MUSC&110

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MUSC 110: Listening Journal 1 – Tsugaru Shamisen

Directions:

This assignment must be typed following the “Written Assignments Requirement” from the syllabus.

First search for the article called “Japan’s Shamisen Boom” by Claude Aubert. Now, answer the question below in your own words:

Here is the article:

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE|A111579460&v=2.1&u=highlinecc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1

1. What is the significance of the Yoshida Brothers to the shamisen and style of Tsugaru-Shamisen?

Now you will practice listening. First, observe and listen to the performance of “Kodo” by the Yoshida Brothers from beginning to end. Next you will observe and listen to the performance as many times as needed to answer the following questions:

2. To start listen to the first 0:14 seconds when one shamisen plays an introduction. Describe two things: the timbre of the instrument, and then how the instrument is played. Be descriptive as possible.

3. Observe and listen to the part from 0:15 – 0:59 seconds, Describe how the two instruments interact with each other? Describe how this changes during the part from 0:59 – 2:05?

4. Observe and listen to the first 0:59 seconds again, paying close attention to the melodic ideas and their repetition, as this will give you a clue to how the song is organized. Tell me how many sections you hear, and describe in detail what you hear/observe that helps you identify sections. Also when you identify the beginning or end of a section, note the time counter.

5. Now listen from beginning to end again, is there anything else about this piece that catches your attention? Why?

The Yoshida Brothers lead a wave of musicians whose youthful, innovative approach has made a traditional Japanese instrument suddenly hip.

The two young Japanese men seated on stage are each clad in a white silk kimono and red hakama, the skirtlike pants once worn by samurai. In contrast to their traditional outfits, their hair is dyed reddish brown–the current rage among Japanese youth–and one even wears it spiked. Each performer holds an ancient stringed instrument called a shamisen on his knee, and each is thrashing his instrument with a pick the size of his hand.

They’ve been plucking in unison, but now a gruntlike “huy” uttered by both men simultaneously signals a change. One musician stops playing while the other launches into an intricate, rapid-fire improvisation on the theme of an old Japanese folk song. The result sounds more like jazz than folk music. Another “huy” a few minutes later and the roles are reversed. A few final phrases played together end the song, and the audience erupts into enthusiastic applause. The Yoshida Brothers have just finished a concert at a press event in New York to celebrate the release of their self-titled U.S. debut album.

Siblings Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida play the traditional tsugaru shamisen, a banjolike instrument with three strings. Their music belongs to an instrumental genre likewise called tsugaru shamisen that includes both traditional tunes and contemporary pieces. The Yoshida Brothers’ handsome looks, their energetic approach to music, and their mastery of the shamisen have gained them national popularity unprecedented for traditional musicians in Japan. Since their first CD, Ibuki, broke sales records for shamisen recordings in 1999, the Yoshida Brothers have achieved a status in their native land normally reserved for rock stars.

The Yoshida Brothers, now in their midtwenties, first gained success and respect for their dynamic interpretations of traditional songs. Later, they added their own compositions, which often include non-Japanese instruments and mix elements of traditional Japanese music with Western rhythms and arrangements.

Previous players experimented with the sound of tsugaru shamisen in jazz and rock music before the Yoshida Brothers emerged, but it was a televised 1997 New Year’s Eve concert by the brothers that brought the modern tsugaru shamisen to Japan’s national attention–and made the siblings instant celebrities. The current shamisen boom is clearly attributed to the Yoshida Kyodai, as the Yoshida Brothers are known in Japan.

Kenichi, at age twenty-four the younger of the two brothers, told The World & I: “Up until five years ago, shamisen music was only for people who listened to traditional music. But people who come to the shows nowadays are people who are not so familiar with shamisen music. When playing in concert, it is important to us to let people understand what shamisen is about.”

The body, or sound box, of a shamisen (literally meaning three strings) consists of a square wooden frame with animal skin stretched across both sides. This body resonates when the instrument’s three silk strings are plucked or struck. The long, thin hardwood neck is fretless. At the top of the neck, the ends of the strings are wound around large pegs. The neck of a shamisen can easily be separated from the body and be further taken apart into three to six pieces. (This makes transportation and preservation of the instrument easier.) The silk strings are usually replaced with new ones for each performance–this is invariably true for the Yoshida Brothers, who strike their instruments with unusual ferocity. One defining characteristic of the shamisen is its twangy sound, a result of the vibrations of the lowest string. This buzz or drone is called sawari.

In Japan, the shamisen has traditionally enjoyed popularity. Many Japanese describe it as the instrument most representative of their country. Historians believe that the shamisen came to Japan in the middle of the sixteenth century from China, becoming popular first in Okinawa and gradually making its way northward. Originally, the body of the instrument was covered with python skin, but because the large snake’s skin was hard to get in Japan, the first players soon started using cat skin instead. The Japanese further refined the instrument by introducing a hand-held plectrum (bachi) that allowed the players to not only pluck the strings but to strike them forcefully and thus use the shamisen simultaneously as a stringed and a percussive instrument. These changes created a shamisen sound unique to Japan.

Throughout history the shamisen was employed in a variety of traditional forms of Japanese music. It was used to accompany vocal performance (jiuta), in kabuki theater dancing (nagauta), and the bunraku puppet theater. The shamisen was often played together with the shakuhachi (an end-blown bamboo flute) and the koto (a zither, usually with thirteen strings). In the seventeenth century the shamisen also became a popular instrument for geishas.

Tsugaru shamisen, the musical genre popularized by the Yoshida Brothers, has its roots in minyo (Japanese folk songs) and was born in the Tsugaru region of the Aomori Prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu, Japan’s main island. This region is known for cold winters and heavy snowfalls. It was common in the late 1800s for blind musicians to visit farms and houses to sing and play for food. Influenced by the harsh climate and remote location of the Tsugaru region, the wandering minstrels of the area gradually developed a distinctive repertoire of songs and style of playing the shamisen. With no written music and performances that are largely improvised, tsugaru shamisen–as opposed to other, more formal shamisen genres–highlights the performer’s individuality and creativity. Emphasis on self-expression as well as on rhythm makes tsugaru shamisen the most vital of all Japanese traditional music genres.

In his essay “Folk Revival or Pop Sensation? The Latest Tsugaru Shamisen Boom,” ethnomusicologist Michael Peluse points out that most Tsugaru minyo “have a sense of triple meter, with the stress on the first and third beat of each measure.” Traditional tsugaru shamisen places a strong emphasis on this bouncing rhythm, which helps explain why the music is so energetic and “more stimulating than rock music,” as Kenichi Yoshida puts it.

The tsugaru shamisen instrument is the biggest and loudest of all shamisen. Its neck is wider and its strings are thicker; its sound box is covered with dog skin, which is stronger than cat skin and produces a booming sound. The bachi used to play the tsugaru shamisen is larger than other bachi, which also contributes to a louder sound.

About forty years ago, the tsugaru shamisen, which had been used only for accompaniment, began to be featured as a solo vehicle. Blind virtuoso Chikuzan Takahashi (1910–98), traditional tsugaru shamisen’s most celebrated player, was the first to put out an instrumental solo recording with fast, improvisational playing, in 1963. Says Kenichi Yoshida: “Before Chikuzan, the shamisen was always used as a backing instrument, to accompany singing. He was the first to spread the music of tsugaru shamisen in Japan as a soloist.” In the seventies, tsugaru shamisen enjoyed nationwide popularity in Japan, especially among the older generation, but when Takahashi stopped performing in the eighties, interest in tsugaru shamisen waned significantly.

The New Boom

The Yoshida Brothers were born in northern Hokkaido, the second largest and northernmost of Japan’s four main islands. Ryoichiro and Kenichi each began playing the shamisen at the age of five, urged on by their father, whose own dream to become a professional shamisen player had been frustrated. When they were in elementary school, the brothers began taking lessons from Takashi Sasaki, a local tsugaru shamisen master. They went on to win numerous prizes–some of them national–at tsugaru shamisen contests during their teenage years; by the mid-1990s they were widely known among tsugaru shamisen lovers. The 1997 television broadcast began their meteoric rise to stardom.

With their distinctive style of playing (they hold the instrument like a guitar, rather than in the traditional vertical position, and strike the instrument much harder than did Chikuzan, the Yoshida Brothers redefined the genre for a whole new generation. Asked about whether they were primarily trying to appeal to an older or younger audience, Kenichi told this writer: “We both want a lot of people to listen to us, but when we started playing the shamisen at a very young age, during primary school days, our friends were saying ‘Why are you playing such an instrument?’ Because of that, we’d rather have the younger audience listening to this type of music, to overcome the prejudice toward traditional instruments. I feel strongly about that.”

In an interview for a Japanese newspaper, Kenichi explained: “The tsugaru shamisen is thought of as an instrument for old people, but we play it as if it were the guitar. I’m sure the audience treats us as something new–not only our music but our youthful hairstyles and youthful looks in general.” Ryoichiro, 26, explains, “Our biggest difference from others is our style of playing. Older performers on folk music programs face straight ahead expressionlessly when they play. We exude music with our whole bodies. When we play joyfully, our bodies just naturally move; if we play joyfully, the audience enjoys it.”

Shamisen recordings rarely sell more than a few thousand copies in Japan, but the Yoshida Brothers’ debut album Ibuki (1999) sold over 100,000 copies; their second, Move (2000), sold equally well and won them the Gold Disc Award for Japanese Music Album of the Year, an award comparable in importance to the American Grammy Award.

While the Yoshida Brothers are modernizing tsugaru shamisen, they continue to pay homage to tradition. In concerts they usually play an equal number of traditional and modern songs. Each of their four CDs released in Japan includes one or several versions of “Tsugaru Jyongara Bushi,” one of the oldest and most widely performed Tsugaru minyo and the best-known piece in the tsugaru shamisen repertoire. While the original song has lyrics and the shamisen is used for accompaniment only, the instrument-only version of “Jyongara Bushi,” pioneered by Takahashi, consists of improvisations based on the theme of the original song. “Just like in jazz, we create our own story in sound by improvisation,” says Kenichi.

Ibuki contained mostly traditional repertoire, but Move featured more original compositions. It also marked the beginning of the Yoshida Brothers’ ongoing experimentation with instruments from various cultures. Ryoichiro counts Japanese taiko (Japanese drum) player Eitetsu Hayashi and Argentine bandoneon (accordion) player Astor Piazzolla among his musical influences, while Kenichi is fond of Spanish music, in particular the flamenco guitar of Paco de Luc’a. These influences can be heard on Move; one song includes the otsuzumi, a small taiko drum, and three songs include the cajon, an Afro- Peruvian hand drum that has been very popular in Spanish flamenco music since the 1980s.

The next Yoshida Brothers’ release was Soulful (2002), for which they again won the Gold Disc for Japanese Music Album of the Year. On this recording the brothers fuse the sound of the shamisen with several nonpercussive instruments such as synthesizer keyboards, piano, and violin. Frontier (2003), the Yoshida Brothers’ latest release in Japan shows influences of jazz, pop, African music, and flamenco; instruments used include strings, electric bass, acoustic guitar, harp, and tabla, among others.

While traditional tsugaru shamisen songs such as “Tsugaru Jyongara Bushi” are generally considered folk music in Japan, the Yoshida Brothers’ compositions defy easy categorization. Some of their pieces sound traditional, but others run the gamut from jazz to New Age to pop and world music. In Japan, however, their music is considered simply modern tsugaru shamisen.

Asked by this writer about the boundaries of modern tsugaru shamisen, Kenichi responded: “When we are making new music, we always take care to include tsugaru shamisen phrases and make the music something that only a tsugaru shamisen [instrument] can do.” Asked further if even a rap song could be tsugaru shamisen, as long as it included shamisen playing, Kenichi said: “It all depends whether I can express tsugaru shamisen phrases or something that only a tsugaru shamisen can do. If that’s included, then it is tsugaru shamisen.”

There are signs that not all of the early fans of the Yoshida Brothers approve of their ongoing musical experimentations; their last two CDs have sold less well than their first two. Nevertheless, the Yoshida Brothers remain popular. They play well over a hundred concerts annually–all sold out–and are constant guests on Japan’s TV shows.

Other Artists

During the last five years, other tsugaru shamisen players have also gained national attention in Japan. Some of them are older than the Yoshida Brothers and helped prepare the way for the current shamisen boom. Shinichi Kinoshita, 35, was combining the shamisen with rock and jazz nearly a decade before the Yoshida Brothers became popular, but their success has helped him find a larger audience. Kinoshita’s early attempts to widen the scope of the instrument at first drew criticism from some tsugaru shamisen lovers. “I used to be told to stop my ‘heretic’ attempts to experiment in collaborative sessions [with other musicians],” he told a Japanese newspaper, “but the thinking of teachers and other players has become much more flexible and these same people now encourage me.”

In November 2001, Kinoshita had two successful tsugaru shamisen recordings released at the same time: Den, which contains solo renditions of traditional repertoire, and Kai, which contains what Kinoshita calls “tsugaru fusion.” In June 2002 came Sougu (meaning “come across”), a collaboration with Hungarian gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos. In February 2003, Show, another Kinoshita CD featuring traditional tsugaru shamisen, was released. Kinoshita performed at a music festival in Istanbul this summer and gave several concerts in England. His Japanese record label, Avex Io, is planning to focus on Europe.

Hiromitsu Agatsuma, 29, grew up near Tokyo. He began playing tsugaru shamisen at the age of six and won a national shamisen championship at fourteen. In the 1990s he played the shamisen in the rock band Musahi before he became a soloist. His first, self-titled solo CD was released in 2001 and received a Gold Disc Award. In 2002 came Beams, with all original compositions. Beams was the first contemporary tsugaru shamisen CD to be released in the United States, in January 2003 (Domo Records, Los Angeles). According to the label, it has been selling well.

Some of the tracks on Beams fuse the sound of the shamisen with urban grooves and computer-programmed dance rhythms. Agatsuma (who uses only his last name professionally told The World & I: “I wanted to create a style of music which was not in shamisen music before. The songs on Beams were born from this feeling. One thing I am careful to do is to not make the shamisen sound too much like the guitar but maintain its unique phrases and accents.”

His latest recording, Agatsuma III: Classics, contains traditional tsugaru shamisen songs. He notes, “It was recorded at a church in New York last December. The unique echo in the church was so comfortable for me, this experience made me think of playing in churches around the world, as well as my regular concerts. I believe my roots are based on those traditionals, so I try not to leave the basics behind.”

The shamisen is not the only traditional instrument that has become fashionable again, however. Such instruments and their music, once almost disappearing, are suddenly “cool” in the eyes of young Japanese. In the wake of the shamisen boom, young musicians playing other traditional instruments such as the koto, shakuhachi, biwa, and noh flute are making a name for themselves and recording CDs. Moreover, taiko drums have reached a new height in popularity, with taiko groups being formed in almost every city and village in Japan. Taiko ensembles such as Ondekoza and Kodo have toured worldwide, to great acclaim.

In April 2002, the Japanese Education Ministry introduced a law requiring every middle-school student to take up the study of at least one indigenous instrument. The objective, according to a ministry official, is to “nurture self-awareness in Japanese children living in a globalized world.” This represents a significant change in Japanese music education. Since the Meiji era (1868–1912), it has been oriented toward Western music at the expense of traditional Japanese music, with the result that the most popular instruments in Japan today are the piano and the violin. As Takafumi Tanaka, editor in chief of the Hogaku Journal of Japanese Traditional Music, puts it, “We’re the only country in the world that has eliminated its own music from its education.”

Will the shamisen boom last? Says Tanaka: “We Japanese today may well have ears more attuned to Western music, but we also feel our pulse quicken at the sound of our traditional music. The tsugaru shamisen has a tone that meets this need. I don’t believe that this is just a boom. The audience has been enlarged permanently.”n

The official Yoshida Brothers Web site in English can be found at

www.yoshidabrothers.com. The Yoshida Brothers’ U.S. debut album, Yoshida Brothers, and Agatsuma’s Beams are available at www.domo.com, where one can also access listening samples. Some of the other recordings mentioned in this article can be ordered as imports from www.amazon.com.

Claude Aubert, the assistant art director for The World & I, does freelance writing on American roots music and world music.

AUBERT, CLAUDE