SHOMYO SONG

with Junko UEDA

All levels

Shômyô is liturgical Japanese song that is normally performed by Buddhist monks. It calls on one to master breathing and the control of vocal expression. Shômyô is characterised by its ample range, its slow breathing technique and its melodic melismatic motifs, where time is conceived as a cyclical sonorous space. Shômyô means ‘the voice of wisdom’.

Born in Tokyo, Junko Ueda studied the satsuma-biwa lute with the famous Kinshi Tsuruta and shômyô song with Kôshin Ebihara. She also studied piano and composition at the College of Music in Tokyo. Since 1988, she has given biwa and solo vocal concerts, as well as shômyô workshops.

The objective of her workshop is to stimulate the use of the natural voice in order to awaken one’s awareness of breath, to improve concentration and also to diminish stress. This is particularly useful for wind instrument players and singers, who will be able to develop their mastery of breathing and vocalisation.