Kamo Mitoshiro Noh Kamigamo Shrine Kyoto 賀茂御戸代能 上賀茂神社 京都 by Kari Gröhn karigrohncom

Music has an important role in noh. It is composed of rhythms of the drums, reedy bursts from the flute, shouts of the musicians, and sharp pops of the hand drums.

The instruments consist of a flute (noh-kan), a hand drum held on the shoulder (ko-tsuzumi), a slightly larger hand drum placed on the hip (o-tsuzumi), and a drum played with sticks (taiko) placed on a small floor stand.

Hishigi is a very high-pitched sound of noh-kan, which calls back the spirits of the dead and guides gods down to the visible human world.

The players bring out various sounds by changing the strength with which the drum is struck with the tips of the fingers.

The drummers also produce various unique shouts (kakegoe), which are very important in setting the tone of the play and expressing changes of emotions throughout the play.

There are four basic types of kakegoe: yo, ho, iya and yoi. Actually the shouts are more important for the rhythmic texture than the hitting of drums.

Kyōgen 狂言 (literally mad words or wild speech) is a comic theatre whose primary goal is to make its audience laugh. It is performed along with Noh as an intermission between Noh.

свернуть