thus was
extremely traditional and
isolated; today it is a
democracy and has the third
largest economy after the
U.S. and China
£  To the left you see Tokyo the
capital of Japan, a very
large, modern city
Japanese Music
£  Vocal music is more important than
instrumental in the history of Japanese
music
£  Japanese music developed as part of drama
(opera): Noh, Kabukl, and Bunraku
£  Noh has been performed since the 14th
century
£  By tradition, Noh actors and musicians
never rehearse for performances together.
Instead, each actor, musician, and choral
chanter practices his or her fundamental
movements, songs, and dances
independently or under the tutelage of a
senior member of the school. Thus, the
tempo of a given performance is not set by
any single performer but established by the
interactions of all the performers together
£  Japanese voices often sound nasal or
pinched to Western ears, but your ears
open to the new sounds!
Types of Traditional Music:
£  Gagaku: Ancient court music from China and Korea. It is the oldest
type of Japanese, traditional music.
£  Biwagaku: Music played with the instrument Biwa, a kind of guitar with
four strings.
£  Nogaku: Music played during Noh performances. It basically consists
of a chorus, the Hayashi flute, the Tsuzumi drum, and other
instruments.
£  Sokyoku: Music played with the instrument Koto. Later also
accompanied by Shamisen and Shakuhachi. The Koto is a zither with
13 strings.
£  Shakuhachi: Music played with the instrument Shakuhachi, a about 55
cm long flute. The name of the flute is its length expressed in the old
Japanese length units.
£  Shamisenongaku: Music played with the instrument Shamisen, a kind
of guitar with only three strings. Kabuki and Bunraku performances are
accompanied by the shamisen.
£  Minyo: Japanese folk songs.
Taiko
£ Kodo has two
meanings: heartbeat
and children of the
drum; you will watch a
documentary on this
group that tours the
world
£ This group plays Taiko
which is Japanese for
drum
£ The taiko is played with
a stick
Styles of Taiko Performance
£  Multi-drum, multi-player (複式複
打法) Two or more drummers
play more than one type of
Taiko. This style of performance
is popular nowadays. It is also
referred to as Kumidaiko (組太
鼓).
£  Multi-drum, one player (複式単
打法) One drummer plays more
than one type of Taiko.
£  One drum, multi-player (単式複
打法) Two or more drummers
play only one type of Taiko.
£  One drum, one player (単式単打
法) One drummer plays only
one type of Taiko.
Works Cited
£ http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/
worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/
content.country/japan_424?
fs=travel.nationalgeographic.com
£ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiko
£ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Japan
£ http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2113.html
£ http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/index_en.html