|
|
| Free Music Downloads Information |
|
|
|
|
Celtic Music: The Japanese Connection
My friend, guitarist Brian Hughes, toured with the Chieftain's in Japan as an opening act with Loreena McKennitt. He then went on to perform with the Chieftains in North America and Europe when they were promoting their album Santiago. In Japan they played about ten shows between Tokyo and Osaka, mainly at soft seat classical concert halls. The seating ranged from 1500 to 4000 capacity. They were booked through the agent Plankton who specializes in Celtic music. Although the audiences were enthusiastic Brian felt that Celtic music was still a niche market in Japan. Celtic Music and Traditional Japanese Music: A Comparison If you listen to many of the traditional Japanese folk melodies they have a bittersweet quality that is similar to traditional Celtic music. The Japanese minor pentatonic scale is different from the western one but some phrases especially when they go into the major could easily be bits of Irish or Scottish folk songs. If you look at the traditional transverse folk flute the shinobue, it is really not that different from the fife, or Irish flute in terms of fingering. The technique of sliding and taping with the whistle or the shinobue are also similar. Where to Find Celtic Music in Japan The major labels in Japan all have Celtic music under license and CDs are available as imports. A reputable distributor of Irish music in Japan is a company called Music Plant. I think they probably are affiliated with Plankton. JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) directly signed the group ANAM. They have recorded two albums for JVC and have toured Japan three times. A talented young musician from England, Tim Edey who played button accordion on my latest album Celtic Heartland just joined the group recently. There was a company in Tokyo called Trinity who was specializing in importing traditional Celtic CDs but I am not sure they are still in operation. Brian Cullen an Irishman from Wicklow now living in Nagoya has his own label for marketing his own material called Celtic Otter music and he has published collections of ballads. There is a Celtic festival held annually in Tokyo at Ryutsu Center. They have music and dance performances, fashion shows, arts and crafts exhibitions and seminars and workshops. There is an organization called CCE Japan that provides lessons for most Irish instruments as well as Set Dance and Gaelic. CCE Japan is the Japanese branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, an association for promoting Japanese Musicians Specializing in Irish Instruments There are some quite accomplished Japanese Celtic musicians. Isao Moriyasu, who began as a classical recorder player, now specializes in Irish flutes. He lectures at Kunitachi Music College and has written a book on Irish music. He often performs with his wife Masako who plays Celtic harp, concertina and bodhran. Mayumi Nagaura who is a member of The Rising Pints, also has her own group called BIRD. She is a really good accordion, tin whistle and bodhran player. She has encouraged many other Japanese to learn Irish instruments. Western Celtic Musicians in Japan There are a few musicians who have formed groups with foreign and Japanese members. Examples include the Rising Pints and the now defunct Eye Wish as well as a group in Sendai called Callanish. The Pub Circuit in Japan There are many Irish pubs in Japan such as Dubliners, O'Carolan's, The Pint, The Warrior Celt, Shamrock that regularly have music. Irish pubs all have regular sessions as well. Because rent is at a premium particularly in the major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto the venues are smaller than you would expect in America or Europe. Like many jazz clubs in this country the capacity ranges from as little as 50 to 200 comfortably. Brian Cullen reports that the Osaka Dubliners claims to have had 600 customers on a St. Patrick's day a few years ago. I would say that must be the maximum and that is after a few pints. Westerners are usually surprised by the amount of the cover charges. Generally to see a band a 3000 yen cover charge is pretty typical. CD prices are still about 2500 yen as well. While Celtic artists are not household names like major rock stars, the interest in Celtic music is likely to continue to grow in Japan for some time to come. © 2005 Ron Korb - All Rights Reserved Reprint Rights: Ezine and magazine publishers may reprint this article, as long as the following information is included: - the summary about the author (see below) Ron Korb is a Toronto based, flutist and composer. His music blends jazz and world music (including Celtic and Japanese music) together to create a truly original sound. Ron plays a number of Irish flutes including the penny whistle and the low whistle. He has 2 Celtic Music CDs (Celtic Heartland and Celtic Quest). A number of Ron's other CDs have Celtic music selections including Flute Traveller, Behind the Mask, and Ron Korb Live. Ron has also been a guest artist on a number of Celtic CDs, including Bruce Mitchell's Celtic Destiny, Mychael and Jeff Danna's Celtic Romance and a Celtic Tale. Official Web Site for Ron Korb, Flutist and Composer, Ron Korb Fan Pagehttp://www.ronkorb.com/fanpage.html Ron Korb Music Cataloguehttp://www.ronkorb.com/mucat.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Free-Music-Downloads - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Can You Really Learn To Play a Musical Instrument From an Online Course? Out of the 250 million people in the United States, about 25 million of them play an instrument of some kind, or used to when they were in school and would like to pick up where they left off. Another 30 million or so sing in a church choir, a barbershop quartet, or at the very least, in the shower. Social Networking and Music: MySpace Puts It All Together in a Virtual Community Today's music fan interacts with a "community" that is far larger than anyone ever dreamed possible before the widespread personal use of the Internet. This social networking is changing the way people market and sell music and it's doing so on a global scale. Why New Musicians (Rappers) Fail: Three Reasons and Solutions Despite the title of this article, the purpose of it is actually to HELP new emcees AVOID some common traps on their journey to learning how to rap better. You can come up with a million reasons why new rappers fail?or why any artist fails for that matter, but we've boiled the list down to three specific to new emcees. 3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. Rickenbacker 4003 Electric Bass Guitar The Rickenbacker 4003 electric bass guitar is oneof the few electric basses to have earned the accolade"classic" as a title for itself. The Rickenbacker 4000Series guitar is attributed for creating new dimensionsof bass playing capabilities. Micheal Jackson I bet your wondering all about the Micheal Jackson Trail. Do you think he's guilty. How to Buy an Electric Guitar Online With the increased proliferation of online guitar and musical equipment stores, as well as the lower prices and greater selection that these stores generally offer, most people are now turning to the internet to help them make their guitar purchases. Shopping online is simpler and more convenient than shopping in a store and, since all major guitar manufacturers have good websites, product information and specs are more easily accessible online than they are simply by asking a salesperson in a store. How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a type of notation used frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that chord symbols don't show the function of a chord the way the Roman numeral notation does. George Winston and New Age Piano Playing The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. Building A Good Relationship With Your Guitar The guitar is considered the friendliest musical instrument there is. It is because the guitar is the handiest musical instrument that could stand on its own. Music: Uniting Nations, Dividing Generations Cultures around the world since the beginning of time have appreciated, enjoyed, and incorporated some form of music in their everyday lives. However, just as one man's trash is another man's treasure, one man's music can often be another man's noise, and vice versa. Piano Teachers - Whats Wrong with Them? Most of us like to use what we learn right away. So why is it that most piano teachers tell you you can't really play music until you learn 2 years of theory or more? What hogwash!If I had to wait that long before I could launch into my own creations I would go nuts. Learn Piano the Easy Way! There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note reading or chords. For those who want to spend years learning how to play other peoples music, note reading is the way to go. Tips for Buying Digital Pianos and Keyboards Buying a digital piano could be a very delicate attempt, especially if you have no idea about pianos in the first place. This article is written to help you out how to choose the best digital piano. Piano Music - How to Begin and End a Piece How do you begin a piece of music? That's a question I'm often asked. The answer I usually give is that you begin as soon as you start playing - that is, if you're trying to "compose" something, the piece begins the moment it has energy and is something you want to capture. The Revolution has begun - and it will not be Televised The new Artist Development Paradigm In reflecting on the world of the Music Business in 2004, there were some very profound and dramatic changes that changed the nature of the Music Business itself. 2004 will always be remembered as the year the 'Big Five' became the 'Big Four' and don't be surprised if you're reading at this time next year and we're telling you about the 'Big Three'! Beside the Sony/BMG merger, 2004 will also be remembered as the year labels utilized aggressively utilized video games as a marketing vehicle for the launching of many of their artists. Guitar Facts: A Glossary of Terms It is said that the forerunner of the guitar, the lute, was created by the Greek god, Apollo. In India, it is believed that the sitar, another stringed instrument from which the guitar is descended, is sacred to the goddess Saraswati. Songs Await Singer I Want To Grow Old With You (C)Chorus: I want to grow old with you.. Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making ends meet as a grade school kitchen assistant, who rocketed to international fame in 1968 through a BBC broadcast recounting her purported collaborations with long-dead composers. These included Liszt, J. 50 Cent More so than any other music since the blues, hip-hop is all about stories. And its stories are both criminal minded and grand, making them enthralling and unbelievable, but also making them only as interesting and convincing as the teller.
|
| Free Music Download Sites (Home Page) | Free MP3 Downloads | RSS Feed | Artists | Music Resources | Music Downloads |
