Okinawan scale and Spirited Away

[David Hopkins]

I also noticed the use of the Okinawan scale in some of the music of
Spirited away, but rather than assign it a specific meaning (Okinawa) I
think it's probably used more generally to sound vaguely familiar and yet
exotic at the same time. Although the traditional Japanese pentatonic scale
has pretty much disappeared from popular music, it still should sound
familiar (or "Japanese") to listeners in Japan. The Okinawan version of the
pentatonic scale (Ryukyu-cho) is the same, but with a flattened fifth (a
blue note) that is enough to displace it from the familiar. That's probably
all that's going on there. Jazz pianist/composer Fujii Satoko has used
Ryukyu-cho to similar, very cool, effect in her "South Wind" ensemble music.
I don't think the Hot Spring resort is supposed to look Chinese, either....
(Among the spirits patronizing the resort there is a brief glimpse of a
Kachina, though.)

David Hopkins
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/kinejapan/attachments/20021028/1b901ba3/attachment.html