Musical Terms and Instruments in Japanese

English is happy with one verb. You play the guitar, play the flute, play the drums. Japanese is not that generous: the verb follows the family of the instrument. Strings — and, surprisingly, the piano — take hiku [弾く]. Wind takes fuku [吹く]. Percussion takes tataku [叩く]. The first time you hear someone “pluck” a piano, that is the system talking, not a bad translation.

Once that split clicks, the rest of the language sits in place, including the older instruments that still turn up at a school bunkasai.

Playing an instrument in Japanese

The everyday English verb “play” does not map one-to-one. Use the verb that matches the instrument family:

• kanaderu [奏でる] — to play an instrument in general;
• hiku [弾く] — to play a string instrument, including piano and organ;
• fuku [吹く] — to play a flute or other wind instrument;
• tataku [叩く] — to play drums, percussion, xylophone, and similar instruments;
• souhou [奏法] — a way of playing an instrument.

So a pianist hiku the piano, a flutist fuku the flute, and a drummer tataku the drums. The general verb kanaderu works when you are not naming the family.

Musical terms in Japanese

These are the words that show up in a conversation, a rehearsal note, or a write-up about a piece.

• anpu [暗譜] — to memorize or reproduce a piece from memory
• au [合う] — to be in sync
• baiorin [ヴァイオリン] — violin
• bando [バンド] — band
• biburaato [ビブラート] — vibrato, for violin, singing, and similar [also ヴィブラート]
• chiisai [小さい] — soft, literally “small”
• chouchou [長調] — major key
• chouritsu [調律] — tuning that fixes the pitch of an instrument
• chouritsushi [調律師] — tuner, the person who tunes instruments
• choushi [調子] — tone, pitch, rhythm
• choushihazure [調子外れ] — playing or singing out of tune
• doramaa [ドラマー] — drummer
• doramu [ドラム] — drums
• doramusutikku [ドラムスティック] — drumstick
• ensou [演奏] — performance (also 演奏会, a concert)
• fue [笛] — flute or pipe
• furuuto [フルート] — flute
• gakki [楽器] — musical instrument
• gakkiten [楽器店] — musical instrument store
• gakufu [楽譜] — sheet music
• gen [弦] — string
• gitaa [ギター] — guitar
• gitarisuto [ギタリスト] — guitarist
• haamonika [ハーモニカ] — harmonica
• haapu [ハープ] — harp
• happyoukai [発表会] — recital
• henkyoku [編曲] — arrangement
• hibiku [響く] — to ring, to resonate
• ken [鍵] — key (on a keyboard)
• kenban [鍵盤] — keyboard (the set of keys)
• kyoku [曲] — a piece of music, often without lyrics
• neiro [音色] — tone color of an instrument
• ongaku [音楽] — music
• ongakuka [音楽家] — musician
• onkai [音階] — musical scale
• onpu [音符] — note
• ontei [音程] — interval
• ookesutora [オーケストラ] — orchestra
• ookii [大きい] — loud, literally “big”
• oto ga deru [音が出る] — a sound is produced
• oto / ne [音] — sound
• oto wo dasu [音を出す] — to produce a sound
• pianisuto [ピアニスト] — pianist
• piano [ピアノ] — piano
• picchi [ピッチ] — pitch / tuning
• renshuu [練習] — practice
• ressun [レッスン] — lesson
• rizumu [リズム] — rhythm
• sakkusu [サックス] — saxophone
• sakkyoku [作曲] — to compose
• shikisha [指揮者] — conductor
• shinbaru [シンバル] — cymbal
• sokkyou [即興] — to improvise or make music on the spot
• tanchou [短調] — minor key
• tenpo [テンポ] — tempo
• toraianguru [トライアングル] — triangle
• toranpetto [トランペット] — trumpet
• toronboon [トロンボーン] — trombone
• uta [歌] — a song, often with lyrics
• utau [歌う] — to sing
• zureru [ズレる] — to drift, to go off, to be out of time or out of tune

Two pairs are worth keeping straight. Kyoku [曲] is the piece; uta [歌] is the song with words. Chouchou [長調] is a major key; tanchou [短調] is a minor key. Mix those and a rehearsal note starts lying.

Rhythms and types of music in Japanese

Most contemporary genre names arrive as katakana. One trap is worth flagging: dabu [ダブ] is dub, the reggae-born studio style. Dubstep is a different word, dabusuteppu [ダブステップ].

• orutanativu [オルタナティヴ] — alternative
• gareeji rokku [ガレージ・ロック] — garage rock
• guramu rokku [グラム・ロック] — glam rock
• guranji [グランジ] — grunge
• panku rokku [パンク・ロック] — punk rock
• saikederikku [サイケデリック] — psychedelic
• desu metaru [デス・メタル] — death metal
• nyuu weehu [ニューウェーブ] — new wave
• haado rokku [ハード・ロック] — hard rock
• buritisshu rokku [ブリティッシュ・ロック] — British rock
• puroguresshivu rokku [プログレッシヴ・ロック] — progressive rock
• hevii metaru [ヘヴィ・メタル] — heavy metal
• rokkun rooru [ロックン・ロール] — rock ’n’ roll
• hausu [ハウス] — house
• doramun beesu [ドラムン・ベース] — drum ’n’ bass
• hippuhoppu [ヒップホップ] — hip-hop
• fanku [ファンク] — funk
• dabu [ダブ] — dub
• dabusuteppu [ダブステップ] — dubstep
• tekuno [テクノ] — techno
• buritto poppu [ブリット・ポップ] — Britpop
• poppu [ポップ] — pop
• rappu [ラップ] — rap
• regee [レゲエ] — reggae
• aaru ando bii [アール・アンド・ビー] — R&B
• kantorii [カントリー] — country
• buruusu [ブルース] — blues
• fooku rokku [フォーク・ロック] — folk rock
• kurashikku [クラシック] — classical
• jazu [ジャズ] — jazz
• suka [スカ] — ska
• souru [ソウル] — soul

Musical instruments in Japanese

Western instruments usually keep their international names in katakana. Traditional ones keep the kanji. For the Japanese families themselves — koto, shamisen, shakuhachi, taiko — there is a separate guide to musical instruments from Japan.

• gakki [楽器] — musical instrument
• gitaa [ギター] — guitar
• gen [弦] — strings
• beesu [ベース] — bass guitar
• doramu [ドラム] — drums
• piano [ピアノ] — piano
• kiiboodo [キーボード] — keyboard
• maiku [マイク] — microphone
• baiorin [バイオリン] — violin
• chero [チェロ] — cello
• ooboe [オーボエ] — oboe
• toranpetto [トランペット] — trumpet
• sakkusu [サックス] — saxophone
• haapu [ハープ] — harp
• haamonika [ハーモニカ] — harmonica
• tanburin [タンバリン] — tambourine

Traditional Japanese instruments

• biwa [琵琶] — biwa, a short-necked lute
• shamisen [三味線] — shamisen, a three-string instrument
• koto [琴] — koto, a long zither
• taiko [太鼓] — taiko, a Japanese drum
• shakuhachi [尺八] — shakuhachi, a vertical bamboo flute
• sanshin [三線] — sanshin, the Okinawan three-string instrument

In Japanese you will also hear hougaku [邦楽] for traditional Japanese music and yougaku [洋楽] for Western music. The same person can study both; the verbs still follow the instrument, not the repertoire.