Shōmyō (声明) is a style of Japanese Buddhist chant, used mainly in the Tendai and Shingon sects.[1] There are two styles: ryokyoku and rikkyoku, described as difficult and easy to remember, respectively.
Shōmyō, like gagaku, employs the Yo scale, a pentatonic scale with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones.[2]
References
- ^ John Whitney Hall (1988). The Cambridge history of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521223520.
- ^ "Japanese Music". Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music. Green Bay: University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13.
Bibliography
- Hill, Jackson (1982). Ritual Music in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism: Shingon Shōmyō, Ethnomusicology 26 (1), 27-39