Why Does Japanese Music Sound So Different?

When I first picked up guitar, I knew I wanted to make Japanese pop rock music, music that sounded worthy of being a theme song, music that made you feel something every time you heard it.

Since I heard my first Japanese theme songs, Butterfly and Target from Digimon, it was so pleasing to my ears and I just had to find more. While I didn’t mind western music, and still find songs that are catchy, there was just something different in Japanese music, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

While I was a musician since childhood, we only learned how to read music. We also didn’t learn much about chords since we would play melodic instruments. Thus, this is all new stuff I learned after picking up guitar (more on my history on my page). I am a logical learner, so music theory means a lot to me. I love being able to create confidently, understanding what I’m playing or hearing, and knowing how to imitate that in other contexts.

I spent a lot of time learning basic or western music theory, but when I would create a song, it never sounded Japanese. I was really confused and was frustrated. I knew Japanese music sounded different but when I would try to explain this to other guitarists, they either didn’t know theory or they just assumed I was biased. I did attempt to do research, and I found posts on Reddit from others who asked the same question, but the answers didn’t reveal much.

Finally, I found a couple videos that opened my eyes and help put me on the right path. I learned a few new music terms which helped me learn more music theory methods, and was also able to conduct further research on the Japanese side of the internet.

So if you’re like me and you really love Japanese music and anime theme songs, but you just can’t seem to find any hints on how to create similar music, check out the videos below. Also be sure to check out my other Jmusic related articles on my Japanese Music Resources page!

I wrote this article quite early on this blog, and now, 200 articles later, I’m so excited to introduce The Complete Japanese Music Theory Course, which goes over everything listed here in detail, along with many other concepts and lessons. If you want to create Japanese inspired music, or just want to dig deeper into music theory, this is the course you’ve been looking for!

Marty’s Demonstration

I really love this video. It’s simple and straight to the point. When I try to explain to non-Jmusic fans that it’s different and they don’t believe me, this video shuts them up and sometimes intrigues them.

Western music tends to base their music on 3 or 4 chords, and they will repeat it throughout, making it more catchy and predictable. There is nothing wrong with that, we all love it after all.

However, Japanese music tends to be more creative with their progressions and they create more of a story, using 6, 8, or even 12 chords within 8 bars. The music takes us along for a ride and makes us feel something, even if words aren’t used.

Japan’s Jazz Influence

This next video really helped me understand why Japan was so experimental with their chords and progressions. I have listened to Kpop for over a decade, and I found that they too took a more Western approach, so I was really curious why Japan was like this.

The truth is, while the majority of Western music originated from the Blues, including rock, pop, country, R&B, raggae etc. If you know the blues, it is very simple and repeatitive. The 12 bar blues for example, only uses major chords, and the lyrics are usually repeated as well.

In Japan, however, a lot of their music and their artists are inspired and influenced by Jazz. And even if you don’t know much about Jazz, you know they love to use a variety of chords, extended chords, inverted chords, some unknown cryptic look ones, and their progressions or where the song is headed can be quite unpredictable.

So keep this in mind when you listen to songs like Homura by LiSA or Fuyu no Hanashi from Centimillimental.

The Anime (Royal Road) Progression

Coming across the anime progression helped me confirm one of my biggest issues. In western music, we put a lot of weight on the I (1) chord, also known as the home chord.

The home chord is (usually) easily determined by the key of the song. If the key is G major, the home chord is G major. When you play G major in a song that is written in the key of G, it gives a sense of resolution and peace. The world loves peace and stability, so we love the I chord.

When I was looking around for progressions and taking lessons, they always tell me to start or end on the I, so the I is there in 99.9% of Western progressions. Just check out this site if you don’t believe me.

Thus, when I came across the anime progression, and saw that the I chord was no where to be found, I felt a lot of my frustration vanish. I realized I didn’t have to stick to their rules. My music would never sound like J-music if I felt I had to always include the home chord, or start/end on it.

So what is the anime progression?
Simplified, it is IV-V-iii-vi (4-5-3m-6m).
But do note that they love their 7th chords.

As you can see, the I isn’t present at all. This progression could be repeated and end without I ever being present. Of course, as mentioned earlier, Japanese artist won’t usually stick to the same 4 chords or progression throughout, or they may just throw this in once during the chorus, but its a great place to start off at if you’re trying to wrap your head around how they do things.

You can start and end on the IV (4) chord, and the V (5) chord DOES NOT always have to go back to I (1). This is why I love learning and understanding theory.

Also, just an added note, what makes the IV (4) chord so beautiful is that, while it is a major chord which is pleasing, it is not as boring as the I (1) chord, and doesn’t have the same tension that the V (5) chord has. It has a kind of floating or fleeting feeling that immediately wants to go somewhere. The IV is also special in that it has the home note in it.

Let’s say you’re playing in the Key of G major. The IV chord would be C major. The C major chord has 3 notes: C, E and G. That G allows it feel somewhat resolved and safe, but still gives an air of uncertainty which can really help set the mood of a series.

Gavin Leeper Analysis

Finding this channel was truly a blessing. Sure, I had the anime progression, but the video above didn’t exist yet, so I didn’t know about it’s variants yet, or what to do outside of playing the 4 chords in a loop.

Gavin’s first main video on this topic was when he tried to understand why certain math rock songs sounded so Japanese-y. He goes over the anime progression, displays other examples in the media that uses that progression, and then shows other tricks Japanese people use in their music as he creates his own.

He has 3 videos focused on common Japanese chord progressions, along with other videos analyzing songs, and also creating his own from what he learned. Some things I didn’t know about until I watched him was the use of borrowed chords, modal interchange, secondary dominants, the half diminished chord, and tritone substitution.

I especially love his video on transition chords. If you really want to step up your game, be sure to take your time watching these videos and make notes. This channel will definitely help you wrap your head around the basics of writing Japanese music.

Learn How To Use Borrowed & Secondary Dominants With Signals Music Studio Channel

If you’re listening to Japanese music and there’s this chord that just sticks out at you for some reason, know that it is probably a borrowed and/or secondary dominant chord. This chord doesn’t belong to the Key’s diatonic scale, so it feels out of place, but it is also so close to the original chord that it doesn’t sound wrong. This will definitely take your progressions to the next level. Japan also loves to make use of Modulation, which I talk about and share examples of in this article.

While this Youtuber isn’t focused on Japanese music, he explains music theory topics so well that it makes it easy to put into use. If you find topics in the above videos that you would like to understand more, check out his videos! You’ll probably find a tutorial somewhere. Here are two that are vital to Japanese music.

Use of Extended Chords and Alternate Chord Voicings

As this point, you should have a pretty good hold on chord progressions, but that’s still only part of the equation. Instead of sticking to just major, minor, and the occasional diminished chord that are expected in every key, don’t be afraid to explore the various other chords out there.

Japanese people love 7th chords, and depending on the genre, you would find other extended chords like 9ths and 11ths. They also love suspended chords, and half diminished chords. I have noticed a lot of slash chords in their music, and this is when the bass note of the chord is different than the chord you are playing. While the C chord implies the lowest note is C, followed by E and G, a C/G chord would start with G and be followed by C and E. This is an inverted chord because the notes are inverted (changed around. Slash chords can also include other base notes that aren’t in the chord, like C/A.

This is what makes Japanese songs so hard to learn by ear, especially for a beginner like me, so don’t be afraid to look around at chord charts and learn more songs so you get more familiar with their sound and when they are used.

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Conclusion

I hope this list has given you a strong understanding of why Japanese sounds different and a theological foundation to help you create your own music. If it’s been helpful, please leave me a tip on Ko-Fi! And consider checking out my other Jmusic-related articles on my Japanese Music Resources page.

If you’d like to learn a bit more about Japanese music and 10 common progressions in their music, why not purchase my book “Japanese Music Progressions“? Or, if you’d like to dig deep into music theory and get 50 chord progressions, you can check out The Complete Japanese Music Theory Course!

Thanks for reading, and gambatte on your Japanese music journey!