J-pop- considered to be the most popular music for Japanese teens

Description:

In the journal article, “Popular Music, Gender andHigh School Pupils in Japan: Personal Music in School and Leisure Sites” Koizumi discusses the most popular music Japanese teens listen to today which is Japanese Pop also known as J-pop. The four main genres J-pop is split into are guitar band, divakei, idol pop, and visual pop/rock. Guitar Band can be compared to hard rock, and relates the most to the Beatles and their simple chord progressions. Diva Kei is a genre which consists of women singers including Miwa Yoshida and Hikaru Utada who you can easily compare to Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Visual pop/rock is referred to as Visual-Kei which consisted of rock bands that put on a visual performance as well as even putting make-up on and dressing up. Idol pop is where a male or female artist performs solo. Some recent popular groups include Speed, Morning Musume, and SWAP (Koizumi110). Individual artists and bands seem to be way more appreciated by teens today. There are plenty of other genres often listened to by teens along with J-pop.

Evaluation:

The journal article Koizumi presents is logical and very informational. Koizumi states, “J-pop is much more available for singing in a karaoke box, which has had nationwide popularity…” (110). This quote proves Koizumi’s information is useful and may be helpful for anyone interested in Japans popular music for teens. This may be greatly informative for someone who might compare teen popular music to other countries.

MLA:

Koizumi, Kyoko. "Popular Music." Popular Music, Gender and High School Pupils in Japan: Personal Music in School and Leisure Sites 21.1 (2002): 107-25. Web.

APA:

Koizumi, K. (2002). Popular music, gender and high school pupils in japan: Personal music in school and leisure sites. Popular Music, 21(1), 107-125.

Japanese teaching styles improve musical skills of students’ immensely which further supports the advancing in ensembles for future years

Description:

A very important aspect of the article, Japanese Traditional InstrumentalMusic, I believe is the reference to the musical techniques taught by teachers in Japan and how it positively affects the tradition of Japanese music. Japan has a different way of teaching music to students. “The traditional teaching of music in Japan is considered intuitive, in the sense that the teacher does not say much; he goes straight into the music” (1). This means, other than having discussions, the way students learn is by watching and copying what the teacher does. Traditionally, music classes are first come, first serve and based on what the teacher thinks should happen. For example, makes the decision when you’re ready for a concert. Japan’s teaching style is a way more strict, but in the end is much more effective (1). Japans traditional teaching of music has been this way for a long time and this is why Japanese students have succeeded greatly.  Over time, this contributes to the advancement of ensembles skills as a whole. This website further discusses how ensemble music has changed throughout the centuries, the influences on the traditional music style, a historical background of how the music came about, and how it all relates to the development of traditional ensembles.

Evaluation:

If you are interested in Japans musical teaching style, considering becoming a music teacher in Japan, or even planning on enrolling into the Japanese education system this article is definitely one to look at. It clearly depicts the teaching styles and how advanced they are. This article discusses several other aspects of traditional Japanese music including a precise historical background description, some of the instruments used, and styles of traditional music performed by ensembles. So if you are one who is interested in these topics this is a great website to refer to.

MLA:

Deschênes, Bruno. "Japanese Traditional Instrumental Music." Editorial. Musical Traditions Internet Magazine. 27 Dec. 2001. Web. 06 Dec. 2011.

Japanese Music

Some websites for Japanese music:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Japan
http://web-japan.org/museum/music/about_mu.html
http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/pop.shtml