The Japanese harp, or O-koto, is one of a
series of Japanese classical instruments
that, along with the appropriate musical
scales, give Japanese music it's distinctive
sound. The sound is produced by plucking
the strings using artificial "nails"
which are placed over two fingers and the
thumb of the right hand.
The koto comes in several different varieties.
The usual one has 13 strings. Each of
the 13 strings is tuned to a different note.
The note produced by each string is defined
by the position of the small "stands"
placed under the strings. Different songs
usually require different tunings, and it
is not unusual for players to use several
different kotos during a performance. Notes
other than the 13 can be obtained by bending
the strings.
The score of a koto is not usually the traditional
Italian one. It is more usual to find the
score written in kanji, or Japanese characters.
The characters used are the characters for
the numbers 1 to 10, followed by the characters
"toe" "ii" and "kin".
The character for the number one corresponds
to the thickest, lowest sounding string.
The score is usually written vertically,
from top to bottom and from right to left!
One of the most famous O-koto pieces of music
is "Sakura Sakura". The main melody
of this song will be familiar to nearly all
Japanese people. "Sakura" means
"Cherry Blossom" in Japanese. If
you try out this page on a normal PC, you
can have a go at playing it yourself!
(C) RjG
