Not only that, but nearly every Japanese song has an incredible bass line. The majority of western pop music has the bass merely following the root notes.

@stuchly1

7 жыл бұрын

i agree on that. That's probably the main reason why i listen to so much j-pop nowadays.

@supremesaiyan1509

7 жыл бұрын

totally agreed. as a bass player, ive been studying Jpop and Jrock a lot recently. it just seems so much less lazy than pop over here.

@shagstars

7 жыл бұрын

That's why I don't listen to pop. Still Marty Friedman isn't a pop artist either, he is a rock/metal guitarist, and a freaking good one I tell ya!

@jotavalenzuela9749

7 жыл бұрын

man you're soo fucking right I say that all the time and no one undestand it

@SelphieFairy

7 жыл бұрын

YES. Completely agree. I can't stand how boring the bass lines in most American pop music is.

CHORDS + Analysis (edited with help of many in the comments) the western chord progression is the standard: C , G, Am, F (I, V, VIm, IV) - The Beatles - Let it be, Bob Marley - No woman no cry, Journey - Dont stop believing etc... the japanese chord progression is a collection of chord changes originating from jazz standards between the 1920's-60: C, Esus, E, Am - Gm7, C7, Bm7b5, E - Am, D7, Dm7, Fm7 C, Esus, E, Am - Gm7, C7, Bm7b5, E - Am, D7, Dm7, Fm7 I, IIIsus, III, vim7 - vm7, I7, viim7b5, III, vim , II7, iim7, ivm7 It is collection of unresolved IIm , V, I's - Modulating into different keys E to AM is a V I, moving the key to Amin, Gm7 to C7 is a II V, implying arriving at the key of F maj but deceptively landing on Bm7b5 Bm7b5 to E to Am is an minor IIm V I to the key of Amin Am to D7 implies G maj then fall back to Fmaj7 the IV chord and ends with the classic minor IV chord like Radiohead - creep

@user-pt1ye7vd7m

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. They haven't abandoned modal interchange, key changes, modulation, chord substitution and inversions in their music unlike most western music.

@AyeshaShaSha

2 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!

@vdkylo7251

2 жыл бұрын

super insightful, thank you!

@gameseeker6307

2 жыл бұрын

I like your funny words, magic man

@Mendelian

2 жыл бұрын

Could be wrong but isn’t the Am/e actually Esus4 (resolving to E)?

the Japanese has a very jazzy flavor

@TheOneAndOnlyHypnotist

4 жыл бұрын

Hey Joe! It's been a while! How've you been?

@scumbag1731

4 жыл бұрын

YellowBirb yooo he wrote that comment 3 years ago

@TheOneAndOnlyHypnotist

4 жыл бұрын

Scumbag don’t you know joe?

@MarsLonsen

4 жыл бұрын

never eaten human but I'm curious as to what jazz tastes like

@ravdiz9995

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheOneAndOnlyHypnotist joe mama

I feel like in most songs people try to spread a message but in japanese songs they have more emotion and its kinda like the artist is telling a story. To me it's really pretty.

@huuphuc5533

Жыл бұрын

that really true bro

4 chord progression (1:33): yawn, what was the story in this song again? Arigatou (2:05): ahhh, I recall memories of my friends, my family, and my respected teachers. Through my life I truly am thankful and see the meaning of the song.

@dididogster9994

3 жыл бұрын

HOLY SHIT I FELT THAT AS WELL.

@mimagp3179

3 жыл бұрын

YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT BECAUSE DAMN IT HITS RIGHT IN THE FEELS

@unbeatabel

3 жыл бұрын

WHOA TALK ABOUT THE GOOSEBUMPS THO

@imandanarahimaswara5185

2 жыл бұрын

I remembered K-ON

@nobodyhere100

2 жыл бұрын

@@imandanarahimaswara5185 I was listening to U & I and was led back here. I haven’t watched this in a while.

im not a musician, but what he played around 2:17 ~ 2:19 , I _felt_ that

@ElyanaTaenor

3 жыл бұрын

Same

@EPSON-HP

3 жыл бұрын

The best musicians and composers can make music enjoyable, even for non-musicians😉

@heartseed478

3 жыл бұрын

Those chords are the main reason I get so hooked with anime songs in general. My first encounter with that progression is SAO ending song "Yume Sekai".

@GoldenizedElite

2 жыл бұрын

Minor 2-5-1 progression very commonly seen in jazz

@azurda7483

2 жыл бұрын

Ikr

One of the most notable differences between Japanese and American music (in terms of chord structure) is that Japanese musicians haven't abandoned jazz and revere it as godlike, not "boring old people music" like we often view it as here in America. The outside looking in is always an interesting perspective, and the Japanese people have always shown great respect for America's first great original art form. The fusion of Japanese and American musical aesthetics has brought a new beautiful art form in Japan.

@rustyshackleford4743

8 жыл бұрын

+J-MUSIC Ensemble I've almost always appreciated the jazz scales. I just came up with a progression that I'm writing some lead over in the D Bebop Major scale. Such an awesome scale; just the D Major scale with the A# included

@Askariscide

8 жыл бұрын

+The Pink Warrior What are you talking about? I think he's not being bias at all and I believe he's telling the truth. How many people nowadays have a taste to classical or jazz no matter who they are? People nowadays prefer shitty music than brilliant music.(Shitty music -------> you already know who artists does those, I'm not saying Justin Bieber's most known song, Baby, and Rebecca Black's Friday or Taylor Swift's Bad Blood who was once good now goes what any other pop artist sound like) How many people out there have been playing tracks from jazz and classical masterpiece through an audio? How many jazz and classical musicians are there compared to pop musicians? How many new generations of Classicals and Jazz do reach the minorities' and the children's attention? How many Grammy awardees these days don't usually use a guitar or a piano anymore in fact always use a computer to make music out of it? How many songs from the most popular artists these days knows what a minor 6th, minor 7th, minor 9th, +add2, +add3, +add4, etc? Apparently, what chords have been usually utilized is the Major, Minor, the sustained and the 5th only. To be honest good and sensible music in America is gradually declining through time, being replaced by those sexual, violent or stupid songs. Fortunately, musicians are still finding ways to oppose those superficial art. Sadly, majority of the people in the world doesn't care to lyrics and instruments anymore as long as it's catchy and easily absorbed. You know, these days, a song with only a catchy melody and non-changing beat can rank to number one chart. How about that?

@JMUSICEnsembleOfficial

8 жыл бұрын

I appreciate the discussion! I see both your points, and all I was meaning to point out was that many people (namely musicians, where this music comes from) nowadays are not aware of America's popular musical history, and therefore are left with a lack of a certain amount of depth, by default. Of course, all modern American pop music has roots in jazz; however, there is a lack of definitive understanding of this music across the board. In Japan, most people actually regard jazz as being cool - they love the American original jazz aesthetic, and praise new musicians who come over there playing straight ahead music. They know who Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, etc. are, and know the instruments associated with the music. In America, we've moved beyond jazz being the popular music (naturally, as a progression of time would have it), and new explorations by younger musicians from different generations have pushed aside the jazz aesthetic for more "relevant" cultural themes. The point is, you'd be surprised how many people pass me by on the street in NYC and think my saxophone is a camera or a guitar (because that's all that's relevant nowadays). I'm not saying that the progression is bad - I mean, I love electronic music and J-Rock/J-Pop - I'm just saying that there's a difference between being born in a country where Louis Armstrong's music is associated with old movies vs. growing up in a country where Louis Armstrong's music is exotic and different. In Japan, this has been a consistent aesthetic since the 1930s. Peace and unity, everyone!

@CriticsConfession

7 жыл бұрын

I think jazz-style is sort of making a comeback, finally, in America. Future bass is kind of stepping up to become the new big thing, and that's deeply rooted in maj7 and 9th chords, and it's hitting the radio now that Flume has gotten popular, and is even working its way into some of Justin Bieber's new stuff. Bit of a tangent, but I used to be the kind of edge-lord who hated him too without actually listening, but goddammit some of the songs on Purpose are so fucking good because they use pretty obscure chords or genre styles like future bass and chill trap stuff. Good shit, man.

@mfb5642

6 жыл бұрын

Jazz isn't making a comeback in a way in the USA. I'm a huge Jazz fan but it's still as underground as it has been, Until you start hearing jazz progressions in the top 40 then jazz isn't "coming back" into pop music. Future Bass ins't "the next big thing" And have a maj7 or 9th isn't jazz. Those are funk chords.

Exactly what I was looking for! I've heard such chords in tons of Japanese songs and every time there's a chord change like these it gives me goosebumps!

@danny55531

4 жыл бұрын

Yess in anime and I even notice it in Chinese and Korean music. It's so underrated and overlooked topic.

@QuintusKing

4 жыл бұрын

@@danny55531 It is indeed! Reminds me a lot of Kana-Boon and other Japanese bands. You actually feel the emotions when you hear the chords.

@justiny2215

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah immediately when I heard it, I remembered a lot of Japanese songs. Jazz is expanded to every genre in Japan, it's very interesting.

@JinOnTheBeats

2 жыл бұрын

it's called " syncop " for the information, and I agrre with you

@h__r

2 жыл бұрын

you care to share some such songs you like?

I was surprised with how well I connected with those chords. It's really weird, because I grew up on psychedelic rock and jazz. I also played a ton of japanese video games though like mega man and pokemon and just nintendo stuff in general. So I think the exposure to japanese music through those games afeected me more than I may have thought.

@nimlouth

8 жыл бұрын

+turtle hermit i actually think that japanese music has a special charm that we (the western people xD) really enjoy because it's really fresh... it's like the first time you hear a band when you're a kid, it feels diferent and you want more...

@samwallaceart288

7 жыл бұрын

Well also there's a lot of British soft-rock influence

@Pakkens_Backyard

6 жыл бұрын

+Nimlouth It's because musically (i.e. pitch-material-wise) there's more substance.

@IuriSigma

5 жыл бұрын

+Pakken11 lol I thought I was the only one who was aware of that. Japanese music is harmonically heavy, whereas here in the west we have a focus more on dynamics and timbre (see EDM music, Pop songs and even in soundtracks, where the emphasis is in the way orchestra or other instruments make sonic impact rather than the harmony they make).

@OdinComposer

3 жыл бұрын

The chord progressions are all over Japanese vgm!

This is why I listen to more J-Pop artist then western artist I get called a weeb a lot but I LOVE J-Pop songs because their instrumental work is amazing

@htxthewild5553

3 жыл бұрын

@The Fantom Convoy I agree, especially becuase weeb is a insult but people used it in a lot of contexts that it lost its meaning

@zdubbs7609

3 жыл бұрын

I really don’t get that. Japan has one of the largest (If not largest. I forget if they’re behind the U.S. or not) music industry in the world. I really hate how when you hear of Japan in America, a lot of people will automatically think of anime and shit. Their industry has tons of talented artists and there should be no shame in being interested in their work.

@htxthewild5553

3 жыл бұрын

@@zdubbs7609 Exactly, a very good example is LiSA, like yeah she is one of the most recognized Anime artists but her songs that aren't anime are truly Amazing, examples are Propaganda and Tsumibito. Those two songs are some of my favorites from LiSA. Another example is UVERworld

@kenziecornett5313

3 жыл бұрын

J-Rock

@monroebarzol6152

3 жыл бұрын

@@htxthewild5553 not only that, most of my favorite j-rock songs come from anime and some of them I haven't even watched them. There are really "Musically" interesting openings or endings and I'm always excited to find out new ones

this is why I decided to take my music over to Japan like he did. The mainstream pop over here is just far more receptive to things that in Australia or US would consider "strange" or "not accessible"

@axleblaze123

9 жыл бұрын

I hope one to also become part of the Japanese music industry and culture

@ifiwasyouiwouldntbe

6 жыл бұрын

I guess that explains why you never uploaded any of it to your channel. It's so "strange" or "not accessible" that its literally unavailable.

@_gheo

5 жыл бұрын

@@ifiwasyouiwouldntbe That's not a point. I've had the same idea to take my music to Japan because I think they're more complex in terms of harmony, progressions and modulation. That being "strange" or "not accessible" doesn't have anything to do with him not uploading videos on his channel. For instance I uploaded some of my songs on my channel, yet I still got very few views. That's not them being not accessible, but it's people not being curious of listening to something new, or it's the artist not doing efficient work in promotion. Still, if you're not famous you're never gonna get enough attention.

@ifiwasyouiwouldntbe

5 жыл бұрын

+Mat Teo That *is* a point, its just not one you agree with. I personally can't stand Japanophiles who act like they are above everyone else. They seem to mythologize the eastern ear, as though western people don't already have tone rows or jazz fusion or many other sorts of "outside the scale" forms of music. But because western people don't "get" *their* music, somehow the polite Japanese people not telling you it sucks means you are going to be a number one charting popstar. When in reality their pop music is just as trash as any other nations form of pop music. As far as this guy he is a prime example from what I can see, and he says hes taken his music over there because western people don't "get" it (contrarily australia already has a large asian population). But then his channel shows no signs of success or evidence of a musical product, which leads me to believe the Japanese didn't "get" it either and so there is nothing to show with any form of pride. So he is in fact just resentful to his homeland.

@_gheo

5 жыл бұрын

@@ifiwasyouiwouldntbe In fact yes, Japanese chord progressions take a lot of western jazz music. I understand your point of view now, and on second thoughts you might be right, but I don't agree with the uploads. I mean, I know that if you are successful you would want to share it on the internet, but you may also decide that you don't want to. Or maybe you want to use a different channel with a different name. What do you think?

What I find to be a huge difference between japanese and american pop music is mode mixture, or the use of 'borrowed' chords. In a major key, the diatonic triad built on the 4th scale degree of said key will have a major tonality, but if you take the middle note of this chord (that would be la in solfege) and move it down one half step, you're now borrowing the minor IV chord from the minor key and it adds a colorful twist to a chord progression. The progression he played from arigato had plenty of mode mixture and its one of the reasons I find j-pop to be a lot more interesting to listen to than american pop

@teeteejay001

8 жыл бұрын

thanks, that was insightful

@boxdog9474

8 жыл бұрын

There's only 1 difference. American music blatantly talks about sex. "Can you know my whistle baby." Japanese music doesn't blatantly talk about sex.

@teeteejay001

8 жыл бұрын

no, plenty of japanese songs talk blatantly about sex. and i love it when they do. But there are so many musical differences between them such as use of pentatonic scales in vocal melody writing, walking bass lines and such

@Pakkens_Backyard

6 жыл бұрын

Harmonic Chromaticism as a whole, as in also Applied Chords (Dominant/Leading Tone), not just Modal Mixture. And apparently that's the kind of music I like the most.

@Nothing_serious

5 жыл бұрын

@@boxdog9474 What's so bad with songs about sex? People like to have sex. People make songs about drugs and cannibalism or shit but somehow sex is taboo.

no wonder anime openings tend to be somewhat 'emotional'.

@EnigmazGuide

3 жыл бұрын

Right on point

That emotive journey that Japanese music employs in their progressions is something I'll never get tired of. Watching this in 2022 and it still resonates perfectly. This video reminded me of the feeling I got when I heard tricot's (トリコ) "Night monster" on their Jodeki album.

@tommyle686

2 жыл бұрын

i’m learning potage on guitar and the chords after the main riff feel like they come from his example of japanese progressions

When i first heard him play the western chord progression, i was like “meh...”, but when he played the japanese chord progression, it was so mindblowing!

@Marco_Onyxheart

3 жыл бұрын

Western chord progression is super basic. The most standard one is known as vi-ii-V-I. It's a simple path to a chord that sounds almost like a root, and from there to the root chord. You start in a place that sounds unstable, and move naturally towards the stable-sounding root. There are more complex variations of this, but the principle is the same. In comparison, the Japanese chord progression laid out here takes all sorts of side paths. He could simply move towards the root, but suddenly something else happens. And another thing. It's like an entire story told in only the chords. It side-tracks, comes back on its path, then gets side-tracked again.

@BobJoeman

2 жыл бұрын

@@Marco_Onyxheart You'll also hear songs written like this in musical theatre, which makes sense for a very narrative style

@hugostiglitz491

2 жыл бұрын

Anime weeb bias

@timetravelingoldman6839

2 жыл бұрын

Weeb bias. American's make the best music in the world.

@gringotroller

2 жыл бұрын

Mind blowing? I wish I was like you, easily amused

it was indeed very enriching what Marty was sharing. He was case-studying 6 other J-Pop artistes in the interview too. KZread muted the rest of the videos I tried to upload.

If anyone watch anime here, the first 2 bar intro in the Opening theme of Sailor Moon (1 b2 b5 4 2 b3 7 #6) is a very typical Japanese scale. And also, in writing melody, many Japanese pop/rock I have been listening to from the last 2 decades tend to use a lot of minor 3rd and minor 6th leaps. Just a thought...

@adriancruz2822

6 жыл бұрын

lentostinato what the hell is a sharp six chord

@Xolin11

5 жыл бұрын

@@adriancruz2822 it's a melody smarty pants

@adriancruz2822

5 жыл бұрын

Xolin11 okay then what then hell is a sharp #6 scale degree?

@Shaker626

5 жыл бұрын

He means an augmented sixth, an interval of 10 semitones.

@IuriSigma

5 жыл бұрын

+lentostinato Interesting points. Curiously there's a nice counterpoint melody at the end of that Sailor Moon OP, I found that interesting because it shows how japanese have a focus on harmony, even if it is a J-Pop anime song they don't take their job for granted so they experiment a lot.

I believe chords are presented in this order for the Japanese progression C | Esus4 E | Am | Gm7 C | Bm7b5 E7 | Am D9 | Dm7 | Dm7b5/G | repeat? I analyzed with ear, so I'm not 100 percent certain, but it should be the gist of it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

@rdezoveelste

5 жыл бұрын

You're very close, but I heard a few things differently. Imo it should be something like C | Esus4 E | Am Gbm | Gm7 C | F6 E7 | Am Am/F# | Dm7 | Dm7b5/F G | The Gbm was very short. Also I'm not a 100% sure, about the F6 but it's defo a kind of IV chord, perhaps a II.

@ignadrs

5 жыл бұрын

@@rdezoveelste I mean, and F6 is a Dm7 in second inversion, so it's a tricky chord in here, this is really close tho

@ohbks

5 жыл бұрын

@@rdezoveelste I think OP was closer to what the guy played from what I am hearing. You're correct about Gbm (I think you meant to say Abm) that he plays it in the second pass of the 2 iterations. As for F6, he plays barre chord from the 5th fret, which implies Dm7. C | Am7 Esus4 | Am7 Abm7 | Gm7 C7 | Bm7b5 E7 | Am7 D2/F# | Dm7 | Fm F/G | CM7

@austindolan3142

3 жыл бұрын

American pop stars be like "Non diatonic chords? Extensions? What are those?" Japan be like:

@stonkman1705

2 жыл бұрын

What the, you are here lmao

Kyohei Tsutsumi, the godfather of J-POP, once said ”Rick Astley’s first album is filled with the sounds that Japanese people like”. That is basically the Ōdō shinkō is : IV△7-V7-iii7-vi progression

I am Japanese. I compose music as a hobby, and there is one thing I often keep in mind when doing so. The idea is to decide on a chord that will be the endpoint, and then proceed to make as many natural choices as possible to reach that point. I think this may have something to do with the fact that there are so many transitional notes in Japanese music.

C E7sus4 E Am Gm7 C Bm7b5 E Am D/F# Dm7 Fm7 G9sus4 C E7sus4 E Am G#m7 Gm7 C Bm7b5 E Am Am/F# Dm7 Dm Fm7 G9sus4 C I actually don't know the real chord name for "Am/F#". I just called it that because from Am you place your middle finger on the bass note F# on the E string. Anyways those are the chords. Just find the timing for them and you're set!

@OlePistolCooperation

4 жыл бұрын

@Dark of the knight nope

@naxo9975

4 жыл бұрын

@@OlePistolCooperation it's f#dim it's a diminished chord with the minor 7th

@woobagooba1733

20 күн бұрын

F#m7b5?

When he played the Japanese example it immediately made me reminisce about so many video game ending themes

2:06 THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

I like this , I notice how the Japanese love to add more chords to their music . The rhythms are always interesting

@huuphuc5533

Жыл бұрын

I agreed

They do this transitions a lot in R&B, Neo-Soul, Gospel, and (sometimes) hip-hop. I-vii-iii-vi-V-I-IV-iii-vi-*_II_*-*_iv_* Never Would've Made It by Marvin Sapp carries these same progressions.

@prot07ype87

8 жыл бұрын

+Chordstruck Pony /)

@MelloDeeBeats

7 жыл бұрын

I appreciate the breakdown

@bzarbzar2967

7 жыл бұрын

Oh wow, I'd never keep listening to that song if I played it a day ago. Now that I notice the chord progression, it is a really good track.

@ReasonArt

7 жыл бұрын

I think that the most important thing in J-Pop and similar is the ii-v-i progression. I would say it's the signature from it

@KawaiiJimmyMcGill

6 жыл бұрын

Exactly!! When I heard what he played I did not think Japanese. I thought Black music. It sounded black honestly. So much soul and rhythm.

I would just like to mention that as a lover of both music and videogames, this harmony instantly transported me to my childhood, as it is the exact chord progression that is used for the Littleroot town theme, of pokemon ruby/sapphire/emerald

I love Japanese music it flows so much better.

@beatsbywonkaofficial

6 жыл бұрын

westerners = basic bitches

@stephenwyatt88

6 жыл бұрын

It's very melodic.

@TheOneAndOnlyHypnotist

5 жыл бұрын

Spank me daddy

@AntiRiku

5 жыл бұрын

well duh, you're a weeb

@marcobernacer

4 жыл бұрын

@@stephenwyatt88 True. And I think it's their language that allows it. Japanese just offers more flexibility in terms of syllables and intonation than English.

2:00 これをきっかけに、素晴らしい歌、いきものがかりの「ありがとう」に出会うことができました。 ありがとう。

@zousanda1

3 ай бұрын

歌詞もきれいですよね！

I always like music when listening to it is like a journey to me. I guess this is why i prefer Japanese music. Their choices of melodies and chord progressions always captivates me and take me on the journey and the emotions the song wants to communicate to me.

I got into Japanese pop and rock because it sounded so unique and exciting. Now i can finally put my finger on why

so I was kinda curious which "Arigatou" song he was plaing (since there's so many japanese song titled "Arigatou"), but it turned out that it was Ikimonogakari's Arigatou which I listened to since forever wkwkwwkkw

I‘m Japanese. In my opinion, Japanese isn’t as good as at rhythms and rhymes than English. To express lyrics dramatically, Japanese chord progressions has been constructed complexly.

@trollingisasport

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah. Japan has more interesting melodies, west is king of rhythm for the most part. EXCEPT city pop. That shit owns everything.

@sirmiluch6856

3 жыл бұрын

But Japanese singers are actually singing most of the times instead howling and groaning.

@zdubbs7609

3 жыл бұрын

But I believe that that is exactly what makes Japanese better.

@Rudenbehr

3 жыл бұрын

@@trollingisasport city pop is literally a cover of black American music from the 70s and 80s. Haha

@carrotisalie

3 жыл бұрын

@@sirmiluch6856 are you listening to music, or mating calls?

空気を読まずに日本語で解説します。マーティが演奏したトニックから始まりマイナーが2と3に入り4でディミニッシュになるコードはJPOPで使われた典型であり情緒的浮遊感を演出するも物です。しかしメロディーはメジャー・スケールでコードマイナーが維持される謎の構造になっている。ユーロビートの説明としてメロデーはメジャー・マイナー関係なくFとB以外のメロデーが主に使われていてマイナー感が感じられない構造となっているので日本人に好まれる傾向に有りイニシャルDやパラパラとかに採用された楽曲がその理由です。結論はマイナースケールのコードに捕らわれずメロデーがメジャーである。詳しく知りたければ弦楽器の大琴が大陸で12音階日本で13音階に別れた経緯で分かるよ。ギターの演奏ではメロデーは引けない為。

Damn. He put into words what I couldn't for over a decade.

so true. everything from metal, pop, punk and even the super mario music revolves around some sort of jazz influenced turnaround. so many interesting twists

@Dungeon47

10 ай бұрын

At that point, the word jazz, instead of defining a music genre, just defines an advanced level of musical complexity or maturity applied to any genre.

The guy on the right is a true enjoyer, I wanna be like him. Just sit, enjoy the show, and smile.

What I like about J-Pop is that the lyrics are more varied and less repetitive.

Since I was a kid I could always Japanese music always had some kind of extra-ambition in song structuring which was absent in most western popular music. Almost no japanese song I've heard felt lazy as a composition, not even the most minimalist songs, no matter if I even liked the song or not. It's no suprise how deeply Marty Friedman understands these core differences and knows how to explain it crystal clear, because you could hear how complicated, yet stylish his playing and compositions are in his classic recordings.

this is the only segment of the whole interview which he plays the guitar live. It is also the only segment he talked about the differences in composition. The rest of the videos are just Japanese MTVs of the artistes which he wanted to highlight about their uniqueness.

In 2022 I am reading up on musical chord progression, and the fusion/synthesis of Western and Eastern pop music. I can understand what Marty tried to replicate here, in this case, the famous 4-chord progression (thanks Axis of Awesome for introducing me to that spiel about how most Top 10 Billboard songs are always done in the same chord progression) versus the complex chord progression found in many Japanese music, both mainstream and rock. I have no objections to critique of both Western and Eastern music styles (Japanese language is too restrictive in expressing emotions, while Western music are replicable to death). Else, how we are going to progress artistically as individuals?

yea japanese chord progressions have alot of jazz inspired harmony. its just very expressive, its the best.

i’m already in love with that Japanese chord progression wow

This immediately reminded me of my favorite Japanese song _Boku Wa Sekkusu Daisuki_ , a beautiful song about a man's love and his desire to get love back. This chord progression really does find its way into most Japanese music and it's great to see how that thread connects the sound across that culture.

@hanbyeol12

2 жыл бұрын

Best Joji song ngl

@em8537

Жыл бұрын

Joji doesn't make japanese sounding song. it's more like American song with Japanese lyrics.

@billbill6094

Жыл бұрын

@@em8537 who's this Joji? This song is by a nice fellow named _ピンクのやつ._

@em8537

Жыл бұрын

@@billbill6094yes pink guy.

@fluffypotato7475

Жыл бұрын

" I love sex" 😂😂

I wanted to see the whole thing but is hard to find. It's hilarious how there are people that think that they know better than Marty fucking Friedman about this subject XD. It seems like they got butthurt or something. He actually knows what his talking about kids. He lives in Japan and has produced and made music for Japanese artists all these years. The most common thing in western music is the 4 chord progression that he played, get over it. He is not saying that those chords are Japanese, fools, What he is saying is that is much more common to find them in many styles of Japanese music, including the most aggressive Metal, Another thing that he didn't say but I know for sure is that when it comes to harmony the Japanese composers like to clean their asses with the Counterpoint and Harmony theories XD, You can research Nobuo Uematsu's work if you want a clear example of this.

@shagstars

7 жыл бұрын

FF music is more crazy than the progression friedman showed us. Uematsu is a genius in terms of music.

@IuriSigma

5 жыл бұрын

+ShagStars Productions that's quite true. Seymour Battle for example sounds more like an extreme jazz fusion rock band music than a simple battle theme. The amount of solos, strange harmony and experimentation is incredible. You can hear those qualities in a lot of vgm japanese composers as well, for example ZUN's from Touhou fame, although he is a more conservative composer he often put crazy solos (specially piano ones) and rhythmic experimentations, like in Native Faith for example.

yeah since i grew up with pop i also found some Japanese music when i was younger and became interested automatically because it sounded different and had these different chords that just just sounded so cool ,,, i get tired of the pop American chord progressions yknow

YES! I like the japanese progression's sound better, whatever it is.. gosh

I've been more into interesting chord progressions when writing music, and I listen mainly to Japanese music, so now I finally completely understand why I compose the way I do :)

*An absolutely fascinating gem. Where can I learn more about this kind of thing?*

This reminds me of japanese advertising; they often compose a lot of jingles for their ads and many of them sound like this, very joyful but with a jazzy feel and really complex basslines. That's a way to describe it: it's an harmonic journey through the chords, not just circles like pop western music.

Omg! This is the best thing I've seen. Being a musician is such a beautiful thing. I love the guitar. Sounds heavenly

マーティンって英語上手いのね

Japanese chord progressions seem to come from Jazz and Gospel-style music. And Classical, too, really.

@roadfox808

2 жыл бұрын

​@@markbowen8461 That's right. In Japan, pop musicians in the 1990s attempted to fuse essences from many genres, mainly black music, such as jazz, gospel, R&B and bossa nova, and these became mainstream. This is what is known as city pop. The influence of city pop also extended to idol music and J-rock, and it became common for even unknown indie musicians to devise chord progressions.

ZuoCruz Am/F# is a half diminished F# chord. F#m7b5 if you want. The A in Am is the minor third in the F#m7b5, the C becomes the diminished fifth and the E becomes the minor seventh. The chord usually works as a II function in minor chord progressions: For example: F#m7b5 (ii) - H7 (V) - Em (i) But in this instance it can also serve a different purpose. The Am can be the upper triad in a D9/F# chord that's played with the third(F#) as the bass note. It can also be a Am in dorian mode using the 6th note as the bass note to underline the fact that you are in dorian mode. So it can be a lot of things, depending on the situation it's being used in.

when I think of Japanese music, I think of Whitney Houston chord progressions and melodies / Black R&B + Soul from the 70s-90s (which is founded in Jazz too) and this sort of explains why!!

It's weird that chord progressions are only one element of the musical universe. With the diverse new technologies and abilities a songwriter has these days, the importance of composition is a grey area. Play a tapping bass through a delay and wah and try to recreate early 2000s trance anthems (which is one of my specialties) and your only playing 3 or 4 chords, however, everything from how you move the wah to present the song is absolutely artistic also. I love Marty's playing, music and attitude towards songs... I can understand why Dave wanted his babies 😁. It's really good to see a thrash metal guitarist really accomplish what he has, and he continues to impress me not only as a great player, but a completely commited teacher who loves to share his insights. Great video, thanks.

Japanese chord progressions are my favorite when I play bass because they can sound really happy and filled with a excited emotion or they can be very meloncholy and gives you a beautiful sound. I definitely prefer Japanese bass lines to western.

@HenritheHorse

2 жыл бұрын

You know it's all western jazz and funk influence. Sadly western pop abandoned those mostly.

@stealthshinobi3310

Жыл бұрын

Same here,im a bass player

The Japanese chords shown by Marty reminds me of Your Lie in April ED-Orange

Light rock and R&B of the 70's & 80's has similar chord progression.

it really is so strange how popular music is so much more complex in japan than it is in america. like even where it doesn't need to be it's still complex, wonder why

@Kodachi112

4 жыл бұрын

That's because Japan has always been progressive and America is so traditional that things don't change.

@nckhed

3 жыл бұрын

@@Kodachi112 Things don't change in the US? 🤔🤦‍♂️

@ivansoto9723

3 жыл бұрын

@@nckhed What he said was stupid. It's because music in America is structured around subculture, money, gimmicks, popularity, and hype. There are people jumping into making trap beats who don't even know what a scale is or how to make a basic triad. The ones who do know what they're doing, are off to a rougher start bc we didn't grow up with this kind of music unless they grew up listening to obscure, but good 70's-80's music. High accessibility to making music + Lack of musical knowledge + Low demand for theory rich music = Music that's more focused on what it represents vs the actual music itself.

@BensonOfD

3 жыл бұрын

@@Kodachi112 Tbh no hate but I have no idea where you got that America is more traditional than Japan lmao Japanese culture is overwhelming influenced by tradition, you ever tried to work with a Japanese company? It's absurd how tedious it is, for literally no other reason than "it's always been done this way" even when it comes to the most miniscule of actions

@user-cq2lp7lq3i

2 жыл бұрын

@@BensonOfD Most Japanese says America is culture of dance but japan is culture of karaoke.

Songs off the top of my head that have that similar American chord progression Marty mentioned: Maroon 5 - Girls Like You Taylor Swift - Love Story Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

@sirmiluch6856

4 жыл бұрын

It's easier to name western pop songs that aren't using these 4 chords. Really.

The Japanese song uses 6 out of the 7 different chords in the key (not even accounting for modal interchange and tensions of the chords) as opposed to the 4 in the western song. Makes such a huge difference

I was expecting IV-V-iii-vi for the Japanese progression. Another super common progression and one of my personal favs

I needed that! Thank you!

bruh like for real the japanese progression doesn't seem like anything thats all that different from like a basic 8-bar kind of more jazzy and functional progression and it seems to even hit a dominant at the end to bring you back to the tonic. like if anything it prolly just means that bands in japan aren't in to poppy simplicity. I'd be interested to see how often tonicless loops show up in their music cause thats kind of a cool thing thats come about in more popular western music.

I mean what you’re basically talking about is a retention of the chordal harmony of mid century American jazz/funk and British Invasion pop songwriting tropes which both swept the world a couple times, but coming from a Japanese folk music foundation

I feel like there is no other place in the world where the influence of jazz is so prevalent

I find it unfortunate that most western mainstream music has completely abandoned chord progressions like the example played in the video. You don't even need to know much about music theory to see how much more demanding it is to perform these kinds of excerpts. Progressions like this one convey so much more dialogue and it's just tragic, knowing how little the media tries to push artists who experiment with more complex structures.

I cant plays music. But the japanese tone has always had the blend of sorrow, pain, and hope in almost all japanese songs i've heard..

I always thought that the unique Japanese sound was more from the instrumental tone or the language itself; it's nice to know that the riff is what makes it sound good. I also like Japanese-style bass which also sounds unique. Anyways the first chord progression isn't bad by itself; you can still make good music if you have great songwriting skills.

Not only a great player but a true ethnomusicologist. Fascinating!

Thanks for posting.

It’s a pretty cool topic. I feel like lot of j-pop would be considered unconventional or harder to listen to for a mainstream audience for a bunch of reasons, like how a decent amount of westerners disregard jazz and such as boring and uninteresting music, which i think plays a pretty big factor in the difference in sound. While on the other end, most types of Japanese music embrace the jazz genre, which is why you hear varied chord progressions and really awesome basslines. Bands like Lamp and Soutaiseiriron are good examples.

I don't really understand all the types of keys or chord progressions, but I play guitar as a hobby. I like Japanese music because it sounded melancholic, it stretches the chords into an intense yearning kinda feeling by adding some suspended 7 in there, or some minors chords. It's drawn out as compared to how usual American pop chord progressions, but it's not bad, it actually gives the music some sort of an explanation kinda vibes.

Beautiful

These chords are mostly from the song "There Will Never Be Another You", an American pop standard

American pop... USED to have these kind of complexities, but we traded it out for a simple formula that any dummy can understand. Whether that's good or bad, for whatever reason, can be debated upon.

I've noticed this in Korean and Chinese music as well. Everytime I hear an instrumental version of a Japanese drama I know instantly it's Japanese. This is very underrated topic.

@sirmiluch6856

3 жыл бұрын

Korean pop is just American pop with Korean vocals.

@danny55531

3 жыл бұрын

@@sirmiluch6856 In that case anything pop is American pop in that language? What kind of logic is that? So western centric.

@sirmiluch6856

3 жыл бұрын

@@danny55531 what are you talking about? Korean music is literally America copy paste. Most of Korean pop is produced exactly like American pop - "singing" (or rather groaning) style, composition and hyper sexualisation. Of course there are exemptions (mainly these artists that are rarher following Japanese style), but it doesn't change the fsct that vast majority of Korean music (and general Korean popculture) is nothing but America copy paste.

@zexfm5723

3 жыл бұрын

@@sirmiluch6856 Not quite. See this for example: kzread.info/dash/bejne/oYaqx9B6ZdWdgpM.html It's heavily based on Western pop certainly, but K-pop often goes for more complex chords and progressions similarly to J-music.

@user-pt1ye7vd7m

2 жыл бұрын

@@sirmiluch6856 You obviously haven't heard any more than BTS and some idols for Korean teenagers. You need to dig deeper into the indi scene to find real Korean songs and artists.

I absolutely love that omg

I've listened to a lot of amazarashi songs and that progression sounded incredibly familiar

Pov: you actually replay the Japanese chords part a lot of time

i think it was C - Esus4, E - Am - Gm - C - Bdim, Gm - C/G, C/F# - F - G# - C - is to divide measures theres a few wrong chords but this sounds pretty close to me.

@allanaziz216

4 жыл бұрын

SO HELPFUL WAS LOOKING FOR THIS ON GUITAR!!

@callous21

3 жыл бұрын

So is there a pattern? How do you come up with these chords

@allanaziz216

3 жыл бұрын

@@callous21 i figured it how to play it perfectly

@discocunt2692

3 жыл бұрын

thank you so much!!!

i havent cried at an instrumental show before but when i first saw Rie Suzaku live i was crying at the melody lol! they are really good at this

Sounds almost like a Beatles progression (Paul especially), or one from the Great American Songbook.

Say me weeb, But i like jmusic more than my country music, because jmusic has feels, nostalgic, hitting in your heart vibe

@sirmiluch6856

4 жыл бұрын

People that are using childish insults like weeb are just uncultured narrow minded swines.

As a guy who hasn’t ever really been exposed to Japanese music, this might be why my wife keeps telling me my chord progressions and songs sound like they belong in a Japanese video game. (I like using long, complex chord progressions.)

An example of a Japanese song using 4 Western chords (Spitz - Cherry) kzread.info/dash/bejne/d66ZmI-eeNDaeso.html A song using Japanese chords (Ikimonogakari - Arigato) kzread.info/dash/bejne/iI52t5qFpr2fYbQ.html Cherry is one of the most popular karaoke songs in Japan🇯🇵🎤

I did not realize that this is why when I was growing up I had all these usa alternative rock bands on my iPod and then every album ever recorded by the pillows the Japanese rock band.

Even these sophisticated chord progressions they got from the West. Japanese musicians do deep dives into guitarists and learn from the best the West has to offer. Jeff Beck, Steve Lukather, John Petrucci, and Gary Moore are some of the names that regularly roll off of many Japanese guitarists' lips. The problem with Japanese music can be they analyze what they are doing to death and lose the soul. Many Japanese guitarists have memorized great guitar songs and can play them damn near to the original, but have trouble or lose confidence in impromptu jam sessions. Therefore, they are very likely to do something from design rather than from an outpouring of emotion (relying on fewer chords), and things get mapped out "according to the manual" as they say in Japanese. That's why you find this type of pattern across genres. It is the "sophisticated" level of song structure, and anyone knowledgeable about Japanese research and their quest for "quality" can understand the connection.

@kinoko--takenoko

3 ай бұрын

日本人は、 探究や冒険が好き。 人々を驚かせたり喜ばせるのが好き。 backstoryを調べるのが好き。 アドリブは苦手。 だって恥ずかしがり屋だから。

Melody in Japan never dies

Welp, that explains Sonic music and also explains why I like those chords

dude i was just listening to a japanese song in the background and when the video stopped playing my background song kept going and i thought that the video didn't ended lol. It's is literally how he explains it, music in japanese music tells a story along with everything, while in western pop mainly there is a use of chords for a base and they often use production and lyrics to tell the story

wait is that why all anime openings sound the same?

So...more chords? Nothing about what he played seemed out of the norm for a Western song (say, The Beatles) that happens to incorporate more chords than a standard four-chord song.

@kumonom1

2 жыл бұрын

yeah this was a really odd and borderline orientalist interpretation of ALL japanese music, as if it also has typical chord progression like a lot of western music, when really it's just that they put more effort in where western music stopped trying

自動翻訳で見ましたが、マーティーさんが日本人のポップスとカノン進行の密接な関わりを説明してくださっているんですね。 ありがたいことです。 動画に関係ないことですが、マーティーさんがトレモロ付きギターであるストラトを弾いている映像は貴重ですね。会場に用意されていたギターを弾いているのでしょうか。

I've noticed this too, when I started playing Japanese rock/ pop/ punk songs after playing a lot of American songs.

Nice but,this is what happens in Brazilian Music (MPB/Nossa Nova).II V I progressions connecting chords,chords inversions by the thirth,fifth and seventh...Music is amazing beyond 4 simple chords.

@kumonom1

2 жыл бұрын

right? this explanation gives a very odd impression like all japanese music follows some type of formula as a lot of western music does, when really it's just that they're not afraid to diverge from typical chord progressions.

@michu6777

2 жыл бұрын

It would have made more sense for him to just say jazz/disco chord progressions never fell out of fashion in Japan (and Brazil) unlike USA.

@johnnymoreira192

2 жыл бұрын

@@kumonom1 I meant in a general sense, you took it for yourself (and wrong).

@johnnymoreira192

2 жыл бұрын

@@michu6777 Oh, really? So yes, you should try to understand anything that happened outside of America and Europe in the 60's and 70's.

@kumonom1

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnnymoreira192 I’m not implying at all that other countries don’t do this. What I’m saying is that the US no longer really does this. Japan has a ton of Brazilian influence in their music.

I like how the japanese progression sounds but when you try to play a japanese songs its hard to find the exact note and chords !! XD

If you want to hear an amazing Japanese band in the prog rock/jazz/fusion realm check out KENSO. Their "II" album in particular is marvelous.

awesome!

Somehow I always start assuming traditional Japanese music when I read 'Japanese music' and hear Japanese pentatonic scales plinging away sankyoku pieces on a koto somewhere in fuedal Edo period Japan. Must be my narrow mind for playing shakuhachi, lol. This is basically just the Japanese version of western music.

@andrewfennewald9465

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. Its sort of like how so many things in Japan start from a base that is very western but iterate on it in very different ways and end up somewhere different (JRPGs vs WRPGS, 7-11 in Japan vs US, ect)

@kjell159

3 жыл бұрын

@@andrewfennewald9465 Yes, they as a culture seem to be somehow able to make things 'their own' so to speak.