J-Pop

History and character

“J-pop” (Japanese popular music) is the term that, since the late 1980s, has indicated modern Japanese pop of a Western stamp. According to the most widespread account, it arose around the radio station J-Wave and at first referred only to “Western-sounding” artists such as Pizzicato Five and Flipper's Guitar; in 1990 the Japanese branch of Tower Records defined it as the music of the Japanese major labels. It replaces the old kayōkyoku (the popular song from the 1920s to the 1980s) and is distinguished from enka, the traditional ballad. Its roots lie in Japanese rock inspired by the Beatles, in the Group Sounds movement of the '60s, in the “new music” of the singer-songwriters of the '70s (Yumi Arai/Matsutoya, Off Course), in city pop and in Yellow Magic Orchestra (Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi), and in the idols of the '70s–'80s (Momoe Yamaguchi, Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori).

The '90s were the boom: the “Being system” (B'z, ZARD, WANDS) dominated 1990–93 with tie-up songs (paired with dramas, commercials and anime); the producer Tetsuya Komuro and his “family” (TRF, Namie Amuro, globe) brought dance and techno pop to the top of the charts in 1994–97; Mr. Children (Atomic Heart, 3.43 million copies), Glay, Dreams Come True, Spitz, Southern All Stars; in 1999 Hikaru Utada's First Love became the best-selling album in Oricon history (7.65 million). In the 2000s came Ayumi Hamasaki, Koda Kumi, Arashi, Perfume (technopop by Yasutaka Nakata), then the era of mass idols (AKB48, Momoiro Clover Z) and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. In the 2010s–2020s J-pop opened up to the world through streaming and anime: Kenshi Yonezu (Lemon, KICK BACK), YOASOBI (Yoru ni Kakeru, Idol, the first Japanese-language song to top the Billboard Global Excl. US), Official Hige Dandism, King Gnu, Aimer, LiSA, Ado, Fujii Kaze, Vaundy, Creepy Nuts.

Musical traits: long, elaborate melodies with many notes and a wide range, dense harmony with many chord changes, passing chords, secondary dominants and modulations (much more than Western pop), long forms with A-melo, B-melo and sabi (verse, pre-chorus, chorus), instrumental intros, a close link with imagery (anime, dramas, commercials, games). According to an analysis of the “royal road progression”, in 2023 40% of the twenty best-selling singles of all time in Japan contained this progression.

Scales and keys

In the modes, Roman numerals refer to the modal scale; in minor, to the natural minor.

Major (Ionian) with many passing chords

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (T T S T T T S). In C: C D E F G A B.
• Characteristic note: leading tone (B) and major 3rd; in J-pop, though, the emotional center is often vi and iii.
• Chords: I C – ii Dm – iii Em – IV F – V G – vi Am – vii° Bdim; with sevenths Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bø7.
• Use: the basis of almost all J-pop; royal road (IVmaj7–V7–iii7–vi), the I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V progression (canon).
• Example: many of the best-selling singles in Japan, from Sotsugyō Shashin to YOASOBI — Tabun (royal road).
• Mistakes: harmony that is too poor: J-pop expects movement (one chord every 2 beats in the chorus).

Yonanuki major (pentatonic “without the 4th and 7th”)

• Formula: 1 2 3 5 6 (4th and 7th degrees removed, hence the name yo-na-nuki). In C: C D E G A.
• Characteristic note: no semitones: a “nostalgic” melody, typical of kayōkyoku, modern enka and J-pop melodies that need to sound “Japanese”.
• Use: chorus melodies, theme songs, idol pop.
• Mistakes: using it for the whole melody: modern J-pop inserts the 4th and 7th at points of tension.

Yonanuki minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 5 b6 (relative to the minor: 4th and 7th removed). In A: A B C E F.
• Characteristic note: the semitones B–C and E–F: “enka-style” melancholy.
• Use: sad melodies, ballads, traditional colors.

Natural and harmonic minor

• Natural minor: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — in A: A B C D E F G.
• Harmonic minor: raised 7th (G#) for the major V (E7): fundamental in J-pop/J-rock and anime themes (VI–VII–V7–i).
• Chords: i Am – III C – iv Dm – V E (harmonic) – VI F – VII G.
• Example: LiSA — Gurenge (minor, 135 BPM; the leading tone in the major V gives the drive).

Dorian and Mixolydian (colors)

• Dorian: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7, in D: D E F G A B C — city pop and funk (i7–IV7 vamp).
• Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — in G: G A B C D E F — J-rock and power pop.

Ryukyu (Okinawa) scale as a color

• Formula: 1 3 4 5 7. In C: C E F G B. Tropical, island flavor (Shima Uta by The Boom, songs with sanshin).

How to choose

Harmony

Density and harmonic rhythm

J-pop is the mainstream pop with the richest harmony: one chord every 2 beats (often every beat in the choruses), many inversions, chromatic passing chords, secondary dominants (III7, VI7, II7), passing diminished chords, sus4 and add9. Loops exist, but often with variations on each repetition.

Signature progressions

• Royal road (ōdō shinkō): IVmaj7–V7–iii7–vi. Used by Yumi Arai/Matsutoya in the '70s, spread by city pop, reinforced by Eurobeat in the '90s. Variants: ii7–V7–iii7–vi7, IVmaj7–V7–III7–vi7 (with the dominant of vi), IVmaj7–V7–I–vi7. The producer Seiji Kameda also called it “koakuma” (little devil) on a 2014 NHK program.
• “Marusa” / Just the Two of Us: IVmaj7–III7–vi7–v7–I7 (in C: Fmaj7 E7 Am7 Gm7 C7), sophisticated and urban; extremely widespread in recent J-pop, in many variants (in Japan it is also known by names tied to the songs that made it popular).
• Canon: I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V for epic choruses and ballads.

Modulations

Very common: last chorus +1 or +2 semitones; chorus in a different key from the verse; modulations by third; pivot on the secondary dominant. A key change between A-melo and B-melo is also frequent.

Cadences

J-pop uses more cadences than Western pop, but likes to end on vi or on IV–V–vi (deceptive cadence) to maintain tension; the complete IV–V–I cadence often arrives only at the end of the final chorus.

Voicing

Piano and guitars with 4-note chords and sevenths; dense strings; backing vocals in thirds; bass often in inversion for lines that descend by step.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Predominantly straight feel, but with great variety: city pop's “16 beat” (sixteenth-note hats with two hands, funk groove), the fast rock 8-beat of anime themes and J-rock, dance-pop and technopop at 128 (Perfume — Polyrhythm is at 128 BPM and contains a polyrhythmic section), ballads at 65–90, Vocaloid and anime songs at 170–200. Swing 0–10% in pop, 54–58% in funkier city pop. The rhythms of Japanese syllables (mora) lead to melodies with many short, regular notes: the voice fills the sixteenth notes. Stops, guitar breaks and “kime” (ensemble band accents in theme songs) are frequent.

Drums

Kick

Pop: 1 and 3 with variations (steps 1, 7, 9, 11); dance: four on the floor; anime/J-rock: 8-beat with anticipation (1, 4, 7, 9 in sixteenth notes) and double kick in the harder choruses; city pop: funk syncopation.

Snare

On 2 and 4; in theme songs, sixteenth-note rolls at the end of each 4-bar phrase; ghost notes in city pop.

Hi-hat, ride, cymbals

16 beat (sixteenth notes) in city pop and pop; open eighth notes or ride in rock choruses; frequent crashes (every 2–4 bars) in anime choruses.

Percussion

Tambourine and shaker in pop; Latin percussion in city pop; taiko and traditional percussion in songs with Japanese color; electronic percussion in technopop.

Interaction

The drums often play the kime with bass and guitars (common syncopated accents at the end of phrases), follow the A-melo/B-melo/sabi form and leave room for the dense melody.

By section

Full instrumental intro; A-melo: lighter drums (closed hat, rim); B-melo: crescendoing kick or half-time, build; sabi: everything full, ride/crash; instrumental interlude (solo); D-melo (bridge): stop or change; last sabi modulated with a fill.

Fills and sounds

Frequent, articulate tom and snare fills (much more than in Western pop), bright acoustic drums, drum machine in technopop. Mistakes: drums too minimal for a “band” J-pop (the genre loves fills); kime not aligned with the other instruments.

Bass

• Sound: very present, melodic electric bass (often slap in city pop and in J-rock like Official Hige Dandism), synth bass in technopop, 808 in recent urban J-pop.
• Notes: melodic lines with inversions, chromaticism, passing notes, octaves; the bass often “sings” a countermelody.
• Rhythm: eighth and sixteenth notes with ghost notes; kime with the drums.
• Relationship with the kick: rhythmic interlocking rather than sidechain.
• Examples: Tatsuro Yamashita (funk bass), Official Hige Dandism — Pretender (melodic bass), Perfume (synth bass).

Harmonic instruments

Piano (fundamental; chords with sevenths and arpeggios), electric guitars (clean arpeggios, chords with tensions, melodic solos, distorted in J-rock), strings (widely used: legato, ostinatos and countermelodies), winds (city pop and big band), synths (pads, plucks, arpeggios in technopop), organ and Rhodes. Dense voicings with sevenths and ninths, inversions.

Melody and vocals

• Melody: long, rich in notes (more syllables per bar than English-language pop), wide range (often two octaves), expressive leaps and held notes in the sabi; the highest part in the final sabi.
• Melodic form: A-melo (low-mid register, narrative), B-melo (rises, prepares), sabi (chorus, climax), sometimes C-melo/D-melo (bridge).
• Vocals: soloists with very different timbres (from Aimer's ethereal voice to LiSA's belting, to the “androgynous” voice of J-rock); idol groups in unison; backing vocals in thirds and sixths in the sabi.
• Effects: hall and plate reverb more generous than in Western pop, eighth-note delay, doubles, obvious pitch correction in idol pop; Vocaloid as a synthetic voice.

Instruments

Vocals and backing vocals, acoustic drums and drum machine, electric and synth bass, piano, guitars (clean, distorted, acoustic), strings, winds, synths (pads, plucks, arpeggios), percussion (Latin, taiko), traditional instruments (shamisen, koto, shakuhachi, sanshin) as color.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• DX7 V — FM e-piano, bell, FM bass: The sound of '80s–'90s J-pop and city pop: FM E.PIANO, bell and FM basses.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and brass: Synth pads and brass of '80s–'90s J-pop.
• Piano V — Piano: The basic instrument for J-pop ballads and arrangements.
• Prophet-5 V — Synth pop and technopop: Plucks and leads (YMO used the Prophet-5).
• Jun-6 V — Pads and arpeggios: Pads with chorus and arpeggios of technopop and city pop.
• Stage-73 V — Rhodes: Seventh chords of city pop.
• Augmented Strings — Strings: Dense, cinematic strings for theme songs and ballads.
• Mini V — Synth bass: Basses of technopop and dance songs.

Song structure

Typical form (A-melo / B-melo / sabi)

Length 4:00–5:00 (longer than Western pop); the TV size of anime themes is about 1:30 (Gurenge has a TV version of 1:29).

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Clear, bright vocal, dense but orderly arrangement (many instruments with precise roles), bright highs, well-defined melodic bass, wide space (more generous reverbs). References: Hikaru Utada — First Love, Kenshi Yonezu — Lemon, YOASOBI — Yoru ni Kakeru, Official Hige Dandism — Pretender, Perfume — Polyrhythm.

Kick

HP 30 Hz, +2 dB at 60 Hz, −3 dB at 350 Hz, +2 dB at 3–4 kHz; 4:1 compression, 3 dB; center.

Snare

HP 80 Hz, +2 dB at 200 Hz, +2 dB at 5 kHz; compression 3–4 dB; 1.2–1.5 s plate; center.

Hi-hat, cymbals, percussion

HP 300 Hz; hat 20–30% to the side; cymbals with −2 dB at 4 kHz if harsh; wide percussion.

Bass

HP 35 Hz, +2 dB at 80 Hz, −2 dB at 250 Hz, +2/+3 dB at 800 Hz–1.5 kHz (melodic and defined); 1176 compression 4–6 dB; mono.

Piano, guitars, strings, synths

• Piano: HP 60–100 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, natural stereo.
• Guitars: HP 100 Hz, doubles L/R, clean arpeggios with chorus and delay.
• Strings: HP 150 Hz, 2–2.5 s hall, wide, dynamic dip from the vocal.
• Synths: HP 150–200 Hz, positioned so as not to cover the piano.
• Automation: strings and synths that grow toward the sabi.

Vocals

EQ: HP 80–100 Hz; −2 dB at 250–350 Hz; presence +2/+3 dB at 3–5 kHz; air +2/+4 dB at 10–12 kHz (J-pop loves very bright vocals). Serial compression 1176 + LA-2A (6–10 dB); de-esser. Space: 1.5–2 s plate or hall with 30–60 ms pre-delay, eighth- or quarter-note delay. Precise riding (dense melodies).

Backing vocals

Thirds and sixths panned 30–60%, longer reverb; compressed idol unison vocals.

FX

Risers and reverses in theme songs; few in band pop.

Buses and groups

Drum bus 2:1, 2–3 dB; string bus 1 dB glue; vocal bus 1–2 dB.

Sidechain

Rare in band pop; in technopop and dance J-pop, classic sidechain from the kick.

Master

Chain: EQ → compressor 1–2 dB → limiter. Target −9/−7 LUFS (theme songs and J-rock −7/−6, ballads −11/−9), true peak ≤ −1 dBTP, PLR 8–11 dB.

Common mistakes

Vocal getting lost among strings and guitars (too many elements in the 1–4 kHz band); bass without definition; muddy reverbs; exaggerated highs that make the mix harsh.

Reference tracks for the mix

Hikaru Utada — First Love (1999); Perfume — Polyrhythm (2007); Kenshi Yonezu — Lemon (2018); Official Hige Dandism — Pretender (2019); YOASOBI — Yoru ni Kakeru (2019).

Reference listening

• Yumi Arai — Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara (1974)
• Yellow Magic Orchestra — Rydeen (1980)
• Seiko Matsuda — Akai Sweet Pea (1982)
• Mr. Children — Innocent World (1994)
• Namie Amuro — Can You Celebrate? (1997)
• Hikaru Utada — First Love (1999)
• Perfume — Polyrhythm (2007)
• Kyary Pamyu Pamyu — PonPonPon (2011)
• Kenshi Yonezu — Lemon (2018)
• Official Hige Dandism — Pretender (2019)
• YOASOBI — Yoru ni Kakeru (2019)
• YOASOBI — Idol (2023)