Developing bi-musicality through immersion in J-pop : Composition and performing processes

Abstract

This Global Music master’s thesis explores bi-musicality, an ability to better understand and perform another musical style, through immersion in J-pop. Through this thesis I investigated the musical elements and culture behind J-pop hoping to raise awareness and appreciation of the genre, and to give musicians tools to develop bi-musicality with J-pop as an example.

I studied the musical elements and the culture of J-pop using artistic research methods such as musical immersion, song analysis, academic texts as well as field trips. I compared J-pop songs to Western pop songs to see the differences between the two genres, and found out that J-pop can have complex musical elements from a Western musician’s point of view, such as jazz harmony and progressive arrangements. During my field trips to Japan I learned more about some of the cultural and societal aspects of Japanese culture and how they might affect the sound of the genre, such as the working culture, education system and history. It seems that J-pop is a combination of Japanese traditionalism mixed with the country’s vast influences from Western musical traditions that have become integrated in the unique culture of Japan. With the knowledge and experiences that I got from these processes I did experimentation with my own songwriting processes being influenced by J-pop.

As a musician with a background in different kinds of musical genres and traditions, I feel that it is essential to understand or at least to appreciate and be aware of different musical cultures. In this thesis I argue that through bi-musicality we can not only break the language barrier in music, but to engage in musical practices with more people and create new kinds of exciting music in an ethical way.