etude #9, pt. 2

question

Write for a trio using only pentatonic material

I’m definitely biting off way more than I can chew with this exercise.

Every step of this journey, I’ve been using these exercises as a jumping off point for research, doing my best of making sense of the information I find & trying to apply that knowledge. Or some semblance of something approaching knowledge. But without formal training or anything approaching a proper framework, so much of what I find is over my head, so when I start with 3 topics to study, the first one leads to 2 more topics to study, and those lead to 4 more… And because this is all self-directed, I’ve skipped over a lot of the fundamentals, and so none of my knowledge is built on a solid foundation.

… but at least with Western music theory (leaning towards Classical), there’s a lot out there to cross-reference & put together. With traditional Japanese music, however, the resources just aren’t as plentiful. Certainly not in English, and not at a level I can understand.

I know that Japanese folk music uses a pentatonic scale. Most of the stuff I’ve found doesn’t go a whole lot deeper than that. As far as approaches to melody, harmony, rhythm, song structure … That’s still lacking.

But! I have started to put together some useful information.


Heterophony

Heterophony (i.e. multiple voices loosely following a single melody) is much more common than homophony (a single melodic line supported by a chord progression). This variance is generally greater in Japanese music than in other genres.

oftentimes, the vocal & shamisen parts may seem to lag behind each other or “dance around” each other.

Meter

many folk songs are in free meter (esp. for solo voice or voice + shakuhachi), while others are more rhythmic. In those songs, the flute will sometimes play a countermelody, while the shamisen will play a melodic variation or drones. or, the shakuhachi will play a heterophonic variation line & the shamisen will play a tremolo drone

Instruments

Typical voice pairings:

  • Folk:
    • voice + shakuhachi
    • voice, shakuhachi, shamisen
  • Shinto:
    • wagon zither + kagura-bue (bamboo flute) + hichiriki (double reed) + percussion (clapper, bells)
    • taiko + take-bue (bamboo flute) + other percussion (hand gong)

Rhythm

  • commonly has “forward-leaning percussion” (similar to an American shuffle, but w/o a strong back-beat)
    • I do not understand this statement
  • drums do call & response with melody, filling in sustains & rests

Harmony

  • voicings based on perfect 4ths
    • build up chords from 5th, to root, to 4th

Scale

pentatonic, obviously. But it’s not enough to just use a pentatonic scale (though a specifically Japanese scale will help), but use 4th-based “shapes” (instead of triads)


Otherwise, I have tried to analyze some performances of Japanese folk music, but I simply do not have the ear to be able to get much out of listening practice yet.

I’m sticking with this one for a while, but I may have to either:

  1. drop the “make it sound like Japanese folk music” idea & just try to write a song
  2. take some actual lessons
  3. or, stick with it & see it through