Good Old Songs
Now I’m studying many things to become an elementary school teacher. One of them is to remember the lyrics and melody of many songs chosen to be taught in every elementary school by the Ministry of Education. Most of them are songs I learned in my elemetary school days too, and they are very familiar to Japanese people.
This afternoon, my mother and I visited my grandparents’ house. I brought a music book I’m studying now and a recorder I used in my childhood, just because I guessed my grandparents might know some of the songs in the book.
Once I began to play a song on the recorder, my grandmother kept singing to the recorder’s accompaniment. It turned out that she knows almost all of the songs, and remembers the lyrics far better than my mother and I, which surprised me very much. She said that those songs are the ones she learned in her elementary school before World War II broke out.
I found that those songs taught in elementary schools have not changed since my grandmother was in elementary school; that was about seventy years ago. I was surprised to learn that, but I feel it is great because those songs can be a good vehicle for different generations to communicate with each other. Actually my grandmother, my mother and I enjoyed singing and playing them very much. Thanks to them, we had a very good time!
Today technology is developing rapidly and society is continually changing and changing. But it is good for us to know old traditions and culture, so that we remember something important across generations. I’d like to pass those good old songs on to my children and grandchildren.
Comments
It is nice to sing songs with your family, Masami. I am afraid I cannot play the piano very well, so I cannot sing songs with my falily. By the way, you are happy to be able to practise playing for teaching exam with joy. I know your family are all nice people, so please keep practising.
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That’s enviable; I don’t think I ever shared anything like a common musical heritage with any of my grandparents.
Do you know how old these songs are, exactly, and where they come from? Here’s a good article on the subject: Music Education in Japan 1868 — 1944 (You may have to scroll down to the Taisho period before it gets interesting).