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| This web site presents 56 Japanese songs. For each song, users are provided access to the lyrics, a vocal score with lyrics, a model vocal version, a karaoke version and a vocabulary list. |
 | MIDI file | karaoke version | First, listen to the model vocal version of a song, and then try to sing with the karaoke version of the song. |  | MP3 file | model vocal version |
Vocabulary Lists and Grammatical Terms| For elementary level songs, levels 1 to 3, all words with the exception of particles found in the lyrics can be found on the vocabulary list (in the Japanese page). However, for intermediate and advanced level songs, levels 4 to 8, only words in the lyrics judged to be an intermediate level or higher can be found on the vocabulary list. The reading for all kanji for all levels are provided for each song. |
| [V] on vocabulary list indicates a verb. |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||||
 | -masu form (polite) | utai | tobi | mi | tabe | shi | ki |
 | -te form (V and...) | utatte | tonde | mite | tabete | shite | kite |
 | -ta form (past) | utatta | tonda | mita | tabeta | shita | kita |
 | -nai form (negative) | utawa | toba | mi | tabe | shi | ko |
 | dictionary form (plain non-past) |
utau | tobu | miru | taberu | suru | kuru |
| potential form | utaeru | toberu | mirareru mireru | taberareru tabereru | dekiru | korareru koreru | |
 | volitional form | utaou | tobou | miyou | tabeyou | shiyou | koyou |
| imperative form | utae | tobe | miro | tabero | shiro | koi | |
 | conditional form | utaeba | tobeba | mireba | tabereba | sureba | kureba |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||
 | suggestion form of -masu | V-masu + masho | utai-masho | mi-masho | shi-masho |
 | imperative expression | V-masu + nasai | utai-nasai | mi-nasai | shi-nasai |
 | be V-ing | V-te + iru | utate iru | mite iru | shite iru |
 | if/when... | V-ta + ra | utata-ra | mita-ra | shita-ra |
 | even if... | V-te + mo | utate-mo | mite-mo | shite-mo |
 | negative -te form | V-nai + zu ni | utawa-zu ni | mi-zu ni | *se-zu ni |
 | prohibitive form | V-ru + na | utau na | miru na | suru na |
| passive form | V-nai + (ra)reru | utawa-reru | mi-rareru | *sa-reru | |
| causative form | V-nai + (sa)seru | utawa-seru | mi-saseru | *sa-seru | |
| [A] on a vocabulary list indicates an adjective. |
| i-Adjective | na-Adjective | |||
| root | akai | ookii | nodoka | samazama |  | 
|
| noun modification | akai | ookii | nodokana | samazamana | |
|
| plain non-past | akai | ookii | nodokada | samazamada | | - |
| adverbial | akaku | ookiku | nodokani | samazamani |  | 
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| 'Doyo' and 'Shoka' are special songs written for children, similar to nursery rhymes. Since they were written specifically for children, a lot of 'baby talk' is used in the lyrics. Also as many of these songs were written from the Meiji Period (1868-1912) to the early years of the Showa Period (1926-1989), there are also many classical words used in the lyrics. Furthermore, many words from 'spoken' Japanese also appear. This book uses the marks below to distinguish these special words. |
 | standard language | - |
 | current Japanese | - |
 | baby talk | ex. o-tsuki-sama (tsuki) |
 | spoken language | ex. wakara-n (wakara-nai) |
 | rarely used word | ex. kinezumi (risu) |
 | obsolete expression | ex. nan to sho (do sho) | classical word | ex. ito (taihen) | classical grammar | ex. yama-nu (yama-nai) |
 | dialect word | ex. kanakai (jama) |
| The words in the parentheses after the examples indicate an example of standard language or current Japanese. |
| In polite Japanese speech the prefix 'o-' is often used before nouns, such as 'okuni (your country)' or 'onamae (your name)'. However, the 'o-' as seen in the following cases is different. 'Ouchi (home)', 'ouma (hourse)', 'oyama (mountain)', 'otete (hands)' or 'otsukisama (moon)' are examples of Japanese baby talk. When adults speak to each other, these words are not used. These expressions are only used when speaking to small children. Baby talk often appears in lyrics. Japanese language learners should be careful about the usage of these words. '-sama' of 'otsukisama (moon)' and 'kaminarisama (thunder)' are also examples of baby talk. |
| The following table shows some examples of spoken language that often appear in these song lyrics. |
| abbreviation | 'u' | V-mashou | shi-masho (shi-mashou) kake-masho (kake-mashou) | V-u (volitional form) | yuko (yukou) tabaso (tobasou) |
others | daro (darou) mo-ichido (mou ichido) |
| 'i' | V-te iru | oyoide-ru (oyoide iru) ukande-ru (ukande iru) | V-te iku | haitte-ku (haitte iku) | others | kawai (kawaii) |
| alternation | 'n' | V-nai -> V-n | wakara-n (wakara-nai) | others | anta (anata) son-nara (sore nara) |
'ya' | V-te shimau -> V-chau | icchatta (itte shimatta) nacchate (natte shimatte) |
V-ba -> V-ya | kuraberya (kurabereba) tsumanya (tsumaneba) |
others | tomodacha (tomodachi wa) |
| addition | double consonant | yappari (yahari) | 'n' (the syllabic nasal) | anmari (amari) minna (mina) |
long sound | daare (dare) |
| The following table shows some examples of classical Japanese grammar that often appear in these song lyrics. |
| V-nai form | V-nai form + nu | yamu -> yama-nu (yama-nai) kakaru -> kakara-nu (kakara-nai) |
| V-te form | V-masu form + te | naru -> nari-te (natte) suu -> sui-te (sutte) |
| V-u (volitional form) | V-nai form + n | yuku -> yuka-n (yuko) kaeru -> kaera-n (kaero) |
| V-ta form | V-masu form + shi | ou -> oi-shi (otta) tsuru -> tsuri-shi (tsutta) |
| i-Adj (predicate: plain, non-past) |
root + shi | awa-shi (awai) fuka-shi (fukai) |
| i-Adj (noun modification) |
root + ki | ao-ki (aoi) natsukashi-ki (natsukashii) |
| The vocal score files, the karaoke MIDI files , and the sample vocal MP3 files were produced using an Apple iMac (MacOS9.1) computer. 1) MIDI Files for Karaoke MIDI files were produced using ScoreMaker 2.1 (KAWAI). When no suitable musical score was available, files were arranged into karaoke MIDI files using EZVision-J 3.02 (Opcode Systems, Inc.), Band-in-a-Box 7.0J (PG MUSIC Inc.), or Encore 4.1.2 (Passport Designs, Inc.). 2) MP3 Files for Sample Vocal Versions Voices for the samples were recorded by the iMac, which also played the karaoke MIDI files simultaneously. The recorded songs were then edited and kept as WAVE files using SOUNDEDIT16 V.2J (MACROMEDIA). The WAVE files were then converted to MP3 files using iTunes J-2.0.4 (APPLE). 3) Vocal Scores Vocal scores were produced by adding lyrics to the musical scores using ScoreMaker 2.1 (KAWAI). Graphics were produced using ScreenShot; a utility which creates a PICT file of the screen. These graphics were then converted from PICT files to GIF files by GraphicConverter 3.9 (Lemke Software). |
| The particular 56 songs included were chosen considering the following two points: one was the songÕs relative popularity among Japanese people, and the other was whether the song was royalty-free or not. 1) Questionnaire Regarding Songs' Popularity First, 185 songs were chosen which could be found in more than two well-known Japanese songbooks, such as "Nihon no Shiika" (Chuo Koron Sya), "Nihon Doyo Shu" (Iwanami Bunko), "Nihon Shoka Shu" (Iwanami Bunko), or which I know well. After analyzing the result of questionnaires to investigate which songs are most popular, a clear difference was observed in the popularity of the 185 songs. (Click here to see the questionnaire.) As a result of the questionnaire, relatively popular songs were chosen for inclusion. 2) Copyrights When musical compositions and lyrics are used, copyrights must be taken into account. It is possible to check whether the copyright of a song has ended or not with the aid of The Musical Work Information Database 'J-WID' presented by JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers: http://www.jasrac.or.jp). The included 56 famous songs were found to be royalty-free in terms of both the composer and the author. |
| The English titles for most of the songs come from the information that appears in ÔJ-WIDÕ: the Musical Work Information Database, presented by JASRAC. However for several of the included songs, an English title was not provided in J-WID. In those cases, I have provided a rough translation for the English title. |
| The 56 songs are classified into 8 Japanese language levels according to the following 3 standards. 1) Vocabulary Level The levels of all the words in the lyrics were checked according to standards set in "Ichimango Goi Bunrui Shu (Revised Edition)" (Senmon Kyouiku Publishing), which is an educational reference book which classifies Japanese vocabulary according to level of difficulty. The songs were subsequently classified into 4 groups: (i) songs containing many elementary level words, (ii) songs containing many intermediate level words, (iii) songs containing many advanced level words, and (iv) songs containing many classical words or dialect words. 2) Grammar Level The level of all the grammar in the lyrics was checked according to standards set in "Japanese Language Proficiency Test: Test content Specifications (Revised Edition)" (Bonjinsha), and consequently classified into 3 groups: (i) songs containing only elementary level grammar, (ii) songs containing intermediate or advanced level grammar, and (iii) songs containing classical grammar. 3) Others There are some songs, whose words or grammar are not intrinsically difficult, but nevertheless the meaning of lyrics is hard to understand. Such songs were categorized in the higher level groups. |
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This work was produced with the help of many people. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Mr. ANAYAMA Tsutomu, Ms. AOKI Kyoko, Ms. OTA Kazuko, Ms. OBA Elizabeth, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yasuko, Ms. KUBO Minako, KOYAMA Kate, Ms. TAKARADA Chiho, Ms. TAKEKUMA Naoko, Mr. FUTAMURA Fumito, Ms. YAMAZAKI Keiko, and Ms. YOMON Miki. They sang songs, arranged melodies, gave me valuable advise about music and Japanese vocabulary, collected questionnaires, took photos, painted pictures and checked the English. I want to express my deep thanks to them all. |