The Nagauta has a lot of delicate musical sens.

間 - MA

Ma is the most important thing of Nagauta. It is a sort of interval and pause of the tempo of Nagauta.

No conductor

There is no conductor for the Nagauta. But the musicians can know the best time to be together based on the voice of the Shamen player as "Yo, Oi, Youi" called "Kakegoe". The musicians also learn this voice.

The tempo is not fixed. The dispensation could be free. The musicians can feel the atmosphere of the music between them and they can thus stay together.

It is a Japanese traditional music since about 400 years ago in Edo era. It started almost same as the music Bach period.

It is performed by singing and playing the shamisen and usually Ohayashi which is the Japanese traditional instrumental groupe with  percassions and flute.

Most of Nagauta's length are pretty long, like the name of Nagauta mention (the word Nagauta 長唄 is literally written "long song")

The avareage of wokrs is 20 minutes. But in a piece of the Nagauta, we can find varied scenes like in a musical suite or a musical selection. It does not keep the same tempo or the same musical atmosphere during one piece.

The Nagauta was used for the accompaniment of Nihon-buyou (Japanese traditional dance) and the Kabuki theater (the Japanese traditonal theater) which is interpreted by men only.

In the interpretation of the Nagauta, the singer and the shaman are equal. It's not like a singer and an accompagnement. The person who takes the initiative changes so many times during a work.

Workshop de la dance Awa

Given by Fuka Mariwo

Discover her particular voice of traditional Japanese singing and Zen music with shamisen!

The nagauta is usually used in kabuki theater and classical dance for accompaniment. The shamisen, a kind of three-stringed lute, is a very popular instrument in the nagauta. Nagauta artists generally play shamisen and sing at the same time.

You can choose between "Shamisen", "Uta (vocals)" and "Shamisen + Uta".

You can take a course or two courses of your choice. The workshop will be given in groups of 3 to 5 people.

Shamisen (1) 13:00 - 14:00

Uta (Voice) (1) 14:30 - 15:30

Shamisen (1) 16:00 - 17:00

Shamisen (1) 11:00 - 12:00

Uta (Voice) (1) 13:00 - 14:00

Shamisen (2) 14:30 - 15:30

Uta (Voice) (2) 16:00 - 17:00

Shamisen (2) 17:30 - 18:30  

For individual courses, please contact us to determine the dates and schedule.

There is an amusing theory for the absentce of the conductor. This is because the Japanese have lived in this small island with large parity wild natur. Because the Japanese bodies are not big and strong either, to survive they had to cooperate together. This condition has made us feel what another person feels and thinks, and this ability has developped.

Workshop de Shamisen

Workshop de Nagauta & Shamisen