Funayama Motoki's Times
What's Arrangement? And Funayama Motoki?

Date：31, Oct, 2020
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
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I suppose you are almost unfamiliar with Funayama Motoki. Who is he? He is a Japanese musical arranger born in 1951. He debuted as an arranger in 1970's when he belonged to Waseda University. And he has arranged countless popular songs from the time on. If you visit a Japanese CD shop, you are not so hard getting the song he arranged. Most of Japan's people have heard the songs he arranged, few know what he is actually. Knowing what Funayama Motoki is needs his memoir "Funayama Motoki's Times" released in 2019.

First, I'd like to ask. Do you know what arrangement is? I suppose most say no. Don't care if you answer no. We are mostly easy to imagine what writing lyrics is, and what composing is. However, arranging is almost covered by the mist. Every popular song needs each arrangement before it appears, but we don't know what arrangement is. In other words, musical arrangement is a mysterious job in a sense. This memoir talks about Funayama Motoki's life. And of course, he explains what arrangement is. This is also the precious step to know what arranging is. The memoir lets you walk beyond the mist.

As mentioned above, he debuted in 1970's. From the time on, he has arranged numberless pop songs. He is nearly close to age 70 today (2020). But we often hear the songs he arranged from televisions and radios. I suppose the memoir was published in honor of his exceptional achievement. It had to appear before his passing away.



"Cinderella Girl" the Debut Single of King & Prince（2018）
Funayama Motoki Arranged This Song.


"Lonely Tropical Fish" the 5th Single of Wink（1989）
Funayama Motoki Arranged This Song.


"Sand Tower" the 25th Single of the Yellow Monkey（2016）
Funayama Motoki Arranged This Song's Strings.