Simon

AAWM JOURNAL VOL. 5 NO. 2 (2017)

Shakuhachi honkyoku: Motivic analysis of Sokaku Reibo

Amy D. Simon

---

Abstract:

Previous studies of shakuhachi honkyoku have approached analysis from the starting point of octave-species scales as well as trichords spanning a perfect fourth. However, a case study of the Kinko-ryū piece Sokaku Reibo shows that not all tonal content is accounted for by these frameworks. Three transpositions of the miyakobushi trichord (m2+M3=P4) account for a portion of what is heard in the piece, but do not give a full picture.

A bottom-up approach based on melodic and rhythmic motives is favored in this study since intervals other than the m2, M3, and P4 of the miyakobushi trichord occur frequently, as do tones that do not fit the usual trichord transpositions. Pitch cells and rhythm cells are repeated, contracted and expanded throughout the 12 dan (sections) of Sokaku Reibo. Analysis of these cells as motives, in addition to analysis of frequently occurring intervals and exceptional tones, is relevant to the overall structure of the piece.

Read full article in PDF version

Contributor Information:

Amy D. Simon toured internationally for several years as an orchestral clarinetist with Shen Yun Performing Arts. She currently teaches musicology at the University of Prince Edward Island.

© 2017 by the author. Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of this article without requesting permission. When distributing, (1) the author of the article and the name, volume, issue, and year of the journal must be identified clearly; (2) no portion of the article, including audio, video, or other accompanying media, may be used for commercial purposes; and (3) no portion of the article or any of its accompanying media may be modified, transformed, built upon, sampled, remixed, or separated from the rest of the article.

---