is a style of
Japanese
Buddhist chant, used mainly in the
Tendai and
Shingon sects. There are two styles: ''ryokyoku'' and ''rikkyoku'', described as difficult and easy to remember, respectively.
Shōmyō, like
gagaku, employs the
Yo scale The ''yo'' scale, which is like the Mixolydian but does not contain minor notes, according to a traditional theory is a pentatonic scale used in much Japanese music including gagaku and shomyo. The ''yo'' scale is used specifically in folk songs an ...
, a
pentatonic scale with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones.
References
Bibliography
* Hill, Jackson (1982). Ritual Music in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism: Shingon Shōmyō, Ethnomusicology 26 (1), 27-39
External links
What Appears Through Chanting Tendai Shomyo Ryokyoku
*http://jtrad.columbia.jp/eng/s_tendai.html
*http://www.eastvalley.or.jp/eng/kyoku.html
*http://sound.jp/tengaku/Shichseikai-e/shomyo-e4.html
Buddhist music
Japanese styles of music
Buddhist chants
Japanese traditional music
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