Japanese World Music Essays

Japanese World Music Essays Japanese World Music Essay Japanese World Music Essay One of the distinguishing features of the Japanese traditions is the way, in which the cultural essentials of an array of domains survive side by side in agreement, wielding a stable influence on the open culture and thus creating a new culture as an effect. Music is no exclusion. Japanese play and listen to a diverse array of genre. These days, Japanese traditional and popular songs are the choices of the majority, not to mention American pop songs and Western classics. Radios and televisions paved the way for (generally) their music to bring it forth to the masses. With the onset of technology (i.e. CD’s and digital download), music became an essential part of the Japanese lives. Furthermore, Japan is s very diverse culture; but with their diversity lies a traditional culture that until now is considered to be an institution in the cultural field. Additionally, art and folk music are the two main types of the conventional Japanese music. The latter ha s numerous different approaches in which each was recognized independently in the different phases of Japanese history. Japanese have continued those customary styles but as time passed, they consequently modified it. Overall, vocal music is far more important than the instrumental music. Moreover, traditional Japanese music repeatedly develops as an element of drama such as Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku (Hooker, 1999). During the Kamakura Period through the Muromachi Period, a solid development of folk theatrical arts was formed. In 14th century, the Noh drama was created, developed and expanded with its very own music called the Nohgaku; and with the addition of Shimaia dance. The Noh became an elaborately stylized drama and at the same time, became a symbolic performance of which few male actors and some musicians are participating. The major character often puts on a mask which is adequate fro its role. The two elements in Nohgaku are the vocals and instrumentals. The story is conveyed throughout the vocal part by an actor with a back-up of eight male singers. Shomyo or a Buddhist chanting is the inspiration of the vocal part of the drama. It encompasses a singing and speech pattern in a specific and distinct intonation. The singing part is not constantly attended with instruments. The instrumental part is called the Hayashi and is consist of bamboo flute and three drums. The only musical instru ment, the flute, is responsible for creating numerous and short melody patterns. Whereas, the tension of the music is courtesy of the drum artists known as kakegoe; they provide fast and sharp cries to the drama. This drama is greatly supported by the higher military class in Japan but these days; even commoners can enjoy watching the play(Hooker, 1999). The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573 1603 A.D.), played an important development in the Japanese drama industry because during this time, significant and historical musical instruments were developed. The shamisen was invented during that time. It is a three-stringed balalaika-type guitar. In addition, many other original Japanese instruments achieved enormous popularity during the Edo regime. The shamisen complements two categories of vocal music in Japanese music- these are melodious and narrative singing. In addition, there was an earlier kind of shamisen music that expanded in two diverse directions: Jiuta and Nagauta. The former has been liked as pure music, and thus subsequently had an independent continuation as music itself; meanwhile the latter was produced as accessory for dancing in time-honored Kabuki dramas. Afterwards, Nagauta has come to be participated solely; devoid of any dance form in much the same way as the first drama was played that is supplementary for dancing. Be cause of such, numerous sub-genres of the shamisen music have been developed. On the other hand, the musical score for koto is called Sokyoku. Many of the composers, arrangers, players and transmitters of the Sokyoku are done exclusively by the blind while girls and women in the advanced military and affluent business classes learned it as a component of their cultural schooling, respectively. Furthermore, the Ikuta School and Yamada School were established during the Edo Period. These two schools are believed to be the foremost purveyors of Sokyoku. A sub-genre of a vocal music called the Jiuta, which is actually best played with the shamisen is usually where the Ikuta School derive most of their pieces. Nevertheless, the principal attribute of this school is its stress on instrumental performance disparate the other traditional art music. Still, a singing piece has an autonomous instrumental element which has magnificence as absolute music. On the contrary, the Yamada School puts high emphasis on the vocal requisites rather than the instrumental essentials of the drama. The difference between the styles of the two schools can be characterized in their narrative singing. Both schools incorporate in their repertoires some collections which do not have singing parts(Hooker, 1999). Moreover, the Kabuki is one of the traditional theatrical arts in Japan. Its origin goes back to the concluding part of the 16th century and with widespread and uninterrupted evolution, it has now become a state of faultless classical refinement. Though not as prosperous as it once was, the kabuki drama maintains an extensive reputation among the people and until now draws a large audience. During the Edo Period, kabuki development was at its peak. Differences between the fighting class and the masses were more strictly observed than at any other time in the country’s history. The art of kabuki was developed mostly by the merchants. They had become more and more influential economically, but had to linger social inferiority as they fit in the commoner class. For them, kabuki was possibly the most noteworthy inventive means by which to convey their sentiments under such situations. Thus, the original subjects of most kabuki plays are the disagreement among humanity and the feud alistic system. It is mostly due to this humanistic superiority of the art that it expanded such a lasting recognition among the general community of those days that remained until now. An exceptional quality of the kabuki art, and conceivably the most important and in maintaining with the kabuki spirit of distinctiveness, is the fact that it has no actresses or whatsoever. All the female parts (lead or not) is acted by male impersonators known as onnagata. The actors of the kabuki drama in its primeval phase were chiefly women, and with the growing popularity of kabuki, many of the actresses commenced to draw undue consideration from male admirers. The shogunate felt that this would direct to a serious undermining of the public and in 1629, the theatrical manifestation of women was authoritatively banned. However, since it is an art form that became accepted by the public, men instantaneously took over and until now performs in theaters. The prohibition on actresses was effective f or more than 250 years. In the intervening time, kabuki brought to flawlessness the art of the onnagata. As a consequence, there was no room left for actresses in the drama when the ban was lifted. Furthermore, the art of onnagata had developed into such an essential part of kabuki that, if dispossessed of this element, the established quality of kabuki could be misplaced forever. Another central trait of kabuki is that it is a comprehensive and accumulative theater. Another area which inspired the Kabuki is the puppet theater or the bunraku. Another important note on Kabuki is that, its emphasis is placed on the actor rather than the art itself. When it was established in 16th century, it integrated parts of all the previous theater varieties of Japan. Noh and Kyogen performances were just some of the traditional arts that inspired Kabuki. Until Kabuki, Japanese had never seen plays of such color, glamour, animation and general uniqueness. In these traits, perhaps no theater in a d ifferent place in the world can outshine the kabuki drama (The International Society for Educational Information, 2008). As time progressed, the Japanese became aware of other types of music and thus now, enjoy a variety of popular music. Beside Japanese popular music, they also favor American jazz, French chansons; Latin music and canzone from Italy. In modern times; rock, soul, and folk music from the West became increasingly popular, particularly among the younger age group. Hit numbers and songs are televised frequently on radio and television. In addition, pop music is relentlessly performed live and is now digitally available. Kayo kyoku- an innovative Japanese popular music receives the biggest support from the public. Japanese people not only enjoy listening to it via live concerts and on any other media but also, they sing along with it to recorded accompaniment in bars or in their homes.   There are still many musicians and artists (i.e. Miki Minoru and Ishii) that are responsible for the upholding and expansion of their music in its classical structure. They are enthusiastically working on fashionable compositions in the established styles. The past years saw a growing interest by the younger generation in koto and shakuhachi. In addition, countless brilliant composers are trying to combine Japanese traditional outlines and the Western style. One group that is obviously enthusiastic to refining new Japanese music contained by its classical tradition is the Ensemble Nipponica which was founded in 1964; it is comprised of notable soloists and composers(Hooker, 1999). With the onset of modernization and preferences, it is quite inevitable for Japan to be left behind. With this in mind, there had been many groups that were formed to continue the Japanese legacy of their traditional music culture but with a twist of something modern. The rise of the Yoshida Brothers across the globe proves that even in this pop-filled world, there are still some people who recognize and appreciate a classic. Their music originates from Japanese traditional music but with a twist. The duo has a flare for the dramatics appearing in kimonos and hakama pants and is masters of shamisen. Their forte is the Tsugaru-Shamisen which is a musical style that is native to northern Japan. From the traditional music through the jazz realm and rock and roll, their style of playing the instrument pushes its possibilities but in the end, they are still able to bring good music for their fans. The Yoshida Brothers take stylistic risks with the restrictions of the tradition that they a cquired. These gambles pays off substantially on their songs; in which instruments like piano, violin and the tin whistle supply burly counterpoints to the shamisen. Despite their affinity for experimentation, their music is obviously profoundly rooted in Japan’s interesting traditions(Bryne, 2004). On the other hand, there had been musical revolutions ongoing in Japan and some of the purveyors of such act are L’Arc-en-Ciel and Home Made Kazoku. L’Arc-en-Ciel is not a â€Å"visual-kei† band but a Japanese rock band. They were prominently associated with the glamorous visual-kei scene in 1991- the year in which they were founded. Two years later, they release their album entitled Dune under an independent label. Their line up continually changes throughout the year. In 2004, they had their American debut in Baltimore. Their song â€Å"The Fourth Avenue Cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬  became one of the official soundtracks to a Japanese samurai anime Rurouni Kenshin(McClur e, 2005). Moreover, Home Made Kazoku was formed in 1996 consisting of three members. In 2004, they participated in the Japan Club Tour and gained a massive following. Just like the aforementioned band, one of their songs also became a soundtrack for the anime Bleach and Naruto: Shippuden(McClure, 2005). The Japanese musical styles have evolved through time. Their contribution is known not only in their country but also throughout the world. And, just like the Japanese that they are, they are able to cope with drastic inevitable change that later enhances their already good status which are very evident in the kind of music that are highly appreciated in Japan nowadays. L’Arc-en-Ciel is not a â€Å"visual-kei† band. Repeat – not a â€Å"visual-kei† band. Not at all. Just a straightahead rock band. That message bears repeating because the band vehemently objects to being tagged with the visual-kei label, so much so that they once walked off the stage during a TV broadcast when the MC had the temerity to use the dreaded â€Å"V† word when introducing L’Arc-en-Ciel. The band’s management also demands apologies from journalists who dare to describe L’Arc-en-Ciel as visual-kei. L’Arc-en-Ciel were in fact identified with the whole decadent/glam visual-kei scene when the band was formed in Osaka in 1991 by vocalist Hyde, guitarist Hiro, bassist Tetsu and drummer Pero. The band’s name, by the way, means â€Å"rainbow,† in French, reflecting the visual-kei scene’s fascination with things Gallic, which they associate with fin-de-siecle decadence. L’Arc-en-Ciel’s fans, however, refer to the band simply as â€Å"Laruku.† After gigging extensively throughout western Japan, L’Arc-en-Ciel released their first album, Dune on an independent label in 1993, and their first single, â€Å"Blurry Eyes,† in October 1994. They soon became one of Japan’s biggest rock acts and continue to sell truckloads of CDs. L’Arc-en-Ciel’s lineup has changed over the years, starting with the replacement of guitarist Hiro by Ken (the band doesn’t seem to go in for surnames much). And at the beginning of 1998, then-drummer Sakura left the band after