11th
Reading kunkunshi
Question: Hey I was wondering what the circle’s mean in the kukunshi, and they’re corresponding arrows?
That’s a good question that I should have addressed much sooner. Originally, I was just going to describe the symbols and their meanings, but I thought adding visual aids would help people better understand what I’m describing. I also thought I’d touch down on how to read kunkunshi altogether.
The format
In Japanese, traditional sentences are written vertically from right to left; kunkunshi are also written in that order. So when you read a kunkunshi, you want start at the top right and work your way down, and then move from right to left.
You should also notice that the kunkunshi is made up of squares, and for your basic songs, one note will take up one square. One square equals one beat, so remember to play the notes at a faster beat whenever you see two notes in one square, or three notes across two squares.
The symbols
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The circle means to “rest,” usually for one beat. |
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This marks the start of a repeated section. (Repeat starting here.) |
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This marks the end of a repeated section. (Return to the down-pointing arrow after this note.) |
| *note: Similar to the arrows, there are sometimes extending circle markers to show where to start and stop playing from. | |
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This apostrophe-like mark above a note means to press down on a note w/o strumming. Sort of like hammering a note on a guitar. |
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Usually notes are played by striking the bachi down on the string, but for these notes you play striking up. |
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These small circles mark where the singing begins. |
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The squares mark where the singing ends. |
| *note: The circle and square are used in two different ways. Sometimes they only mark where the singing starts and ends, and other times they mark each phrase of the song. | |
