シンガーソングライター

シンガーソングライター is the English compound "singer-songwriter" naturalized into Japanese. It is the standard term in Japanese music writing for an artist who writes and performs their own songs.

Implied meaning

• The artist writes both lyrics (作詞(さくし)) and music (作曲(さっきょく))
• The artist also performs the songs themselves
• Often associated with acoustic, folk, J-pop, and adult-contemporary genres, but used across all genres including rock, hip-hop, and electronic

Forms

• Frequently abbreviated as SSW in Japanese music journalism (e.g., "若手(わかて)SSW" = "young singer-songwriters")

Common collocations

• 女性(じょせい)シンガーソングライター: female singer-songwriter
• 若手(わかて)シンガーソングライター: young/up-and-coming singer-songwriter
• ベテランシンガーソングライター: veteran singer-songwriter
• シンガーソングライターとして活躍(かつやく)する: to be active as a singer-songwriter
• シンガーソングライターを目指(めざ)す: to aim to become a singer-songwriter
• 弾(ひ)き語(がた)りのシンガーソングライター: a singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on guitar/piano

Similar / related terms

• 作詞(さくし)家(か): lyricist — someone who writes lyrics (often for other performers)
• 作曲(さっきょく)家(か): composer — someone who writes music
• 歌手(かしゅ): singer (general) — does not imply songwriting
• アーティスト: artist (loanword) — the broader, more flexible term covering all sorts of musicians and performers
• ミュージシャン: musician (loanword) — emphasizes instrumental skill; partly overlaps with アーティスト
• 弾(ひ)き語(がた)り: self-accompanied performance — describes the performance style often associated with singer-songwriters but is a separate concept

Usage

• A pop idol who sings songs written by professional songwriting teams is not typically called a シンガーソングライター — the term implies meaningful authorship of one's material.
• The katakana spelling is invariant; you will not see this written in kanji. Pronunciation reflects the English origin: しんがー・そんぐ・らいたー.