Want to understand Japanese music? Want to create Japanese-inspired songs?
Welcome to the Complete Japanese Music Theory Course! The first and only of it’s kind! (In English, anyways).
Hi! I’m Nostalgia. I’ve been a fan of anime forever and fell in love with Japanese music in 2006. I took music through school and dabbled in other instruments, but my classes only taught me how to read music. When I picked up guitar to pursue my dream of making an anime cover band, I wanted to understand music theory more so I could create and improvise freely on my instrument. I went through all the basic songwriting videos, but nothing sounded Japanese. I was intrigued and went on a long journey to figure out why Japanese music sounded so different than the songs on Western radio.
There were no articles online, and the few videos that covered Japanese music progressions only covered the popular anime progression IV-V-iii-vi. As a logical learner and thinker, it left me frustrated for months that I couldn’t find the answers I was seeking. I kept digging, started searching through the Japanese side of the internet, and broke down songs I was learning, and finally, things started to click.
In this class, I’ve compiled all my discoveries from the last few years into a deep and thorough course. I’ll go over basic music theory for new music students, go into Japanese music theory and what it does differently, provide 50 CHORD PROGRESSIONS that you can start using right away, and we’ll even go into Japanese song structures.
After your foundation has been set, you can check out my additional songwriting tips that are more specific to genres like Math Rock and City Pop, or styles like Video Game and Ghibli Studio music. All you could ever need in one detailed course!
Due to popularity of my ‘15 Anime Song Breakdowns‘ and ‘15 Jpop Song Breakdowns‘ articles where I shared the progression of some popular choruses, I’ve also included 10 FULL SONG BREAKDOWNS.
Feel confident in your theory knowledge to understand any song you listen to and be able to create Japanese-inspired music!
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES PURCHASING OR ACCESSING THE COURSE, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT: ChromaticDreamers@gmail.com. [I built this website on my own via WordPress. Sometimes plug-ins or updates can cause errors, or PayPal changed their settings and requirements, and I may not know there is an issue unless notified. I want to ensure anyone who is interested in the course has a wonderful experience, so please don’t hesitate to message me. Thank you!~]
Curriculum
- 7 Sections
- 46 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Welcome!1
- Music Theory BasicsIn this Chapter, we will be covering all the music basics from how to create chords and scales to progressions and harmonic functions. By the end, you will have a firm grasp of major and minor scales and chords, along with diminished and augmented, and how to arrange them to make simple songs.7
- Japanese Music Theory BasicsIn this section, we will be building off the last Chapter and learning more about extended chords and other special chords. We will also look more into how Japan uses these chords to make music that sounds foreign to a Westerners ear, yet makes perfect sense theory wise. There are no mysteries or magic here! Learn what they do so you can feel confident implementing these chords and techniques into your own music!10
- 3.12.1 Japanese Music Theory Basics10 Minutes
- 3.22.2 Make Longer Progressions20 Minutes
- 3.32.3 Make Use Of Various Chords (Sus, 7ths, etc)1 Hour
- 3.42.4 Borrowed Chords & Secondary Dominants45 Minutes
- 3.52.5 Utilize Filler & Transition Chords15 Minutes
- 3.62.6 Change It Up With Modulation30 Minutes
- 3.72.7 Let’s Talk Inversions & Slash Chords30 Minutes
- 3.82.8 Japanese Music Theory Summary5 Minutes
- 3.92.9 Homework1 Hour
- 3.102.10 Japanese Theory Quiz5 Questions
- Common Japanese Chord ProgressionsIn this Chapter, I will be giving 50, yes FIFTY chord progressions that you can start using right away in your own music. These all have audio clips that have been created by me so you can listen and figure out which ones you like the most!10
- 4.03.1 Common Japanese Chord Progressions5 Minutes
- 4.13.2 Basic Progressions (10)15 Minutes
- 4.23.3 Intermediate Progressions (12)15 Minutes
- 4.33.4 Anime/Royal Road Progressions (8)15 Minutes
- 4.43.5 Unique Progressions (8)15 Minutes
- 4.53.6 Long Progressions (8)15 Minutes
- 4.63.7 Cadence/Ending Progressions (6)10 Minutes
- 4.73.8 Japanese Song Progression Summary5 Minutes
- 4.83.9 Homework30 Minutes
- 4.93.10 Progressions Quiz5 Questions
- Japanese Song StructureIn this chapter, we'll learn how Japanese people organize their music and how they change things up. Not every song follows the simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus formula. You may be surprised at how they add additional sections and switch up the order to keep things fresh for their listeners while still telling a unique story with their music.6
- Bonus Chords & Songwriting TipsYou pretty much have all you need to create Japanese inspired music, but there's always more to learn. I won't be teaching a whole lot here, but these are things I've noticed in a lot of Japanese songs that I think you can utilize. I've also found Youtubers that have lessons on chords and melodies for some of these topics :)10
- 6.15.1 Chords & Songwriting1 Minute
- 6.25.2 Fuller Instrumentation45 Minutes
- 6.35.3 Melodies & Tension25 Minutes
- 6.45.4 Mix Up Genres & Styles20 Minutes
- 6.55.5 Push The Beat25 Minutes
- 6.65.6 City Pop Tutorials25 Minutes
- 6.75.7 Japanese Math Rock25 Minutes
- 6.85.8 Ghibli Studio Study30 Minutes
- 6.95.9 Video Game Music Tips25 Minutes
- 6.105.10 The Blackadder Chord10 Minutes
- Conclusion + ResourcesThis is the end of the course, but I still got additional resources and goodies for all my students <35
Features
- 50 Chord Progressions
- Western & Japanese Music Theory Lessons
- Song Structure Insight
- Lots of Real Songs For Reference
- Assignments & Quizzes
Target audiences
- Musicians
- Songwriters
- Producers
- Composers
- Music Teachers
- Curious Jmusic Fans