Scales

The unmistakable sound of a Japanese melodic line is determined by the arrangement of the tones within the scale or onkai (literally "sound step"). These onkai consist of units spanning an interval of a perfect fourth (e.g. D - G) with an intermediate note lying between the determining tones. There are four possibilities: D F G, D Eb G, D E G, D F#G. (The pitch of the tonic is varied depending upon the vocal range of the singer)

Whilst ancient Greek music theory defined a tetrachord as consisting of four notes, because of the similarity of use, it is convenient to employ the same term to refer to the Japanese examples.

If tetrachord 1 is duplicated at the interval of a tone above (disjunct) the resulting scale or onkai spans an octave. With this method, four simple onkai can be constructed:

1.Minyou onkai

(sometimes known as inakabushi, or you scale):Mostly found in children's traditional game songs, and folk songs (minyou)

2.Miyako bushi onkai

(sometimes known as in scale): The term refers to the onkai used in urban melodies. It is often used in koto, shakuhachi and shamisen music and is frequently found in art music such as soukyoku, nagauta and classical shakuhachi and biwa music.

3.Ritsu onkai

This is related to the ritsu scale found in the theory of gagaku music.

4.Ryuukyuu onkai

An infrequently arrangement of notes found mainly in the music of the Okinawan prefecture of the same name

Examples 1 and 2 form the basic melodic unit for the music of kabuki, and much of the art music of the Edo period.

The "white" notes mark the tonal centres (kakuon) which can be used as pivot points for modulation.

Tetrachords 1 and 2 can be joined in different combinations both disjunctly (with a separating tone) or conjunctly (with no intervening tone) to produce melodic structures. The following shows some examples of construction.

2 over 1 (conjunct)

2 over 2 (conjunct)

The in scale, frequently heard in nagauta, uses a combination of minyou onkai (with conjunct tetrachords) when ascending, and drifts down via the miyako bushi onkai.

The kakuon facilitate modulation which can be used to heighten the action on stage, or the text of the chanter.

For example a minyou onkai can modulate down one tone by using the kakuon a fourth pivot above the "tonic" to transform into a miyako bushi onkai.

Another form of modulation can be achieved in the miyakobushi onkai by using the fourth to start a new onkai.