Beyond the Classroom II
This weeks blog is going to dive deeper into the music cultures of the Middle East and Asia. For this blog I want to talk specifically about Japan and its music culture. The three main things I am going ton focus on is instruments, dances, and traditional music in Japan. Japan is a country with a very rich music culture.
There are 6 main traditional instruments in the Japanese music culture, which are the shakuhachi, the koto, the sanshin, the shamisen, the biwa, and the taiko. The shakuhachi is one of the most popular wind instruments in Japan. It is traditionally made of bamboo and has four holes in the front and one in the back. It is known as the Japanese flute. Shakuhachi music was originally used for personal spiritual enlightenment rather than public performance. Another one of the most popular instruments in Japan is Shamisen. The Shamisen is a chordophone; its neck is similar to the length of a guitar, however it does not have frets.
There are many popular dances in the Japanese culture. The two most popular dances are the kabuki and the bon odori. The kabuki is a tradition Japanese popular drama with singing and dance performed in a highly stylized manner. It is a blend of music, dance, mime, staging, and costumes. The Bon Odori is a style of dance Obon, which is a a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. The festival of obon lasts three days.
Traditional music in Japan usually refers to Japanese folk music. The two oldest forms is shomyo and gagaku. Shomyo is a ritualy music sung in a Buddhist ceremony by a group of Buddhist monks. Gagaku is the oldest form of traditional Japanese music. It includes dances and songs in two styles, which are kigaku and seigaku.
Works cited:
https://www.audionetwork.com/content/the-edit/inspiration/history-of-japanese-music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_(festival)
https://www.britannica.com/art/Kabuki
https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-music/Influence-of-Tang-dynasty-China
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0001807/
Julianne,
ReplyDeleteI really loved that you decided to discuss some popular Japanese dances, and I thought it was beautiful that the dance style, Bon Odori, is intended to honor one’s ancestors for some Japanese Buddhists. I was not brave enough to follow along with the Bon Odori Dance tutorial (it didn’t look too perplexing! I’m just not a graceful dancer), but I enjoyed watching it! The song felt cheerful, and I thought it was neat that she wore a kimono/formal attire through the tutorial. Thank you for sharing.
Cara
Your blog was cool, I liked how you focused on traditional Japanese music only. The Shakuhachi sounds really cool and I liked the dance you put up.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you explained the different instruments and then showed the different ways of how they are used and expressed. I had fun. However, I was really sad to see that your last video didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteI also covered Japan in my blog as well, but I didn't cover to deeply into the types of folk music or dance. It was cool to read about Kabuki, and the bon odori. The video was great.
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