Every full moon, I acknowledge with a moon song. Tonight is no exception. The “Flower Moon” will arrive just before 10 PM EDT. By then, I will have recorded myself playing “Moon Over Ruined Castle” on the ukulele. The Japanese song “Kojo No Tsuki” 荒城の月 can be accompanied by three chords in a minor key.
Due to scheduling of PIANO FALL 2024, there will not be a separate workshop. Instead, this song will be briefly introduced in 3 Chord Thursday Hunter’s Moon session and studied in greater depth in the 6-week Ukulele Fall 2024 Course. Check out the Origami & Music YouTube Playlist.
Scorpions, the German hard rock band, performed this song as a power ballad in Tokyo. The lead singer begins without accompaniment and gets the audience to sing along. Then follows the lead guitarist’s solo. Because it’s a three chord song, you can easily play along to their live recording below in E minor.
The late new age pianist George Winston arranged and recorded this piece in his 2004 album “Montana: A Love Story” also in the key of Em.
The Japanese pianist and composer Rentaro Taki wrote the melody for a music lesson in 1901. The song was included in a songbook for junior high school students. His original version was in B minor. Download the one-page PDF in Japanese.
It may be easier to do this song in D minor with just one flat, as in Kosaku Yamada’s nostalgic slower version. Download the one-page PDF in Japanese.
You can hear Thelonious Monk’s version of “Japanese Folk Song” in the 2016 film “La La Land” below in the key of C minor.
Coincidentally there’s a ukulele duet for this song in C minor.
It’s also possible to transpose to an “easier” key for the ukulele. The key of A minor works well for low G ukulele. You can play along to this video game below.
Even better, play it in G minor as the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain did in Japan.
For a translation of the four verses, check out this webpage.