About Japanese Music The earliest forms of music were drums and flute music accompanying the kagura shrine dances. From the 6th century on, music came from Korean and Chinese courts and monasteries and was performed at the Japanese court under the generic name gagaku (court music). The 8th-century court established a music bureau (gagakuryo) to be in charge of musical duties, both ritual and entertainment. The standard full-range gagaku ensemble has about 16 musicians on percussion, string, and reed instruments, the most distinctive being the free-reed mouth organ (sho), cyndrical oboe (hichiriki), the biwa lute, and the koto zither. Meanwhile with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century, Buddhist rites and liturgical chants gave rise to the development of a great variety of bells, gongs, wooden clappers, plaques, percussion tubes, and rattles, many of which found their way also into kabuki music of the Edo period (1600-1868).
Music of Japan The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 on (sound) with the kanji 楽 gaku (enjoy).[1] Japan is the largest physical music market in the world, worth US$2 billion in sales in physical formats in 2014, and the second-largest overall music market, worth a total retail value of 2.6 billion dollars in 2014[2] – dominated by Japanese artists, with 37 of the top 50 best-selling albums[3] and 49 of the top 50 best-selling singles in 2014.[4] Traditional and folk music[edit] There are two forms of music recognized to be the oldest forms of traditional Japanese music. Originating as early as the 13th century are honkyoku (本曲 "original pieces"). Biwa hōshi, Heike biwa, mōsō and goze[edit] The biwa (琵琶 - Chinese: pipa), a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of itinerant performers (biwa hōshi) (琵琶法師) who used it to accompany stories. Taiko[edit] Orchestras
klezmer music Klezmer music, genre of music derived from and built upon eastern European music in the Jewish tradition. The common usage of the term developed about 1980; historically, a klezmer (plural: klezmorim or klezmers) was a male professional instrumental musician, usually Jewish, who played in a band hired for special occasions in eastern European communities. In the 21st century, klezmer music can be heard wherever Jews have settled. The Yiddish word klezmer derives from two Hebrew roots: klei (“vessel” or “instrument”) and zemer (“song”). From the 18th century on in eastern Europe, klezmer largely superseded other Yiddish terms for instrumentalists, such as shpilman (“player” or “musician”), muzikant (“musician,” eventually used for the classically trained), or leyts (“jester,” an entertainer). Information about the klezmorim became much more reliable in the later 19th century as biographies, legends, and fictional accounts multiplied.
Traditional Indonesian Music Gamelan music is the most popular and important kind in Indonesia. Gamelan orchestras accompany all dances and dramas. Gamel means ‘to hammer’, and most of the instruments of a gamelan orchestra are struck with wooden mallets, padded sticks or hammers.The conductor of a gamelan orchestra is a drummer who is part of the orchestra. Instruments of a gamelan orchestra A complete orchestra could have about 40 or more different instruments. There are also two sets of instruments that are tonal: the slendro tuned to five tones and the pelog, tuned to seven tones. Gamelan music Gamelan music is complicated. Angklung music Another popular form of orchestral music is the angklung, which is played on instruments made entirely of bamboo of different lengths. You can read more about gamelan and see pictures of instruments at the following sites
Traditional Gaelic music - Wikipedia Traditional Gaelic music is the folk music of Goidelic language-speaking communities, often including lyrics in those languages. Relation with Brythonic music[edit] Cape Breton[edit] The emigration of Scottish Gaels to Cape Breton has also resulted in a unique strain of Gaelic music evolving there.[3][4] Performance[edit] Keys and modes[edit] In Traditional Gaelic music, the Ionian, Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian modes dominate,[5][6] with the keys of D Ionian, G Ionian, A Dorian and E Dorian among those popular with session musicians.[7] Harmonization[edit] Unlike Classical and Jazz music, Gaelic triad avoids diminished chords, as seen below for the seventh scale degree of the major scale.[8] Seventh chords are generally limited to the II and the V positions of the chord scale. References[edit]
What is Jewish Music? Jewish music stems from ancient prayer chants of the Levant some 3000 years ago. The musical notation that developed and that we find in the bible today is one of the most ancient forms of notated music, and yet it is still in current practice all over the world today. Jewish music has been constantly adapting to new conditions and yet retaining its identity in many widely differing ethnic, social and religious environments. Through its daughter religions, the music of Judaism is one of the fundamental elements in the understanding of the sacred and secular traditions of Europe and the Near East, first having influenced, and then having been influenced by, the music of Christian and Islamic cultures. The study of Jewish music encompasses many genres of religious, semi religious and folk music used in the synagogue and in the Jewish home and also art music using Jewish texts or themes. Ashkenazi Music (Klezmer) Sephardi Music Israeli Music Synagogue Music Suppressed Music
Origins of Ska Originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, Ska came before musical styles such as Rocksteady and Reggae. Ska is a combined musical element of Caribbean Mento and Calypso with a bit of American Jazz and also Rhythm and Blues. It separates itself from other musical genres due to its walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, Ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with the other communities as well, including the British Community. Ska music was made for dancing. Music historians typically divide the history of Ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s (First Wave); the English 2 Tone Ska revival of the late 1970s (Second Wave); and the third wave Ska movement, which started in the 1980s and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s. For more information on Ska click here!
Yoshida Brothers - Wikipedia The Yoshida Brothers (吉田兄弟, Yoshida Kyōdai) are Japanese musicians who have released several albums on the Domo Records label. The two brothers are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the shamisen. Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style along with Western and other regional musical influences. The commercials for Nintendo's Wii video game console that began airing in North America in November 2006 featured the Yoshida Brothers song "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)".[3] Members[edit] Ryōichirō Yoshida (吉田 良一郎, Yoshida Ryōichirō, born 26 July 1977) and Kenichi Yoshida (吉田 健一, Yoshida Ken'ichi, born 16 December 1979) were born in Noboribetsu in Hokkaido, Japan. Discography[edit] International albums[edit] Nightmare Revisited[edit] 12. Japanese albums[edit] Ibuki (1999)Move (2000)Soulful (2002) (a.k.a. Other appearances[edit] References[edit]
What is celtic music? The term 'celtic music' is a rather loose one; for the purpose of Ceolas, it covers the traditional music of the celtic countries - Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany (in France), Galicia (in Spain) and areas which have come under their influence, such as the US and the maritime provinces of Canada, as well as some newer music based on the tradition from these countries. The term is sometimes controversial. For starters, the Celts as an identifiable race are long gone, there are strong differences between traditional music in the different countries, and many of the similarities are due to more recent influences. It is also worth remembering that even a term such as 'Irish traditional music' is a lumping together of many different styles, from the raw, Scottish-tinged music of Donegal to the lyrical, easy-going style of Clare and many other regional styles that are only partly compatible. The Celtic Music Regions More information from the Irish Traditional Music Archive
Japanese Traditional Music | Culture | Articles Traditional Japanese music usually refers to Japan's historical folk music. One of the defining characteristics of traditional Japanese music is its sparse rhythm. Regular chords are also absent. It is impossible for a person to beat time to the music. All of the rhythms are ma-based, and silence is an important part of the songs. Traditional Japanese music has three main types, instrumental, court music, and theatrical. Some traditional Japanese music originated in other countries. which are popular in Japanese music first came from China. Japanese music has a long tradition and great diversity.