Hotaru no Hikari (Glowing Firefly)

Mar 25, 2016 19:11
March is the season of graduation in Japan.

In Japanese commencement ceremonies, we often sing "hotaru no hikari (glowing firefly)" as a farewell song.

The original song of "hotaru no hikari" is the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne," which is comparable to the Scottish national anthem.

Also, "Auld Lang Syne" has spread all over the world.

Actually, Japanese people sing in favor of songs that were derived from Scottish folk songs in addition to "Auld Lang Syne."

One of the reasons is thought that the musical scale of Scottish folk songs is the same as the Japanese traditional one (5 musical scale).
蛍の光

日本では3月が、卒業式のシーズンです。

日本の卒業式では、よく別れの歌として「蛍の光」が歌われます。

「蛍の光」の原曲は、スコットランドの民謡「Auld Lang Syne」であり、この民謡はスコットランドの国歌に匹敵します。

また、「Auld Lang Syne」は世界中に普及しています。

実は、「Auld Lang Syne」以外にも、日本人はスコットランド民謡を原曲とした歌を好んで歌います。

その理由として、スコットランド民謡の音階は日本の伝統的な音階(5音階)と同じであることが挙げられます。
No. 1 Nick (AussieFilo)
  • March is the season of graduation in Japan.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In Japanese commencement ceremonies, we often sing "hotaru no hikari (glowing firefly)" as a farewell song.
  • In Japanese graduation ceremonies, we often sing "hotaru no hikari (glowing firefly)" as a farewell song.
  • The original song of "hotaru no hikari" is the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne," which is comparable to the Scottish national anthem.
  • The tune of 'hotaru no hikari' is originally from the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne," which is comparable to the Scottish national anthem.
  • Also, "Auld Lang Syne" has spread all over the world.
  • Also, "Auld Lang Syne" is known all over the world.
  • Actually, Japanese people sing in favor of songs that were derived from Scottish folk songs in addition to "Auld Lang Syne."
  • Actually, Japanese people are fond of singing songs that were derived from Scottish folk songs in addition to "Auld Lang Syne."
  • One of the reasons is thought that the musical scale of Scottish folk songs is the same as the Japanese traditional one (5 musical scale).
  • One of the reasons could be that the musical scale of Scottish folk songs is the same as the Japanese traditional one (5 musical scale).
Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post! :)
No. 2 Aiumi
  • Hotaru no Hikari (Glowing Firefly)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • March is the season of graduation in Japan.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In Japanese commencement ceremonies, we often sing "hotaru no hikari (glowing firefly)" as a farewell song.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • The original song of "hotaru no hikari" is the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne," which is comparable to the Scottish national anthem.
  • The original version of "Hotaru no Hikari" is the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne," which is comparable to the Scottish national anthem.

    Use "original version" to describe the song's original form

  • Also, "Auld Lang Syne" has spread all over the world.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Actually, Japanese people sing in favor of songs that were derived from Scottish folk songs in addition to "Auld Lang Syne."
  • Actually, Japanese people generally sing in favor of songs that were derived from Scottish folk songs, not just "Auld Lang Syne."

    Use "generally" to say "usually" or "mostly".
    "not just" is a better way to include "auld lang syne" here

  • One of the reasons is thought that the musical scale of Scottish folk songs is the same as the Japanese traditional one (5 musical scale).
  • One of the possible reason for this is thought that the musical scale of Scottish folk songs is the same as the scale used in traditional Japanese songs (pentatonic scale).

    Just use "one possible reason".
    Put "traditional" in front as an adjective.
    "pentatonic" = 5 tone scale
    Musical scales are measured by "tones", or sounds. "penta" means 5

Toru
Thank you very much for the corrections and helpful explanations! :)
No. 3 Seralt
  • March is the season of graduation in Japan.
  • March is graduation season in Japan.

We actually associate Auld Lang Syne with New Years. It's usually sung at new year's eve parties, although wikipedia tells me that it's also sung at funerals and other major events that have departure/farewell as a theme.

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction and your comment!
I learned something new. Thank you for letting me know the interesting information :D
Seralt
But I was quite surprised when I heard 蛍の光 at the graduation ceremony at my school. ...I was similarly surprised when another song was being practiced in music class, because it was originally a hymn in English, and somehow became secularized in Japan.
Toru
Many foreign songs have been imported into Japan, but many of us seem to sing them during special seasons (especially Christmas) without knowing the original version. So I think that Japanese might be also surprised when they find the original version. Actually, I believed that another popular song "仰げば尊し (あおげばとうとし)" was Japanese original song, but it was actually derived from "Song for the Close of School." Now I'm worried that many familiar Japanese songs that I know might not be Japanese songs, haha.