3.Influence and affair of Japanese music

   There are many affairs related with music and influence from music around the world. For good example, Elvis Presley made a difference between white and black in the U.S., and the song of "We are the world" were made to save African people from starvation and poverty by USA for Africa, a group of famous musicians, and they contributed to the earnings of the song for Africa.
On the other hand, it seems that crimes like murder or robbery happen compared with lyrics of some songs. Music has big power. I will show some example of music's influence in Japan.

     Namie Amuro is a famous example. She is a singer and dancer. She songs J-Pop, rock, rhythm and blues, dance music, and so on. She has strongly influenced society, that is to say, she makes some culture of Japan. Her style of performance, sing with hard dance, not simple choregraphy, had been created by herself, and has become popular. Moreover, her appearance were imitated many people called "amurer". Thy put on clothes like pants suits, and made up with dark or blown color and thin blow and tanned their skin because Amuro's looks were so.

Namie Amuro

  
   Also hide, a member of X Japan made strong effect on Japan. X Japan is "visual rock band", which has outstanding looks and performances heavily, sometimes their lyric are aggressive. The band were so popular in Japan, and made the word "visual band". Hide was aguitalist, and had acted solo, too. He was popular in fans of the group, but one day dead suddenly. The death was thought both suicide or accident, but it has been unknown. Some enthusiastic fans did suicide because of his death.

hide

    Japanese rock bands have been affecting not only domestic bands but also overseas. Nowadays  some groups which are affected from visual band in in Japan are appearing in Europa. The reason is that these band have looks like Japanese animation which is popular abroad. But these band will need technique of playing.

   Girls band have been influenced various element. A rock group which made up of only female member is called "girls band". Famous bands like Judy and Mary or scandal or chatmonciy make many girls form bands, or K-On!, famous Japanese animation, led people to make girls band. Now rock is not only for men.
  
  Finally, I show big affair relating to Japanese musician.  Tetsuya Komuro, who is a famous musician and producer. He has made many famous and popular songs and produced many groups and singers, and succeed in most of these. But recently he commited fraud. He sold the rights of works that he made, but the rights already had been given others because he did not have enough money. This surprised Japan. Now he change his mind, and makes songs again.

Komuro Tetsuya

source

wikipedia
"小室哲哉"　http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E5%AE%A4%E5%93%B2%E5%93%89
"安室奈美恵"  http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E5%AE%A4%E5%A5%88%E7%BE%8E%E6%81%B5
"X Japan" http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%89%E5%AE%A4%E5%A5%88%E7%BE%8E%E6%81%B5

2.Definition and history of bath of Japanese Rock music

  Definition of Japanese rock music is very simple. It depends on members of group and stronghold. Members of band are Japanese, the rock band can be called Japanese rock group. Members are not Japanese, but they perform mainly in Japan, they can be called so. Sometimes "J-Rock"means groups that belong to a label of being, but the meaning is narrow sense. In Japan, word of "Rock" can be accepted in many ways. Sometimes it include Pop music, rhythm and blues and so on. It meaning is near to popular music. But, in this blog, I will use the word of "rock music", which means the songs composed by  the groups that are made up of Japanese or made in japan.

   In Japan, how has  the rock music born? First of all, base of Japanese rock were created by Rock'n'roll or rockabilly, which were developed in America, then brought into Japan in latter 1950's. Then, like U.S. , Rock'n'roll became old-fashioned, rockabilly changed into soft, and trancelated pops and electric instrument rock were in fashion in early 1960's. Latter 1960's, the beatles, a famous rock group and their stronghold is the U.K. built an period of "group sounds" in Japan because of their visiting in japan. "Group sounds" was made by group that consist like rock group, but the songs were near to popular songs; the forms resembled the rock band, the songs were far from those. The Spiders, the Blue Comets, the Tigers and the Tempters were famous groups.

  In 1968, fathers of Japanese rock music were born, which were the folk crusaders and the Jackas, and the year when the two groups flourished can be called the first year of Japanese rock. And, the shape of Japanese rock were built by the band of happy end. This group made  rock musics that were sung by Japanese word and " established Japanese word rock music. At this point,  a dispute that Japanese word  match rock music whether well or not. By the way, this time, the rock musics were not succeed in commerce.

  Then, in 1970's, rock music became a period of new music which was attempt to form Japanese own rock music system accepting  foreign culture of rock music. While this period, Japanese rock music was splited into two groups because of dispute of Japanese word Rock, and it is born that the group of absolute rock which insisted that the standard of rock music was that of foreign and the group of relative rock which insisted that Japanese rock should accept not only element of foreign rock but also that of Japanese and own culture and tradition. At this time, Japanese rock was diversified.

  After that, many category of Japanese rock were born, for example thecno, new wave, punk, heavy and metal. Indies developed, young people try to go to major stage throgh this energetically.

source:
"音楽のお勉強φ（．．）メモメモ" http://ongakuiroiro.doorblog.jp/archives /cat_984562.html

"日本語ロックの生き証人" http://www.linkclub.or.jp/~artmania/j_rock_evideance.html

1.Definition of Rock music and the history

What is rock music?

   Rock music has the roots in rock 'n' roll influenced strongly from rhythm and blues in 1940's and 1950's. Also the music has element of blues or folk song, besides even jazz and classical music. The form of rock music is made up of rock group typically consisting of vocal, electric guitar, bass and drums, sometimes keyboard like piano and synthesizer, wind instrument and so on. The music traditionally has lyric and built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter. Main sound of rock music is that of electric guitar. But now the style has become diversification, so there are two beats or eight beats song, no lyric song, and the work made by computer.

   Nowadays, rock is one of a kind of popular music. Many rock groups are formed and many kinds of pieces are composed, and many concerts are held around the word. These songs and groups are rather near "pop" music and the style is relatively calm, but originally it has  some "aggressive" aspects. Sometimes rock musics deal with social affairs or political problems. The musicians make a song with their feelings charged and shout the lyric of people's scream. Rock music has been so-called "counter culture", things that oppose to mainstream or establishmentarian culture. For example, Woodstock Music and Art Festival had held in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969. Over thirty rock groups and folk music singer took part in the festival and 400,000 concert-goers came to the stages. This event is said that corpus of counter culture. Rock music is often evaluated, depending on the musician's performances whether well or not, So there are songs that emphasize on not lyric but playing.

The Woodstock Music and Art Festival

   Let's look at the simple history of rock. In 1950's, Rock'n'roll, origin of rock, was born in the U.S. The pioneer was Elvis Aron Presley, who mixed rhythm and blues, the song of black, with country music, the song of white. He also contribute dissolution of discrimination against black. Next, the beatles were formed and made UK rock in early 1960's, the United Kingdom. In latter 1960's, Phychedelic rock appeared with useing LSD. This time, musician often compose songs with drug. Rock music changed rapidly and comsiderably in 1970's. The category of rock was diversified, and this age has called the golden age of rock music. Hard rock, Progressive rock, and Punk rock were born in this time. Hard and Progressive rock were characterized by thecnic of showy guitar playing, while Punk rock had simple playing style. In 1980's, Rock had been like product, so had become popular music. Now, rock music has been mixed many category of music, and diversified more and more.

    In Japan, rock music was born by the beatles' visiting Japan, and developed along with the UK and American Rock.
Next, I'll look at Japanese rock.


source:
"wikipedia"  http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF_%28%E9%9F%B3%E6%A5%BD%29
"洋楽入門もんっ！"  http://yougaku.daizoo.net/01beginner/04.php