Sakura: Cherry Blossoms

Warfare Introduction to World Music October 19, 2009 Sakura Sakura ( ), Who is the voice of sakura in japanese? Chie Nakamura Sakura ( ) is the name of a traditional Nipp unityse kin song depicting spring, the season of sakura. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate from ancient times (as in, not from the Heian point in time or prior). It was first composed during the Edo period for children learning to play the koto. Originally, the lyrics Blooming cherry blossoms were attached to the melody.The song has been popular since the Meiji period, and the lyrics in their present take shape were attached then. It is a great deal sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan. Throughout the ages there have been many rearrangements of the song, but Michio Miyagis interlingual rendition is often regarded to be the best of them all. The cherry blossom is Japans national flower and has for years appeared in the countrys poetry, paintings, and music, as well as on its craft, clothing, and other moneymaking(prenominal) items.From January through June each year, there are numerous cherry blossom festivals held throughout Japan. Not surprisingly, there is even this popular traditional song, Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossom, Cherry Blossom), usually sung to celebrate the national flower. Its melody and text date back nearly to Medieval times, and the song has been popular in Japan since at least(prenominal) the eighteenth century. The melody is simple and well-known to Westerners from various commercial incarnations, even if they recognize it only as some generic far Eastern tune. merely it is hardly generic-sounding.The melody is charming in its sweet melancholy and forlorn sense of innocence. Its rising, opening phrases lead to a gentle but lovely fall, later which sonorities remain mired in lower ranges until the theme is heard again. The text is just as simple, speaking of the fragrance of cherry blossoms and likening their app earance to clouds. Those with an engage in Eastern and far Eastern ethnic music will find this song of strong appeal. Dream of the Cherry Blossoms by Keiko Abe, a Japanese virtuoso percussionist, is a 5 minute long piece for marimba based on an mprovisation on the tune of Sakura sakura, and has become one of the most contend pieces in the marimba repertoire. Also, Yukijiro Yokoh, a Japanese classical guitarist made an arrangement for the instrument. Which is, like Keiko Abes version, a theme with variations in which he uses different guitar techniques to replicate the sound of the Koto. There are four main kinds of Japanese folk songs (minyo) work songs, religious songs ( much(prenominal) as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (matsuri, especially Obon), and childrens songs (warabe uta).In minyo, singers are typically accompanied by the 3 stringed lute known as the shamisen, taiko drums, and a bamboo flute c alled shakuhachi. Other instruments that could adopt are a transverse flute known as the shinobue, a bell known as kane, a hand drum called the tsuzumi, and/or a 13 stringed zither known as the koto. In Okinawa, the main instrument is the sanshin. These are traditional Japanese instruments, but modern instrumentation, such as galvanic guitars and synthesizers is, also used in this day and age, when enka singers cover traditional minyo songs (Enka being a Japanese music genre all its own . Terms often heard when speaking about minyo are ondo, bushi, bon uta, and komori uta. An ondo generally describes any folk song with a distinctive swung 2/2 time rhythm. The typical folk song heard at Obon festival dances will most likely be an ondo. A bushi is a song with a distinctive rhythm. In fact, its in truth name means rhythm or time, and describes the ostinato pattern played throughout the song. Bon uta, as the name describes, are songs for Obon, the lantern festival of the dead.Komori u ta are childrens lullabies. Many of these songs allow in extra stress on certain syllables, as well as pitched shouts (kakegoe). Kakegoe are generally shouts of cheer, but in minyo they are often include as parts of choruses. There are many kakegoe, though they vary from region to region. In Okinawa Minyo, for example, one will hear the common ha iya sasa In mainland Japan, however, one will be more likely to hear a yoisho , sate , or a sore Others are a donto koi and dokoisho A guild-based trunk exists for minyo it is called iemoto. Education is passed on in a family, and long apprenticeships are common. On a more personal note this melodies of the Sakura if heard as an instrumental or with lyrics has a profound conjunction of sound for my neural map. The distinct harp, flute, and viola sound is extremley intense for one who has the intrest in a variation of melody this is definatley the one piece you must listen to. I absolutley loved it.