Music education a comparison between East (Japan) and West

Abstract

We are tied by the common language ‘music’, therefore we can communicate with each other beyond the bounds of nationality where culture and language differ. We can feel a strong sense of solidarity and delight through music. However, it is also true that the style and idiom of music are different for different cultures and sometimes they are difficult to understand. For us music teachers, it is important to understand not only the features of music, but also the values or the outlook on education peculiar to a culture in order to understand the different musical styles. This paper discusses the above situation through the viewpoint of a comparison between Asia and the West from the situation of Japanese music education.