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发表于 2004-5-12 20:46:10
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课间操!有利于 <!--emo&:rolleyes:--><img src='http://www.javaws.com/bbs/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rolleyes.gif'><!--endemo--> <br><img src='http://www.quixium.com/enka/fs&mk.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'> <br>What is Enka?<br> Enka is a Japanese popular song, in the "traditional" style. Enka music is composed largely in the Pentatonic scale, 5 notes per octave, similar to the scale used in Greek, Celtic , Gypsy, and some Eurasian music, and some modern blues and jazz music. Take a piano and play a melody using only the white keys which are immediately to the left of a black key. There are 5 such keys per octave, and this tuning is close to one of the pentatonic scales. (Though it is "tempered" instead of "just" on a Western piano. The scale was probably a "just" one, originally.) Japanese folk music in the pentatonic scale is related to traditional Shinto and Buddhist music , with its Chinese roots, though in fact its origins predate even the musical influx from the Chinese mainland. Despite the scale, the chords are ones typical of Western music. Enka singing style uses a wide range of vocal styles. Long drawn-out notes, with a swelling vibrato ("delayed vibrato") to emphasize the emotional content, are characteristic. These are accompanied by dramatic musical phrasing, with wide dynamics which range from whisper-soft sibilants to spine-tingling crescendos. The melody is often a simple one, but with colorations and ornamentation ( melisma ) that make the melody line more elaborated and difficult to sing, but very beautiful as well. The effect is a bit like the ornaments found in baroque harpsichord music, except that they are sung instead of played. Rhythm is fairly conventional 4/4 in most cases, but there are a lot of exceptions, including rhythms you wouldn't expect, such as reggae and cha-cha. <br> (Anxious to hear a sample? Go directly to the section on Fuyumi Sakamoto and click on her "music notes" icon to hear a selection which illustrates these characteristics well. Then send your browser "back" here to continue reading while listening to the selection. <br>Or, click here: <br> A friend of mine once remarked that these were "Japanese torch singers" and that's a fairly good description. Enka songs are 1 to 6 minutes long, and are performed standing, usually wearing formal attire. For men this can be either Japanese or Western attire, for women it is generally a kimono. (Korean and Chinese women seem to usually sing Enka in glittering gowns.) The song lyrics are tragic yet philosophical, and sometimes even amusing. Drinking songs are common, usually to help "drown my sorrows". Songs of love, separation, death and suicide abound. The subject matter of the typical lyrics involve tragic love and sweet resignation to the comfort of cherished memories of better times. Arrangements use a unique mixture of Western and Japanese instruments, from the koto to the electric guitar. Violins are common, but surprisingly, pianos are not. <br> We Western music lovers might imagine it this way... Team up a songwriter who writes old-fashioned Gypsy music with a romantic lyricist of an American blues or country music background. Then translate the lyrics into poetic but old-fashioned Japanese and arrange the music for a band made of half Japanese musicians and half European classical musicians, plus a harmonica and electric guitar. Then find a Japanese woman to sing the song in full kimono, but choreograph her performance as if it were an operatic aria. That would give you something close to Enka music... <br> Enka thrives in Japan with the older generation. Korea, however, sometimes claims to have been the birthplace of modern Enka music. This is probably partly true. There may also have been influences from China. Constant wars in the 20th century have spread cross-cultural influences through the regions so often that one may never be certain of Enka's true roots. However, history isn't the important thing. Enka is a living music, being composed and performed right now. After all, we don't think of New Orleans when we hear modern Rock, though its roots can be traced there. There are Korean songs which sound much like Japanese Enka, but I'm uncertain whether the Japanese consider those songs to be Enka or not (probably not) even if the Koreans do consider them to be Enka. Likewise, some songs from Hong Kong seem like Enka too. I don't like being too restrictive with the definition of Enka, myself, though perhaps Japanese people might feel differently. Japan is proud of Enka, and rightly so, but Korea and China are a part of the music's background from the 1930's on through to today. <br> Enka doesn't have a large fan base among the young in Japan. Many of them sincerely dislike Enka. This may partly be due to the fact that their parents liked it so much they played it all the time while the children were growing up. Does this mean that Enka will disappear with the older generation? I don't think anyone knows. Like any music, it will continue to change, and chances are that a new generation will "rediscover" a "modern" Enka some day. Music is made for people who want to hear it, and if the tastes of the people change, the music will change too. There are a few new young Enka singers, so it is hopeful. The new Enka singers are experimenting with variations on the traditional style, keeping some elements, and discarding others. This may be the only way Enka can continue to grow in the future. Nostalgia is a potent thing in Japan, but it alone probably isn't enough to ensure that Enka continues; new listeners are needed. |
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