Music of ChinaWith the Dragon Dance

Chinese New Year: January 23, 2012 Chinese Year 4709 Year of the Dragon Next year: February 10 Year of the Snake

What year is it anyway?

Year of the Dragon: 2000, 2012 Year of the Rabbit: 1999, , 2011 Year of the Tiger: 1998, 2010 Year of the Ox: 1997, 2009 Year of the Rat: 1996, 2008 Year of the Pig: 1995, 2007 Year of the Dog: 1994, 2006 Year of the Rooster: 1993, 2005 Year of the Monkey: 1992, 2004 Year of the Sheep: 1991, 2003 Year of the Horse: 1990, 2002 Year of the Snake: 1989, 2001

What year were you born?

Rat: Charisma, Manipulative Ox: Dependable, Stubborn Tiger: Powerful, Reckless Rabbit: Kind, Superficial Dragon: Noble, Arrogant Snake: Wise, Loner Horse: Cheerful, Fickle Sheep: Sympathetic, Worrier Monkey: Smart, Selfish Rooster: Meticulous, Proud Dog: Honest, Lazy Pig: Patient, Naïve

Personality Traits

Chinese music dates back nearly 7000 years Ling Lun is the mythical creator of music Made pipes to sound like birds In 221-207 BC, the Imperial Music Bureau was

founded to dictate what music would be officially recognized

Oldest know music is the Youlan, or Solitary Orchid

Music was seen as important to the Chinese state and most emperors took music very seriously

Origins of Music

Youlan

Pentatonic Scale- 5 notes Heterophonic- Musicisans play variations of

the same musical line Melodic rather than harmonic Poetic and expresses feelings and emotions Silences are important and change the

meaning Solos or small ensembles of plucked and

bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and various cymbals, gongs, and drums

Musical Characteristics

Lutes◦ Pipa◦ Ruan (Chinese

Guitar)◦ Yueqin (Opera)

Zithers◦ Guqin◦ Zheng

Harps◦ Konghou

Plucked String Instruments

Guqin Master

Erhu (Chinese Violin)

Sihu (Opera) Zhong-Hu (Chinese

Viola) Yangquin (Chinese

Dulcimer)

Bowed Strings

Pipa and Erhu

Dizi (Bamboo Flute)

Guan (Oboe) Bawu Mabu

Woodwinds

Story of the Bawu

Muyu (Wood) Bianqing (Stone

tablets) Bianzhong (Bells) Bo (Cymbals) Luo (Gong) Dagu (Hide Drum) Bolang Gu (Small

Drum)

Percussion

Percussion Ensemble

Thin voiced Resonant Almost Falsetto-like Usually solo, not choral

Mo Li Hua is a popular song for voice

Vocal Music

Mo Li Hua: The Jasmine Flower

Other Asian Countries Most recently Western Countries

◦ 1601: Matteo Ricci is the first European with a musical instrument to reach China

◦ It was a harpsichord Western-style brass bands

Other Influences

Many Chinese refer to themselves as “Descendants of the Dragon”

Used in celebrations such as New Years Brings good luck as a symbol of power and

dignity Similar to the “Lion Dances” Dancers carry a Dragon on poles and mimic

the motions of the dragon The longer the Dragon, the more power and

good fortune

The Dragon Dance

A Dragon Dance

A Dragon Dance Song