Japanese scales

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Japanese scales are different types of pentatonic scales ( 音階 onkai , German 'scale' or 調子 chōshi / jōshi , German 'mood [in the musical sense]' ) that are used in traditional Japanese music .

On the one hand, scales are used that consist of whole tones and occur in two modes (with reference to Yin and Yang ), especially in Gagaku music:

Name in legend Kanji formula example
"Male" mode ryosen 呂 旋 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 cdegac ′
"Female" mode ritsusen 律 旋 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 cdfgac ′

On the other hand, z. B. for the koto , scales with semitones used ( hemitonic pentatonic ), which in turn occur in three modes of the same pentatonic scale:

Name in legend Kanji formula example
hira-jōshi 平 調子 1, 2, b3, 5, b6 cd es g as c ′
iwato-jōshi 岩 戸 調子 1, b2, 4, b5, b7 c des f ges bc ′
kumoi-jōshi 雲 井 調子 1, b2, 4, 5, b6 c des fg as c ′

Hira-jōshi was developed in the 17th century by the blind koto master Yatsuhashi Kengyō ( 八 橋 検 校 ) and includes two jumps around a major third ; iwato-jōshi and kumoi-jōshi correspond to the mode on their second and fourth level.

Another important hemitonic-pentatonic scale derived from the koto tuning is kokin-jōshi (1, 2, 4, 5, b6; e.g. cdfg as c ′); its third mode is akebono (1, 2, b3, 5, 6; cd es gac ′), the fourth is han'iwato (1, b2, 4, 5, b7; c of fgbc ′).

There are other scales in traditional folk music , e.g. B .:

Name in legend Kanji formula example
Yin mode insen 陰 旋 1, b2, 4, 5, b7 / b6 c des fgbc ′ / c ′ as gf des c
Yang mode yōsen 陽 旋 1, 2 (b3), 4, 5, b7 / 6 cd (es) fgbc ′ / c ′ agf 2 (b3) c

the ascending forms of which differ from the descending forms, as in the melodic minor of Western music.

In Ryūkyū ( Okinawa ) folk music uses a hemitonic mode with the formula 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 (e.g. cefghc ′) ( ryukuan ), which has a sound that is unique in the world due to the missing second and sixth.

The musical genre Enka nowadays mainly uses the scale Yonanuki tan'onkai ( ヨ ナ 抜 き 短 音階 ; minor key without the levels 4 and 7 or without re and sol ), which is a modification of the Yonanuki chōonkai ( ヨ ナ 抜 き 長 音階 ; major key without the Levels 4 and 7 or without fa and si ). This in turn goes back to the Ryo Onkai ( 呂 音階 ; see above ryosen 呂 旋 ).

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