8

MUSIC
Quarter 4 – Module 4a
Traditional Asian Theater Music

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 Music – Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 4a: Traditional Asian Theater Music
Second Edition, 2022

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NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 Introductory Message

This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear learners,

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NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 Have you experienced watching a stage play or a theater play? How was
it? Did you enjoy watching it? What exciting elements do you think are there
that you can’t find in a movie or TV series? In this module, you are about to
discover the traditional Asian Theater art. You will have a unique experience
on how this traditional theater music is performed.
Theater arts is one of the ancient traditions of the people in Asia particularly
in Japan, Indonesia, and China. This theater art form was transmitted from
generation to generation. It mirrors or reflects life. Its key principle of theater is
selectivity. Through the various forms of theater art, a specific form can achieve
clarity, order, and beauty rarely found in ordinary life.

What I Know

Direction: Identify whether the following characteristics describe a Kabuki or

Peking Opera.

_____________1. Combination of song, dance, and skill.

_____________2. Founded in 1603 by Okuni.
_____________3. Also called Beijing Opera.
_____________4. Combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and
acrobatics.
_____________5. Dances and movements are accompanied by shamisen
music.
_____________6. Arose in the late 18 th century.
_____________7. Stress meaning rather than precise actions.
_____________8. Melodies are rhythmic and graceful.
_____________9. It has a vocal pattern or technique called Ipponchōshi or
the continuous pattern.
_____________10. The first category is aria.

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 What’s In

Identification. As a review of our previous lessons, identify the following instruments

according to the Hornbostel-Sachs Classification of Instruments.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

What’s New

Say something about the pictures below. Write your comments in your MAPEH
notebook.

(Anido,et.al., 2013)

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 (Pat Therg, 2016)

What is It

JAPANESE THEATER (KABUKI)

The traditional form of

popular theater began at the end
of the 16th century and soon
became the most successful
theater entertainment in the red-
light districts of the great cities.

Kabuki is a Japanese
traditional theatre art that is
performed in a stylized manner
which combines acting, singing,
and dancing. This rich blend of
music, mime, dance, costume, (Anido,et.al., 2013)
and props has been in existence
for almost four centuries. The term Kabuki in modern Japanese means: ka, “song”;
bu, “dance”; and ki, “skill.” It is a highly play that actors show their wide range of skills
in visual and vocal performance. Kabuki was founded in 1603 by Okuni, a Shinto
priestess. She and her troupe of mostly women performed dances and comic
sketches on a temporary stage set up in the dry riverbed of the Komagawa River in
Kyoto. Her troupe gained national recognition and their plays evolved into kabuki that
would later become one of the three major classical theater of Japan.

There are Japanese musical instruments that accompany the Kabuki. These
instruments were already discussed in the 2nd quarter. Some of the instruments are:
shamisen, tsuzumi, and odaiko.

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 Shamisen- The most common of kabuki instruments. It is a
plucked stringed instrument.

(Anido,et.al., 2013)

Tsuzumi- An hourglass-shaped drum.

(Anido,et.al., 2013)

Odaiko- A big drum.

(Anido,et.al., 2013)

Vocal Pattern and Techniques:

1) Ipponchōshi or the continuous pattern – used in speeches building up to an

explosive climax in the aragoto (oversize, supernatural, rough hero) style; it
requires an extraordinary breath control that only few experts succeed in
achieving.
2) Nori technique – adapted from the chanting of jōruri, implies a very sensitive
capacity of riding the rhythms of the shamisen (string instrument), declaiming
each accompaniment.
3) Yakuharai technique - the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the
Japanese metrical form of alternating seven and five syllables.

Vocal and Instrumental Features

Dances and movements are accompanied by shamisen music which collected

and popularized a number of aspects from all previous forms of Japanese music, from
gagaku (classic court music imported from China during the 18th century), kagura
(performed in Shinto shrines), nō (chant derives from shōmyō, the sophisticated and
rich tradition of Buddhist chanting), down to the folk songs and fashionable songs of
the day. The most popular shamisen music was called nagauta (long song) which
reached a golden age in the first half of the 19th century as dance music for the henge
mono or quick change pieces. Nagauta music is very flexible, can be performed by
one shamisen or by an entire orchestra of twenty musicians, of which ten are

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
shamisen players, while other play flutes (fue taken from the nō) and drums (small
drum-kotsuzumi; waist drum-ōtsuzumi; stick drum-taiko).

If you have a smartphone, check out the link below to hear an example of a
Kabuki Performance from Japan.

• Track 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9QHX0LTL0w

CHINESE THEATER (PEKING OPERA)

Peking opera is a form of

traditional Chinese theater which
combines music, vocal performance,
mime, dance, and acrobatics. It arose in
the late 18th century and became fully
developed and recognized by the mid-
19th century. The form was extremely
popular in the Qing Dynasty court and
has come to be regarded as one of the
cultural treasures of China.
(Pat Therg, 2016)

Peking opera, also known as the Beijing opera, still follows traditional Chinese
arts in stressing meaning, rather than precise actions. The opera artists’ goal is to
make every performance exceptionally beautiful in every movement they will make.

Performances are accompanied by music - usually played on three types of

instruments: wind instruments (aerophone), string instruments (chordophone), and
percussion instruments (membranophone or idiophone).

The main instruments are Chinese in origin:

1) Jinghu - a two-stringed instrument played with a bow
2) Yueqin - a four-stringed instrument that is plucked
3) Sanxian - a three-stringed instrument that is also plucked
4) Variety of gongs and cymbals – creates rhythmic and graceful melodies

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
Vocal and Instrumental Features

The main instruments are Chinese in origin: the jinghu, a two-stringed

instrument played with a bow, the yueqin, a four-stringed instrument that is plucked,
a sanxian, a three-stringed instrument which is also plucked, the suona horn, Chinese
flutes, and a variety of gongs and cymbals. The melodies are rhythmic and graceful.

The melodies played by the accompaniment mainly fall into three broad
categories. The first is the aria. The arias of Beijing opera can be further divided into
those of the Erhuang and Xipi varieties. An example of an aria is wawadiao, an aria
in the Xipi style that is sung by a young Sheng to indicate heightened emotion. The
second type of melody heard in Beijing opera is the fixed-tune melody, or qupai.
These are instrumental tunes that serve a wider range of purposes than arias.
Examples include the "Water Dragon Tune" (shui long yin), which generally denotes
the arrival of an important person, and "Triple Thrust" (ji san qiang), which may signal
a feast or banquet. The final type of musical accompaniment is the percussion pattern.
Such patterns provide context to the music in ways similar to the fixed-tune melodies.

For example, there are as many as 48 different percussion patterns that

accompany stage entrances. Each one identifies the entering character by his or her
individual rank and personality.

If you have a smartphone, check out the link below to hear an example of
Peking Opera Performance of China.

• Track 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73_9UvNX920

What’s More

1. In your own words, describe how a specific idea or story is communicated

through music in a Kabuki and Peking Opera.

a. Kabuki
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________.

b. Peking Opera
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________.

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 What I Have Learned

Congratulations on completing this module. Before we proceed, what are your

thoughts about this lesson? Share your insights by completing the following sentence
prompts. Do this neatly and creatively in your MAPEH notebook.

I have learned that ________________ ________________ ______.

I have realized that ________________ _________________ _____.

I will apply _____________ _________________ _______________.

What I Can Do

Direction: On a short bondpaper, draw at least two accompanying instruments of

Kabuki and two accompanying instruments of Peking Opera.

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
 Assessment

Direction: Multiple Choice. Read and answer each question. Write the letter of the
correct answers in your MAPEH notebook.

1. This is also called Beijing Opera.

A. Kabuki B. Noh C. Peking D. Wayang Kulit
2. What do you call the Japanese traditional theatre art that is performed in a
stylized manner which combines acting, singing, and dancing?
A. Kabuki B. Noh C. Peking D. Wayang Kulit
3. In kabuki, “ka” means _________.
A. dance B. skill C. song D. speak
4. In kabuki, “ki” means ________.
A. dance B. skill C. song D. speak
5. Kabuki was founded in ______ by Okuni, a Shinto priestess.
A. 1603 B. 1703 C. 1803 D. 1903
6. A four-plucked stringed instrument that is used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
7. A three- plucked stringed instrument used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
8. A two-bowed stringed instrument that is used to accompany Peking Opera.
A. Jinghu B. Odaiko C. Sanxian D. Yueqin
9. An hourglass-shaped drum used to accompany Kabuki.
A. Odaiko B. Shamisen C. Taiko D. Tsuzumi
10. What do you call the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the Japanese
metrical form of alternating seven and five syllables?
A. Ipponchōshi B. Ka C. Nori D. Yakuharai

NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
NegOr_Q4_MAPEH8_Module4a_v2
9
What I know
1. Kabuki 6. Peking Opera
2. Kabuki 7. Peking Opera
3. Peking Opera 8. Peking Opera
4. Peking Opera 9. Kabuki
5. Kabuki 10. Peking Opera
What’s In
1. Chordophone
2. Chordophone
3. Membranophone
4. Membranophone
5. Chordophone
What’s New
1. Answers may vary
What’s More
1. Answers may vary
What I Can Do: Students’ Performance
Assessment
1. C 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. A
6. D 7. C 8. A 9. D 10. D
Answer Key
For me, music of an Asian musical theater is ________________________________.
Share your insight by completing the phrase. Do this in your Music notebook.
Additional Activities
References

Anido, Belinda R. et.Al., Music and Arts of Asia 8 Learner’s Material, FEP Printing
Corporation, Philippines, 2013, retrieved, January 10, 2022.
Pat Therg, Thorsten J., “House of Mei a Legacy of Peking Opera”, 2016,
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2016-04/29/content_24949692.htm,
retrieved January 10,2022.

Video Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9QHX0LTL0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73_9UvNX920

10

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Schools Division of Negros Oriental

Kagawasan, Avenue, Daro, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

Tel #: (035) 225 2376 / 541 1117

Email Address: negros.oriental@deped.gov.ph
Website: lrmds.depednodis.net