Gagaku is the ancient court music of Japan and has its origins as far back as the 8th century. It is derived mainly from China and Korea. Gagaku orchestras may consist of as many as 17 musicians playing woodwinds, plucked- string, and percussion instruments. The winds include a flute, usually of the type known as ry Uteki; a short double-reed pipe called hichiriki; and a sho, a free-reed mouthorgan consisting of 17 bamboo pipes inserted in a globular wind chest with a mouth hole. The flute and the double-reed pipe play the melody while the mouthorgan provides a cluster of background tones. Phrases of music are marked off by the sounds of a small horizontal two- headed drum (kakko), a large hanging drum (taiko), and a small gong (shoko), as well as by short melodies and arpeggios played on a four- stringed lute (biwa) and a thirteen-stringed zither (koto).
Gagaku music utilises six modes, or scales, of Chinese origin, all derived from two basic pentatonic scales: ryo, D E F-sharp A B (D), plus G and C- sharp as auxiliary notes; and ritsu, G A C D E (G), plus auxiliary B and F. The meters in gagaku music are basically duple. Research Gagaku
Abbreviations
Research Koto
