This is a long mission of mine to understand these genres better. I started composing these genres but still not getting quite to it. Most feedbacks I got tells me it sounds more like video game music. So I created this thread in the hope of to put our knowledge together for future people that have similar problems.
Here's a list of songs which are worth listening for reference.
Ryokuoushoku Shakai – Be a flower
ANRI – I Can't Stop The Loneliness
These are the examples I could think of at the moment to have a bit of variety but J-Pop/J-Rock is more than this. Tips on how to compose these genres?
by Ryo13
1 Comment
I would recommend trying to record covers of the songs you like, analyze every instrument and how they work together, but alone covering them will already help…
there are also some interesting videos online that explain some tricks JRock bands use, like this one for Yorushika for example:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N1SJTsafk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N1SJTsafk)
I personally have started taking online classes at a music school from Japan because I wanted to drink from the source directly, and while the teachers don’t know every single artist they definitely know a lot of information on why JPop and JRock sound “different” from Western pop and rock, and they can definitely help with any song you like, then that’s what I did.
They always offer me the chance to choose a song I like and what I like about that song then they tell me what makes it special, in my case so far it’s been more about mixing traditional Japanese elements in modern music, sometimes it is not as obvious to hear as a rock song using an instrument like a shamisen or a traditional scale, there are stuff related to rhythm too. But that depends a lot on the style you are pursuing to get close to.
I’d definitely checking the video above and also finding a teacher that is open to analyze those songs and find out what makes them special and different from other stuff