Japanese mode

The organization of notes to create a musical scale has many different applications in different cultures and types of music.[1] One of the most common approaches to organizing musical structures is known as the Mode or Mode(s).[1] Since the Heian Period, there has been disagreement and contention between musical scholars regarding Japanese music and modal theory.[2] There has long been a debate about Japanese modes and what defines them, to this day there is not a single modal theory that can completely explain Japanese music.[2] Music Scales are critical in clarifying and identifying musical pieces, however, there has been no single scale model that can identify all Japanese music into one classification or category of music.[3] In order to be understood by western scholars, The different variations of Japanese modal scales are often compared to the western Major Scale.[3] Various modal theories from around the world have been imported to attempt and analyze Japanese music structure, but often the modal theories suggested do not reflect what is actually present in the music it is being applied to.[2] The classical structures of Most Japanese music originates in China and was not concerned with developing a universal scale or mode until Western music had been imported.[3] After the Heian period began was when Western modal theories became widely acknowledged by Japanese society, though it often stayed in its own category as it could not entirely explain Japanese music across all its different iterations.[2]

The most common version of the Japanese mode is a somewhat inaccurate term for a pentatonic musical scale which is used commonly in traditional Japanese music. The intervals of the scale are major second, minor third, major fifth, and minor sixth (for example, the notes A, B, C, E, F and up to A) - which is essentially a natural minor scale in Western music theory without the subdominant and subtonic, which is the same operation performed on the major scale to produce the pentatonic major scale.[4] The more correct term would be kumoijoshi, as given by William P. Malm for one of the three tuning scales of the koto[4] adapted from shamisen music.

In addition to being used almost exclusively in traditional Japanese compositions, it is found frequently in video game music and the pieces of contemporary composers such as Anne Boyd.

History

Evidence of music in Japan before the 6th century is present, but very limited and knowledge surrounding its theory is even understood.[5] It is not until the Nara period do we see a more consistent form of art music beginning to flourish in Japan.[5] During the Nara period, Gagaku court music was introduced from China and then modified to fit Japanese styles and taste.[5] Similar to Buddhism and Confucianism, music and musical instruments were introduced to Japan from China in the 12th Century.[3] These musical theories, instruments, and styles imported came to shape much of traditional Japanese Music known today.[2] Though much of Chinese music and music theory was re purposed for distinct Japanese styles, it still held on to many of the core elements of Chinese traditional music of the time.[3] The standard theory imported from China consisted of an octave scale with twelve pitches derived from the circle of fifths[2] During the Edo Period, Japan was shut off from the rest of the world, many different new musical styles arose from this isolation and shaped modern Japanese Music.[5] It is theorized that this is one of the reasons that music theorists today have had such difficult time developing a single theoretical solution to all of Japanese music.[1]

Different Types of Japanese Scales and Modes

Gagaku Scale: Introduced from China during the Nara Period, but then later modified during the Heian Period. The Gagaku Scale is a heptatonic scale, created from 12 chromatic tones and assembled by fifths.[5]

In and Yo Scales: Uehara Rokushiro coined these two scales in the late 1800s. They were among the first scales developed as a scholarly approach to Japanese music. Both scales use a H W H W H pattern, but the Yo scales differs due to the fact that 3 of its degrees are sharped.[2]

Minyo and Ritsu Scales: There are various different arrangements of notes that different historians would consider these scales, however they are usually classified as being 5 note scales without any semitones.[2] The most widely intervalic theory behind them is classified by a Major second, Minor Third, major second, and a minor third.[5]

References
  1. Harich-Scheider, Eta (1973). A History of Japanese Music. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 502–510. ISBN 0-19-316203-2.
  2. Tokita, Alison-McQueen (Winter 1996). "Mode and Scale, Modulation and Tuning in Japanese Shamisen Music: The Case of Kiyomoto Narrative". Ethnomusicology. 40 (1): 1–33. doi:10.2307/852434. JSTOR 852434.
  3. Kawase, Akihiro (2013). "Construction and Verification of the Scale Detection Method for Traditional Japanese Music". International Journal of Affective Engineering. 12 (2): 309–315. doi:10.5057/ijae.12.309 – via JSTAGE.
  4. Harich-Scheider, Eta (1973) [1922]. A History of Japanese Music. London: Oxford University Press. p. 520. ISBN 0-19-316203-2.
  5. The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. 2003. ISBN 0674011635.
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