Marty Friedman's Opinion Regarding The Strong Music So Accepted In Japan

Marty Friedman (Instagram @martyfriedman)

Moving and living a musical career in Japan for two decades, Marty Friedman, a former Megadeth guitarist, feels that loud music is so accepted in Japan rather than in the United States.

In an analysis delivered while speaking at Japan's Foreign Correspondent Club in Tokyo recently, Friedman felt there was a very close connection between loud music such as hard rock and traditional Japanese music.

"I will stick to my opinion that hard rock music is guitar-based or guitar-oriented. The reason why Japanese people like it, is because in traditional Japanese music, the sound of the instrument is played aggressively is picked up, the shamisen with the big pick, "said Friedman.

Bachi, the distorted guitar played aggressively, said Friedman, is something Japanese grandparents and great are used to listening to.

They are used to it. So, if you listen to old people's music or traditional music, look, there is guitar solo that is distorted in this music," said the 61-year-old guitarist.

"Distorted sounds from the shamisen, there's a kind of switch at the top of the guitar peg, which if you turn it on, will produce a very shaking and distorted sound. So, Japanese people are used to this. For them, it's not at all the sound of an uprising," he added.

Friedman said the musical experience experienced in Japan was not found in the United States.

'Rock and heavy metal are ways to get people angry. In Japan, I don't think it makes anyone angry. So it's a different kind of approach to the same thing. And I think it's interesting," he said.

"And that's my answer to that. Now, there may be another better explanation, but (this explanation) is based on my musical experience in Japan," he said.