https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrKPLOP5iJs

I have always been captivated by music from Japan and traditional Japanese culture. I was really interested in the Gagaku court music. As I was searching for music, I decided to try searching through professional recordings published on spotify instead of youtube. I came across the album used as an example in the textbook. I began to listen to every song on the album. I very quickly noticed that every single example started with a shrill, eastern tonal, Ryuteki. Each example has a very similar if not identical instrumentation. At first, I was having trouble adjusting my ears to the difference in tonal centers. But, as I kept listening, I found more comfort and layers to each piece of music. I ended up finding Kangen: Sadaien Ichigu. I really enjoy the simplicity of each instrument’s harmonic or melodic lines. Each instrument delicately layered on top of each other. However, at no point did I find the music over stimulating or “busy” sounding.