In this research, we attempted to visualize the voice of a Nagauta vocalist and the change in the voice of a mezzo-soprano vocalist trying to imitate the voice of the Nagauta vocalist. Two vocalists were asked to individually sing a part from a Nagauta called “Sanbaso”, and their voices were analyzed using spectrogram representations and time-dependent loudness. The results indicated three differences between the voices of the Nagauta vocalist and the mezzo-soprano vocalist : １) Presence of harmonics over the frequency band of ４kHz ; ２) difference in the movement of the whole spectrum ; ３) clarity of breaks in silent intervals between the syllables. It was also noted that the mezzo-soprano vocalist, while trying to imitate the voice of the Nagauta vocalist, tried to control the harmonic components and cause variations in the frequencies and sound pressure within one vowel by being aware of bodily sensations and space in a manner different from the mezzo-soprano vocalist’s usual preferences. (157 words)

  The purpose of this study is to clarify the “activity concept” of music departments, which was called “music therapy” by Tetsuro Kagaya during the early stages of the development of special needs education in Japan. Kagaya’s “activity concept” is similar to the concept of “continuity and relevance,” as stated in the Courses of Study for elementary and junior high school, 2017. His activities were motivated by his experience of teaching children from minority groups. He had an awareness of the problems involved in the administration of education for children with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, he developed “music therapy” which laid emphasis on “emotional stability.” In the study, Kagaya’s concept of “therapy” is specifically discussed with a focus on the difficulties faced regarding the educational needs of children with special needs, before the Courses of Study established the guidelines for schools for these children. The author concludes that Kagaya appealed that musical learning should be designed based on the idea of “independence activity,” which is also mentioned in the current guidelines specified by the Courses of Study.

  This study aims to clarify Hikaru Hayashi’s thoughts on music teaching focusing on his role between the late 1960s and 1970s as an adviser in the National Meeting of Japan Teachers Union. In the 1950s, Hayashi was actively involved in social movements such as “A Japanese Choral-Singing Movement (Utagoe-undo)” and “The Music Association for Workers of Japan (Rohon).” He proposed the “Popular Arts Theory” for the practice of music during those movements. From 1968 onward, he participated in the National Meeting of Japan Teachers Union as an adviser. He planned the “Music Teaching Featuring Singing” based on his popular arts theory. He believed that teachers should choose teaching materials that allowed children to sing energetically and joyously and that the teacher should play the piano in such a way that it allowed the children’s voices within the teacher’s piano techniques to be heard rather than play exactly according to the score. Hayashi’s thoughts on music teaching were aimed at the personal growth of children by making them enjoy music spontaneously, in contrast to the music teaching of those days, which emphasized gaining musical knowledge and learning musical techniques.

  Students play, create, or appreciate music in music classes ; however, in their daily lives, they primarily listen to music recordings. There appears to be a gap between these music-related activities. However, when Thomas Turino’s framework on music is used to examine the basis for the values of music-related activities in and outside school, it becomes clear that the common value is sound quality, as more people are involved in music as audiences rather than as performers. Therefore, for more people to become involved in music performance throughout their lives both inside and outside music classes, the idea that the value of music depends solely on sound quality must change, requiring stepping away from the bias that judges music as being based solely on sound quality and from the idea that “performers and audiences” are separate entities.