THE MUSIC OF CHINA

How is Chinese music related to its geography and culture?

Chinese music is based on the doctrines or beliefs of some
of the Chinese philosophers. That's why Chinese music is
influenced by the philosophy, both social and political order,
where "Chinese music and philosophy advocated a stable social
hierarchy reflecting natural balances and maintained by individual
virtue and restraint" (according to the Confucian Philosophy).

Elements of Chinese Music

1. Pitch/tonal System- Most Chinese music is in pentatonic
scale, which is derived from the Ling Lun Chinese legend. It is believed that the
five-tone scale system among the Chinese is connected to their patterns in life
like their outlook in cycles of dynasties, seasons, the five planets, and five bases
of elements.
The use of pentatonic scale is based on some symbolic attributes like:
 Kung - it is the primary tone which is associated with the Emperor
 Shang - it is the tone associated with the Minister
 Chih-the tone associated with the State
 Chaio - it is the tone associated with the People
 Yu - the tone with significant Chinese objects
According to Chinese legends, in 2697 B.C., Emperor Huang-ti sent Ling Lun to
the western mountains to cut bamboo pipes from which the basic pitches of Chinese
music were obtained. It is now called as the Lu System in honor of Ling Lun.

2. Timbre(Vocal) – In Han Chinese culture, the style of singing is usually thin and
nasal, High pitched or shrill vocal quality conveys life's adversity in the northern
part of China. In contrast of the southern part of China, life's experiences is
much lighter, so the music in South is lyrical and gentle.
3. Meter/Rhythm – Chinese music is mostly in duple rhythm or two quarter which
transmits the principle of natural "duality" like female-male or yin-yang
relationship.
It may also convey the "Zhongyong" a Confucian concept:
 A doctrine of the mean the goal is to maintain balance and harmony from
directing the mind to a state of constant equilibrium and stick to it (James
Legge's translation).
4. Texture – It is generally thought that Chinese music is in homophonic texture
because it is mainly the
distinguishing characteristic of early
Chinese ritual music like the “Ya The universe is ruled by a principle
Yiieh”, which is a classical music; known as the "Tao" which is divided
but in the instrumental music of into two opposing theories called as the
"Yin and Yang." Yin shows the
China, most commonly the
femaleness principle and also the cold,
musicians make use of dark, submission and completion; while
embellishment on the melody where the Yang describes the maleness
they play variations in melody in principle and also the heat, light,
unison with the vocal music and dominance, and heaven.
instrumental accompaniment
immediately followed by the pattern
of singing. Thus, it gives the rise of heterophonic texture in most of Chinese
folk music of the Han people.
 Distinguishing characteristics of Vocal and Instrumental Music of China
Chinese instrumental music is heterophonic in nature and it is played with more
than one instrument. Like the two Chinese passages, the qin and the zither play two or
more pitches together. Suites and variations are the most well-known instrumental
forms of Chinese music. The major characteristic of Chinese instrumental variations is
called motive that appears at the beginning and at the end of each movement, like the
"Hetou" which is the refrain head and the "Hewe" which is the refrain tail.
Chinese vocal music is mostly described as high pitched, thin, non-resonant,
nasal, or in falsetto and usually performed in solo or monophonic in texture rather than
in choral. Chinese vocal music originally came from sung poems and verses with music,
Vocal music is intricate because a great prominence is being given to the correct tonal
inflection and articulation in every musical tone, though Chinese words are
monosyllabic.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Types of Chinese vocal music
1. Religious Music - it is classified into two: the
Buddhist Music and Taoist Music which are the
religious chants or ritual music (temple music)
played for some ceremonies like salvation and
memorial rituals.
a. Buddhist Music - is also known as Sanskrit
Music. In Buddhist music, vocal intoning is
usually referred to as "chanting music,
covering verses, hymns, and liturgies."
b. Taoist Music - the music is influenced by
regional folk music and it is used in
ceremonial rituals like in Buddhist music. Yunzi is a vocal tune where
melodies improve throughout the ritual ceremonies.
2. The Art Song - Xiaoling is a vocal music of the 12th-13th century based on the
poetry of Qu which is one type of art song where a soloist sometimes performs
with a wooden clapper as an accompaniment.
3. Narrative Music - Zhugongdiao is one of the significant types of narrative
songs. The song is a story about a romantic legend accompanied by an
instrumentation like in the drum songs.
4. Chinese Folk Music - describes the lives of most Han Chinese people. Shange
is a mountain song created in strophic form and it uses fewer refrains, composed
of two or four phrases with the same length and each phrase has another
musical thought.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instrumental Music of China
Traditionally, Chinese instrumental music is heterophonic; it is played with more
than one instrument or an instrument together with a voice. The most well-known
forms of instrumental Chinese music are suites and variations.
Traditional Chinese Instruments
Chinese instruments can be played in solo, large orchestras in court, and in
smaller ensembles like in teahouses or some public occasions. There is no conductor in
ancient Chinese music or in any tablature performances because music was taught
aurally and memorized only by the musicians alone.

Examples of Instrumental pieces in Chinese music

In the past, solos and small ensembles were more characteristic of traditional
Chinese music making, the large Chinese orchestra with a baton-waving conductor is a
product of the twentieth century.
1. Solo Instrumental Piece – the qin is a six-
footed string zither instrument same with the
Japanese musical instrument called koto. This
instrumental piece is used during the ancient
time for meditation, purifying, and regulating
oneself through discipline and in controlled
emotions. It is usually played in a motivating
place or environment like a garden while burning an incense.
This solo instrumental piece has a theme and variation with a four-part
structure composed of six stanzas with a coda.
a. Stanza No. 1: The Sanqui – it introduces two of the three basic themes of the
two basic tonal centers. This stanza is in a slow and free rhythm.
b. Stanza No. 2-5: Rudiao (Aentering) – this phase introduces the meter and
the main motives which differs in tonal development or reduction of themes.
c. Stanza No. 6: Restatement (Ruman - becoming slower) - these themes
are interpreted again in a different rhythmic arrangement.

*Coda (Weishing-tail sounds) - Themes 1 and 2 come in an immediate end

followed by another material through a slow staggered rhythm ended by
harmonics.
2. Instrumental Ensemble - Instrumental ensemble can be performed on the
following:
a. Guchi - this instrumental ensemble is usually held in urban areas during
holidays where a gong and drum ensemble commonly perform. This
 ensemble is composed of either one or more riveted-head barrel drums,
gongs, and small cymbals.
b. Sizhu it is referred to as the silk-and-bamboo ensemble where the
instruments play traditional tunes where the texture is heterophonic. This
ensemble is usually performed in teahouses and in some people's houses.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The modern Chinese instruments are categorized based on the structure and the
sounds created. The four sections of Chinese classic orchestra are: the bowed strings,
the plucked strings, the winds, and the percussion instruments.

 Chordophone Instruments
It is also named as “Hu-qin”, “hu” meaning foreign or northern folk in
China and “qin” meaning a common term for all the string instruments which is a
big family in Chinese instruments.

Erhu - is a two-stringed fiddle instrument which is one of the most well-

known in the Hu-gin family. It is sometimes called as the “Chinese
violin.”

Banhu-it is also known as the following: bonghu, pang-hu,

qin-hu, etc. It is the leading musical accompaniment in
Bang-zi ballads specifically for local operas in Central China
and is usually used in solo performances that express a passionate and
joyful feeling.

Pipa - this instrument is created for plucking. It has a

short neck and made of a wooden belly.

Ruan - it is also known as the Chinese guitar and moon guitar and it
varies in shape.

Yueqin - it came from ruan but it has a thinner sound with a short neck
and flat sound box.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Zither Family
Guqin - is a seven-stringed instrument which has a long and slender
body made from a pine tree.

Zheng - is one of the earliest Chinese musical instruments

made from bamboo. This instrument has a curved and
elongated surface with 21 stretched strings.
Kongho - The instrument is similar to the harp and aside from the
right hand technique, it can also be played by the left hand in vibrato.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Membranophone Instruments

Pengling - Percussion instrument consisting of two bells made of

bronze. It adds beauty to rhythmic instruments in music ensembles
and theater.

Muyu - is made from mulberry wood and is used by

striking it to produce sounds. It is used as the musical
accompaniment in Buddhist chants.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Idiophone Instruments
Dizi - is considered a traditional Chinese flute which can be played
through double or triple tonguing, fluttered, and tonguing and
fluttered.
Xiao - it is also known as a wind instrument which is considered as
a long flute. It is played in Chinese classical music for solo music.

Sheng - one of the oldest Chinese instruments and is also called as the
Chinese mouth organ. It consists of 13-17 bamboo pipes in various
lengths that are placed together.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese Folksong

 Ai Hai Yo
*For sample videos just type this link in your browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-EJ_I5eaus
 Mo Li Hua
*For sample videos just type this link in your browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S41_Veb3LA

Chinese Folk songs Mo Li Hua

"Mo Li Huo" is a Chinese folk song which means a jasmine flower. The folk song
describes the purity and fragrance of the jasmine flower.
The folk song is sung in a nasal voice, and the way the Chinese sings it is in
moderate tempo and range.
The texture is homophonic and the folk song uses syllabic phrasing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Functions and cultural characteristics of Chinese musical compositions

Chinese compositions were mainly part of their religious rites and ceremonies,
like salvations and memorial rituals held in courts, temples, and monasteries. Based on
Confucian philosophy, they believed that "music can be used as a means to political and
spiritual enlightenment" (Confucius).
 Ya-yiieh – It is the music played in court of China.
 Yiieh-hsuan – Music played in the garden facing the hall together these two
dances
 Tangko – Performed inside the hall
- A chamber song in honor to the king and his ancestors.
 Wen-wu – A civil dance
 Wu-wu – a military dance

The Music Of Japan

What are the musical elements used in Japanese music?

 Japanese music is usually sung in a high, tight throated voice and melismatic in
manner.
 Yo-sen and In-sen are the two basic types of scale in Japanese music and
both are pentatonicin nature.
 The texture of Japanese music is monophonic and it is usually written in duple
6meter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tempo
The music of Japan usually begins with a slower pace and gets faster and gets
slower again before moving into a long transition and ends with a drawn-out ending.

Pitch/Tonal System
Japanese music was influenced by the Royal Court of China which is based on
pentatonic scale. Indonesia and India have the greatest contributions to its
development
Japanese music is usually sung in a high, tight, throated voice and melismatic in
manner.

 Yo-sen – Hard Mode

 In-sen – Soft Mode
Yo-sen and In-sen are the two basic types of scales of Japanese music. Both
are pentatonic in nature used in playing the koto and shamisen. The male scale is
known as Yo-sen and the female scale is called In-sen.

Texture and Rhythm

Naturally, Japanese music is monophonic, has free rhythms where they are ma-
based with silence as the most significant element of Japanese songs. Japanese music
is written in duple meter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Vocal and Instrumental Music

Types of traditional Japanese music

There are three types of traditional Japanese music:
 court music,
 instrumental music,
 and theatrical music.
The term Gagaku, which means "elegant and refined
music", has two styles: the instrumental music known
as Kigaku and the vocal music known as Seigaku.
Gagaku is considered as the oldest surviving court
music in some shrines and temples.

Gagaku repertoire today is classified into four categories:

a. Instrumental ensemble (Kangen)
b. Dance music (Bugaku)
c. Songs
d. Ritual music for Shinto ceremonies
Examples of Solo Instrumental pieces
a. Sokyoku – is an instrumental solo piece which is usually played with the koto.
b. Rokudan-no-shirabe – considered as the oldest kind of koto piece but became
popular in shamisen with three style variations. It has the same number of
measures in six sections.
*For sample videos just type this link in your browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xP8HmrCq6k

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Different classifications of Japanese Musical Instruments
 Chordophones

Koto – a string Zither, played using the thumb and first two fingers of the right
hand