WagakkiBand was founded by Yuko Suzuhana (main vocalist and keyboardist) who wanted to spread traditional Japanese culture to the world in a pop style. Like Miyako from LOVEBITES, Yuko learned to play the piano from an early age and graduated from the piano department of a music college. When she was in elementary school, she encountered "Shigin", which sings ancient Chinese and Japanese poems with a unique chanting method, and she is so talented that she won the national poetry competition. The first thing WGB started was to create a cover album of songs made with the music composition software "Vocaloid" that makes virtual idols sing. When the MV for "Senbonzakura", one of the songs on this album, was released, it became so popular that it attracted attention from all over the world and toured in France, the United States, China, etc. (Currently, the music video has been played more than 150 million times.) As others have commented, Wagakki Band ended its contract with Avex in June 2019 and signed a global contract with Universal Music. It's probably a copyright issue, but since then, MVs other than WGB's live footage owned by Avex have definitely been blocked.
About Wagakki Band instruments "WA" means Japan. "GAKKI" is an instrument. *WAGAKKI-BAND uses 4 types of WAGAKKI. ---------------- Many Japanese musical instruments have a history of over 1000 years. Despite the passage of time, it can be said that the characteristic of Japanese musical instruments is that the shape of the instrument and the method of playing have not changed much since its birth. This is in contrast to European instruments, which have constantly improved and evolved their instruments. (1) "KOTO" (a large, flat instrument about 6 feet) The ancestors of "KOTO" came to Japan from China about 1300 years ago. The body is made of fine paulownia wood. The wavy grooves engraved on the back of the body make the sound resonate. The strings are made of silk thread. Players attach nails called "KOTOZUME" to their fingertips and pluck the strings. A standard koto has 13 strings. A 17-string koto is also used, but WAGAKKI-BAND's IBUKURO plays the largest 25-string koto. Of course, playing requires the highest level of talent. (2) "Shamisen" (a banjo-like instrument) Generally, the "shamisen" is used as an accompaniment instrument for quiet, light songs. (Current ballads, light pop-like songs) But BENI from WAGAKKI-BAND plays a special shamisen called "Tsugaru Shamisen". "Tsugaru-jamisen" has a faster and more powerful sound and a unique performance style compared to ordinary shamisen. The reason why this style was created is thought to be that TSUGARU-SHAMISEN was born in the extremely cold region of northern Japan. The socially vulnerable (mainly the visually impaired) living in a harsh natural environment earned income by having people listen to their songs and performances, protecting their own lives. They created this striking and unique musical style. The shamisen is played with special claws called BACHI. The three strings are silk threads. Dog skin is used for the shamisen body sheet (cat skin is used for some instruments that require delicate sounds). Synthetic leather is often used today. The reason is that it has good maintenance performance, but it may also be a psychological resistance to using cute dog and cat skins. (3) “Wadaiko” "WA (Japan)" + "TAIKO (drums)" = "WATAIKO". And the pronunciation changes from "WATAIKO" to "WADAIKO". Wadaiko, like Shamisen, has evolved uniquely throughout Japan, and has a variety of shapes and playing methods. There is a band called "Kodo" which is famous as a taiko group in Japan. They tour the world with Japanese taiko performances. If you are interested in WADAIKO, we recommend listening to Kodo performances. There are also many videos uploaded on RUclips. (4) "SHAKUHACHI" (a flute-like bamboo instrument) Until about 60 to 70 years ago, in Japan, units of length called "Shaku" and "Sun" were used. ("sun" sounds like a shortened version of "soon") 1-shaku = 30.3cm (It is a coincidence that it is almost the same as 1feet). 1-sun = 3.03 cm. "Hachi" is the number "8". And the average length of "SHAKUHACHI" was "1-shaku and 8-sun (about 56 cm)", so the "shaku and 8" part became the name of the instrument. The material is cut from the base of bamboo. It is a simple structure that only requires the necessary finger holes after drying the material and removing the distortion. It is not easy to produce complex sounds with a simple instrument. Shakuhachi is said to be one of the most difficult Japanese instruments to master. There is a Japanese word for this. "Kubifuri-3nen Colo-8nen" This Japanese word means... "We control the strength of the sound by precisely moving the head and neck ----> It takes three years of practice." "You have to control your fingers precisely to make a good sound ----> it takes eight years of training." ------------ from Nippon *It is a sentence using Google translation. I hope I conveyed my intentions correctly.
Love this band. Everything they do Is cool. The way they take Rock/ Metal and infuse traditional Japanese vocals and instruments is incredible! Every member is a next level musician and artist. They Tour the world and play high brow venues. Highly respected. Great reaction brother. 😊😎🤘
The giant drums are Taiko drums, the wooden flute is a Shakuhachi, the banjo is a Shamisen, and the sideways harp is a Koto.. These are all traditional Japanese instruments from a long long time ago.
My two favorite bands are Lovebites and Wagakki Band. Wagakki Band has so many amazing songs. It will take you a long time to check them out. I highly recommend watching everything you can. Just search and start watching.
There is a 25 string "Koto", Shamisen (three strings), Shakuhachi (Bamboo flute). The drums are Wadaiko. He uses the big drum in the song Sasameyuki and Hotarubi
This was fun, seeing you dip your toe even further into the Japanese scene - so much further to go. Wagakki are fantastic and have been for a long time. Funny that you called the western drums the 'traditional' ones - look up what wagakki means/translates. I know you've going to have more J-Rock/Metal/Idol in you're future - look forward to it.
Songs from Wagakki Band to check out are "Homura/Akatsuki No Ito", "Sakura Rising" (feat. Amy Lee), "Sun Wheel", "Aria Of Twilight", & "Queen Of The Night".
There are a few videos that have a scene with a taiko drum behind a taiko drummer, but I recommend the following one. wagakkiband and Amy Lee performed live “Wagakki Band / Bring Me To Life with Amy Lee of EVANESCENCE” It seems that there are many videos of Bring Me sung by Amy Lee, but I think this video is one of the best. ------------ from Nippon *It is a sentence using Google translation. I hope I conveyed my intentions correctly.
I want you to see their mv for Zenbosakura. Don’t bother doing a reaction to it, because it will 100% get blocked. Just watch it on your own time and enjoy the greatness. 🥰
You can see the people involved and their instruments in an other post but to give a little more info about the traditional instruments. - The "wooden flute" is the shakuhachi and is indeed made out of bamboo. - The long instrument on the floor is a koto, it is played by picks attached to the fingers. - The mandolin looking instrument is called a shamisen (playing style: tsugaru shamisen). It's played with a big plectrum called a bachi and you need to tune it constantly because it goes out of tune very quickly. - One of these traditional drums is called Taiko (which means drum), but these are wadaiko (litteraly Japanese drums, so plural).
Tsugaru refers to the playing style and area it comes from, not the name of the shamisen she plays. Beni plays a Futozao, it is slightly bigger longer and has a thicker neck. Futozao is commonly used for tsugaru style or gidayu style.
@@DrAcula-os1nz Thanks for that info, I knew the tsugaru part pointed to the area it came from but I didn't know it was named because of the playing style. I just assumed there were different types (for the lack of a better word) depending on the area.
Wagakki Band is right up there as one of the top three musical groups in the world at the present and their vocalist Yuko Suzuhana is, in the opinion of many music professionals and reactors, the finest frontwoman or frontman on the planet. She is a master vocalist who sings in modern musical styles and is an expert in the Japanese traditional art of shigin. She is also a world-class concert pianist and an expert in traditional Japanese dance styles. She writes a lot of her own songs and is an excellent composer. You have to listen to a lot more of her work.
Music reactions LIVE 5 times a week over at Twitch.tv/Localbandsmokeout
WagakkiBand was founded by Yuko Suzuhana (main vocalist and keyboardist) who wanted to spread traditional Japanese culture to the world in a pop style. Like Miyako from LOVEBITES, Yuko learned to play the piano from an early age and graduated from the piano department of a music college.
When she was in elementary school, she encountered "Shigin", which sings ancient Chinese and Japanese poems with a unique chanting method, and she is so talented that she won the national poetry competition.
The first thing WGB started was to create a cover album of songs made with the music composition software "Vocaloid" that makes virtual idols sing. When the MV for "Senbonzakura", one of the songs on this album, was released, it became so popular that it attracted attention from all over the world and toured in France, the United States, China, etc. (Currently, the music video has been played more than 150 million times.)
As others have commented, Wagakki Band ended its contract with Avex in June 2019 and signed a global contract with Universal Music. It's probably a copyright issue, but since then, MVs other than WGB's live footage owned by Avex have definitely been blocked.
This band is 10/10. A real fresh and new concept, I love them. Thx for the reaction
About Wagakki Band instruments
"WA" means Japan. "GAKKI" is an instrument.
*WAGAKKI-BAND uses 4 types of WAGAKKI.
----------------
Many Japanese musical instruments have a history of over 1000 years. Despite the passage of time, it can be said that the characteristic of Japanese musical instruments is that the shape of the instrument and the method of playing have not changed much since its birth. This is in contrast to European instruments, which have constantly improved and evolved their instruments.
(1) "KOTO" (a large, flat instrument about 6 feet)
The ancestors of "KOTO" came to Japan from China about 1300 years ago. The body is made of fine paulownia wood. The wavy grooves engraved on the back of the body make the sound resonate. The strings are made of silk thread. Players attach nails called "KOTOZUME" to their fingertips and pluck the strings. A standard koto has 13 strings. A 17-string koto is also used, but WAGAKKI-BAND's IBUKURO plays the largest 25-string koto. Of course, playing requires the highest level of talent.
(2) "Shamisen" (a banjo-like instrument)
Generally, the "shamisen" is used as an accompaniment instrument for quiet, light songs. (Current ballads, light pop-like songs) But BENI from WAGAKKI-BAND plays a special shamisen called "Tsugaru Shamisen". "Tsugaru-jamisen" has a faster and more powerful sound and a unique performance style compared to ordinary shamisen.
The reason why this style was created is thought to be that TSUGARU-SHAMISEN was born in the extremely cold region of northern Japan. The socially vulnerable (mainly the visually impaired) living in a harsh natural environment earned income by having people listen to their songs and performances, protecting their own lives. They created this striking and unique musical style.
The shamisen is played with special claws called BACHI. The three strings are silk threads. Dog skin is used for the shamisen body sheet (cat skin is used for some instruments that require delicate sounds).
Synthetic leather is often used today. The reason is that it has good maintenance performance, but it may also be a psychological resistance to using cute dog and cat skins.
(3) “Wadaiko”
"WA (Japan)" + "TAIKO (drums)" = "WATAIKO". And the pronunciation changes from "WATAIKO" to "WADAIKO".
Wadaiko, like Shamisen, has evolved uniquely throughout Japan, and has a variety of shapes and playing methods.
There is a band called "Kodo" which is famous as a taiko group in Japan. They tour the world with Japanese taiko performances. If you are interested in WADAIKO, we recommend listening to Kodo performances. There are also many videos uploaded on RUclips.
(4) "SHAKUHACHI" (a flute-like bamboo instrument)
Until about 60 to 70 years ago, in Japan, units of length called "Shaku" and "Sun" were used. ("sun" sounds like a shortened version of "soon")
1-shaku = 30.3cm (It is a coincidence that it is almost the same as 1feet). 1-sun = 3.03 cm. "Hachi" is the number "8". And the average length of "SHAKUHACHI" was "1-shaku and 8-sun (about 56 cm)", so the "shaku and 8" part became the name of the instrument.
The material is cut from the base of bamboo. It is a simple structure that only requires the necessary finger holes after drying the material and removing the distortion.
It is not easy to produce complex sounds with a simple instrument. Shakuhachi is said to be one of the most difficult Japanese instruments to master. There is a Japanese word for this.
"Kubifuri-3nen Colo-8nen" This Japanese word means...
"We control the strength of the sound by precisely moving the head and neck ----> It takes three years of practice."
"You have to control your fingers precisely to make a good sound ----> it takes eight years of training."
------------
from Nippon
*It is a sentence using Google translation. I hope I conveyed my intentions correctly.
Love this band. Everything they do Is cool. The way they take Rock/ Metal and infuse traditional Japanese vocals and instruments is incredible! Every member is a next level musician and artist. They Tour the world and play high brow venues. Highly respected. Great reaction brother. 😊😎🤘
The giant drums are Taiko drums, the wooden flute is a Shakuhachi, the banjo is a Shamisen, and the sideways harp is a Koto.. These are all traditional Japanese instruments from a long long time ago.
Thanks for explaining Brian 🤘
My two favorite bands are Lovebites and Wagakki Band. Wagakki Band has so many amazing songs. It will take you a long time to check them out. I highly recommend watching everything you can. Just search and start watching.
Their live shows will blow your mind!!
There is a 25 string "Koto", Shamisen (three strings), Shakuhachi (Bamboo flute). The drums are Wadaiko.
He uses the big drum in the song Sasameyuki and Hotarubi
This was fun, seeing you dip your toe even further into the Japanese scene - so much further to go. Wagakki are fantastic and have been for a long time. Funny that you called the western drums the 'traditional' ones - look up what wagakki means/translates. I know you've going to have more J-Rock/Metal/Idol in you're future - look forward to it.
Love it! Blending traditional Japanese instruments with modern day instruments is brilliant.
Songs from Wagakki Band to check out are "Homura/Akatsuki No Ito", "Sakura Rising" (feat. Amy Lee), "Sun Wheel", "Aria Of Twilight", & "Queen Of The Night".
They mix traditional Japanese folk with modern rock/metal....really cool mix......CRAZY great talent for sure.
There are a few videos that have a scene with a taiko drum behind a taiko drummer, but I recommend the following one.
wagakkiband and Amy Lee performed live “Wagakki Band / Bring Me To Life with Amy Lee of EVANESCENCE”
It seems that there are many videos of Bring Me sung by Amy Lee, but I think this video is one of the best.
------------
from Nippon
*It is a sentence using Google translation. I hope I conveyed my intentions correctly.
Their live vids are just as good and shows their true talent. Their body of work bridges traditional, rock, pop, metal and jazz.
I want you to see their mv for Zenbosakura. Don’t bother doing a reaction to it, because it will 100% get blocked. Just watch it on your own time and enjoy the greatness. 🥰
You can see the people involved and their instruments in an other post but to give a little more info about the traditional instruments.
- The "wooden flute" is the shakuhachi and is indeed made out of bamboo.
- The long instrument on the floor is a koto, it is played by picks attached to the fingers.
- The mandolin looking instrument is called a shamisen (playing style: tsugaru shamisen). It's played with a big plectrum called a bachi and you need to tune it constantly because it goes out of tune very quickly.
- One of these traditional drums is called Taiko (which means drum), but these are wadaiko (litteraly Japanese drums, so plural).
Tsugaru refers to the playing style and area it comes from, not the name of the shamisen she plays. Beni plays a Futozao, it is slightly bigger longer and has a thicker neck. Futozao is commonly used for tsugaru style or gidayu style.
@@DrAcula-os1nz
Thanks for that info, I knew the tsugaru part pointed to the area it came from but I didn't know it was named because of the playing style. I just assumed there were different types (for the lack of a better word) depending on the area.
@@MaartenT It is quite common to misunderstand it. Not easy to understand, the Japanese tend to make things complicated for us non-Japanese
Wagakki Band is right up there as one of the top three musical groups in the world at the present and their vocalist Yuko Suzuhana is, in the opinion of many music professionals and reactors, the finest frontwoman or frontman on the planet. She is a master vocalist who sings in modern musical styles and is an expert in the Japanese traditional art of shigin. She is also a world-class concert pianist and an expert in traditional Japanese dance styles. She writes a lot of her own songs and is an excellent composer. You have to listen to a lot more of her work.
you needed to see ignite live
more wagaki
I'll have to find you a few good live links
Yeah, we don't need Avex coming after him.
😂😂😂🤘🤘🤘