A Musical Trip to Japan: Koto

 

The Koto is one of the most popular Japanese instruments. It is made of paulownia wood and has 13 silk strings (although some have only 7). It also has "bridges" which are placed under each string in order to tune the Koto for the piece that will be played on it. A Koto is played by plucking the strings using picks (or plectra, called tsume).

This instrument was created in the 8th century, and many different versions have followed since then; the 17-string bass Koto (jūshichigoto), as well as the 20-string, 25-string, and 30-string Koto.

Here are two pieces featuring the Koto. The first shows the 30-string Koto, played by Aya Asakura. The second shows both the 13-string and 17-string, played by The Sydney Koto Ensemble. (I cannot find the name of either of these pieces.)

                             

The melody of the first piece is very disjunct. It jumps around a lot, which gives it a mysterious quality. There are also many accelerandos, which adds to that quality.

The second piece is a lot easier to follow. It's melody is a lot more conjunct. The piece starts out pretty soft, maybe a mp dynamic. As it goes on, and as the melody builds, it gets louder with the use of a cresc. poco a poco. (Louder little by little).

Personally, I enjoy the second piece a lot more because there's more harmonies and countermelodies, whereas the first piece is a little hard to follow.

SOURCES

"Koto." Traditional Music Digital Library, 2014, www.senzoku-online.jp/TMDL/e/
     01-koto.html#Gallery. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

Kuiper, Kathleen. "Koto." Edited by Dutta Promeet et al. Britannica, 20 July
     1998, www.britannica.com/art/koto. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.