KOTO: Japanese musical instrument
https://worldhitz4u.blogspot.com/2014/03/koto-japanese-musical-instrument.html
The koto is a traditional stringed musical instrument from
Japan. The instrument is analogous to the Chinese zheng, the Mongolian vatga,
the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese dan tranh. The koto is a national
musical instrument in Japan. Koto is about 180 cm long and manufactured from a
kiri wood. The instrument is constructed to have 13 strings that are strung
over 13 movable bridges along the sides of the musical instrument. The players
of the musical instrument can adjust the pitches of the strings by moving the
bridges before playing the musical instrument, and they can use the finger pick
to pluck the strings of the musical instrument, also called plectra.
The character for koto, even though is normally used.
Meanwhile, often refers to another musical instrument, the kin.
The ancestor of this musical instrument is the chinese zheng
and was 1st introduced to Japan from the chinese world in the 7th
century and the 8th century. The first known kind of this instrument
had five strings that eventually increased to 7 strings. This particular
musical instrument is known in the entire Asia, though in various forms.
When the musical instrument was first imported to Japan, the
native term koto was the general term for any and all Japanese stringed musical
instrument. Over time the description of the name could not be define the wide
variety of the stringed musical instruments and as such the meaning was
changed.
The modern version of the koto came from the gakuso that was
used in the court music of Japan. This was a prominent musical instrument among
the wealthy; the musical instrument was said to be a romantic instrument.
The history of the musical instrument in japan has been
traced back to the 16th century. At this period, a Buddhist priest
called Kenjun, who lived in the northern Kyushu, started composing for the
musical instrument, calling the pattern ‘tsukushi goto’.
The most crucial influence on the musical instrument was
probably Yatsuhashi Kengyo. He was a talented blind musician
from Kyoto that altered the limited selection of six songs to a new pattern
music known as kuni uta.
A smaller influence in the evolution of the musical
instrument is seen in the inspiration of a woman named Keiko Nosaka. She felt
confined by playing the musical instrument with just 13 strings, so she
manufactured some new version of the musical instrument with 20 strings or
more.
The Japanese developments in the bridgeless version of the
zither include the one-stringed version of the koto as well as the two-stringed
koto around the 1920s. Goro Morita manufactured a new type of the two-stringed
goto. On this version, a player would push down buttons above the metal strings
like the western autoharp. The instrument was named taisho goto after the
Taisho period.
At the starting part of the Meiji Era, 1868 to 1912, western
music was introduced to Japan. A blind performer, innovator and composer,
Michio Miyagi, is considered to have been the first man from japan to combine
western music with the traditional music of koto. Largely he is regarded as
being responsible for keeping the musical instrument alive when traditional
arts of Japan were replaced by the westernization and forgotten. He wrote more
than 300 new works for the musical instrument before he died in a train crash
at the age of 62. He also was the inventor of the 17-stringed bass version of
the musical instrument, provided new playing styles, advanced traditional forms
and increased the popularity of the musical instrument.
A koto is manufactured of Paulownia wood. The treatment of
the instrument before making the instrument differs tremendously: one producer
of the musical instrument seasons the wood probably for a complete year on the
roof of the roof. Some wood may have small treatment. The musical instrument
may or may not be ornamented; some decorations are inlays of ivory and ebony,
the shell of tortoise and the metal figure.
The bridge of the instrument is often manufactured of ivory,
but in the modern days, plastic are typically used. A player of the musical
instrument can change the pitch of the instrument’s string by manipulating or
moving the bridge of the koto. For some very low notes, there are small bridges
manufactured, and specialty bridges that has three various heights, depending
on the necessity of the tuning. Some players of the koto may use an emergency
measure, using the bridge of the instrument upside down, when small bridge is
not available for some very low notes. Such arrangement is not stable and the
bridge of the instrument has the tendency of falling down.
The strings of the musical instrument are manufactured from a
many materials. Various kinds of plastic strings are popular on the koto. Silk
strings are still found on the instrument. The silk strings are often yellow in
color, though they can cost more and are not so long-lasting, but it has
claimed to be more musical. the strings of the koto are tied with a half hitch
to a roll of paper, approximately the size of a cigarette butt, strung via the
holes at the instrument’s head, threaded through the holes at the back of the
instrument, tightened and knotted with the use of a special knot. Special
machine can be used in the knotting of the instrument’s strings, though they
are normally done with the hands. One can tighten the string of the koto by
pulling the string from the behind, or sitting at the side of the musical
instrument, even though the latter is much difficult and needs much strength
from the arm.
The influence of the western pop music in the Japanese world
has made this musical instrument less popular, even though the instrument is
still developing as a music instrument. The 17-string bass version of the
musical instrument called jūshichi-gen
in Japanese has become more popular over the years since it was developed by
Miyagi Michio. Also ther are 20-string, 21-string and the 25-string versions of
the musical instrument.
Popular solo performers outside of Japan include the koto
master and award winning artist called Elizabeth Falconerwho also studied for
ten years at the esteemed Sawai Koto School in Tokyo, and also Linda Kako
Caplan, a Canadian grandmaster.In March 2010, the musical instrument received
general international attention when a video associated by the Grammy
Award-winning hard rock band tool on its website turned into a viral hit.