Ancient Japanese music was influenced by Chinese music which reached Japan in 680 BC. Traditional Japanese musical instruments include the shamisen, koto, and biwa. The shamisen has a hollow body with three silk strings and a long unfretted neck, and may have dogskin or catskin coverings. The koto is a Japanese zither with 13 silk-stretched strings over movable bridges. The biwa is a pear-shaped lute with four strings that plays melody and marks time. While retaining traditions, Japanese music has incorporated Western genres like jazz and chamber music, with precise classical performances and little improvisation.

1. Japan
Ancient Japanese music was influenced by Asian mainland
particulary China. chinese music reached Japan in 680 B.C.
during the TAU DYNASTY.

2. JAPANESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

4. Shamisen is a very popular Japanese instrument. It has a
hollow body with 3 silk string streched over a long
unfretted neck. the face may covered with dogskin and the
back with catskin.
THREE MAIN TUNINGS;
a.hon-chosi
b.ni-agari
c.san-sagari

5. Koto is the Japanese zither for which most Japanese
chamber TRIOS was originally composed. It has 13 silk-
starched string of equal thichness streched over 13
movable bridges.

6. 3.
Biwa is a pear-shaped lute. It has four string and plays Both
the melody and marks time with the interval

8. HIchiriki is a short oboe. it is made of bamboo with six
finger holes. it is the favorite instrument of the clarinet type.

9. 2.
Sho is the japanese mouth organ. It has 17 small bamboo
pipe set in a wind chest. 15 of the pipes are fitted with small
reeds. the reeds vibrate when the holes are covered while
the player blows through the wind chest producing chords
of fives or six tones.

10. Shakuhachi is the flute of the recorder or falageolot type.
this is one of the most difficult wind instrument to master.

11. JAPANESE DRUMS INSTRUMENT

12. O-daiko is a big drum suspended at the tower of the
building in front of the theatre where the performance is
going on. it is also utilize to provide sentimental effects to
the drama

13. Kakko is a barrel shaped drum with the drumhead covered
with skin. to produce sound, both hands strike the
drumhead with a piece of stick.

14. Shoko is a small gong used to mark various temporal
divisions and cadence points.

15. Otsuzumi is a vertical drum.

16. While Japan is nationalistic in general, Japanese music
uses also forms of Western music, from jazz to chamber
music. There is little improvisation but performance is exact
classical music.