Description and features

KOTO

Originally, KOTO are the music instrument that spread from China. A koto which differs from a harp, are a pillar to list a string. It is a characteristic to regulate a pitch by a position. Though a number of a string is various, thirteen are considered to be as a standard.

The tuning of a string must be decided with these 13 strings. We play the KOTO with Thumb of the right hand, middle finger and second finger wearing a pic. Mainly there are two types of Yamada method and Ikuta method. Yamada is a round pic. Ikuta is a corner pic.

Scale of KOTO
As using a pillar for a tuning of a scale, a scale is decided in a position of KOTO pillar against a string. The fundamental scale is called HIRA tune, a well-known CHERRY TREE wi played it with this scale .
In case that the player set up one string with D., one octave is made up of a five step scales for characterizing the Japanese sound. However, these tuning of a scale are not fixed but they can change it variously by a music to be played. It is possible to play not only Japanese classical music, but also European music such as rock, jazz, classic

It is hard for the amateur for tuning these thirteen strings. So we use Electronic tuner.

European-music-like HIRA tune becomes Gm to say. A musical key is suitable for a rendition of a C. A cloud tune is minor system. Nogi tune is major system.

Though the tuning of KOTO is a method using a tune pipe, Electronic tuner is convenient as being able to confirm it with an eye not with ears.

History of Shamisen

Shamisen is one of the traditional racial string music instruments that had come into fashion in Japan in the period of General Nobunaga Oda of War Time in Japan Tokiyo Sengoku .


With a characteristic of Tsugaru shamisen as doing, there is a technique to employ big block and strike and distribute a context. There are no due score. Melody is like an improvisation using the melodies which extend over plural bars everywhere. These improvisations resemble a flamenco guitar, Oriental folk music, jazz.

Shakuhachi
Bamboo materials is made of which have been extracted from the abundant materials, and it was managed carefully, and made of completely pocessed pipes under having been pressed for at least more than five years. Using a natural material to pull "Bamboo's original sound at most, therefore firmly, it is superb for durability.

Tunings done by special technology are euqiped with a perfect unique sound. Using a computer technology, it is possible to analyze a times sound configuration, and the sampling rate corresponding to a high claim as a music instrument. They can pronounce three mores than octave.
There are various type of tunes.
G pipe, A pipe, B ?ipe, B pipe, C pipe, D ?ipe, D pipe, E ?ipe
E pipe, F pipe, and G pipe

Japanese drums "Taiko"

A drum is the most traditional instruments which has been heritated form our Samurai Period as an entertainments.It is As a rhythm music instrument for dance with a lion's mask and Japanese dance, Taiko Sengoku as a sign of departure for the front. They have the ability of a durability. We can sometimes see some competitive plays with Western music recently.

Heita drum
It is a drum that a depth of a body is briefly, bass and is compared with a long body drum. A reberberation of a sound is not enough unlike the long body drum, they can be made-up with a reasonable cheap price. We can make a large size objects by the high technology of Heita drum,

Closing drum
It is a drum that is used for a lower rhythm mainly by basic ryhthm stretching a skin for an iron ring with the object to have fastened it with a rope or a volt for a body, keyaki, a stopper is used for a body. Thickness of a skin is adjsuted by increasing the degree of fastening, as The stronger they fasten it as a skin, it can take out a high sound.

Tub body drum
The drum body was made similarly to a tub, skin that was sewed by a ring rope they stretch it. With a diameter of a skin, large closing drum is said to be a more-than-2-feet closing drum. The size is pointed by the diameter of the skin. A body is the same length as a rope hole. Smaller tub body with two feets however can sound a large scale of rhythm. The object directly to have fastened a skin for a body is named a soil rhythm.