Useful techniques you need to know when you sing Japanese songs
Hello, Jpop lovers! Welcome to Honey Music School. If you are interested in singing Japanese songs, this is the best place to join.
Today, we are going to learn how to sing ‘Shimanchu nu Takara’ by Begin. Let’s get started!
4 Points about Japanese Sound
Before we dive into the song, I want to remind you about how we pronounce Japanese syllables, especially in songs. We have four points to cover.
First, each syllable usually ends with a vowel, with one exception. Second, each vowel generally has a single pronunciation. Third, a syllable is made up of either just a vowel, or a consonant followed by a vowel.
Lastly, when pronouncing a consonant, it’s important to blend it with the vowel sound. Japanese has five vowels: A, I, U, E, O. The attached picture below will help you understand how to pronounce each Japanese vowel.
For example, in the first verse of ‘Shimanchu nu Takara’, it starts with ‘Bo ku ga’. Here, you need to combine the consonant ‘G’ with the vowel ‘A’ to form the sound ‘Ga’.
We’ll apply a similar approach to other syllables in the song.
Just a small reminder about the ‘G’ sound in Japanese: it tends to be strong, so we often use the ‘N’ sound in front of ‘G’ to release the sound through your nasal duct.
Let’s Go Through the Lyrics
Next, let’s go through the song with Japanese lyrics and its meaning.
Shimanchu nu Takara consists of three parts; the first part, the second part, and the third part.
The first part describes who we are and where we are. The second part gives us a question, and the third part, which is a chorus part, gives us the answer to the question asked in the second part.
We need to sing the song as the conflict grows and as we resolve that conflict.
You can check the original lyrics in Japanese and their translation to English by looking at the lyrics card below.
Shimanchu Nu Takara
By the way, we can hear whistling and a unique call at the beginning, the bridge, and the last part of the song. These are all unique to Okinawa music and they give you the beat or feeling of Okinawa.
Many Okinawa folk songs use this call. Now, it’s time to sing along!
Learn More About How to Sing Japanese Songs at Honey Music School!
We offer online lessons at Honey Music School by native Japanese vocal teacher who can teach you many useful techniques and tips to sing your favorite Japanese songs.
If you feel like singing more of the rest of “Shimanchu nu Takara” or if you have your favorite Japanese songs to practice, please join us at Haney Music School. Until then, see you soon!
Information
I have been passionate about learning different languages and playing music since I was a kid. I engaged in childhood education, music education, and second language acquisition research while I was studying at Yokohama National University as a graduate student. After graduation, I worked at an international preschool in Tokyo. Currently, I’m working as a bilingual teacher at an online English school and writing some articles about research on bilingual education. I post the cover songs videos of my favorite artists and my piano performances on Instagram and Youtube, so I’ll appreciate that if you go and check my posts. Thank you.
