Every Asian country has its own music which is part of their culture. This music

is handed down from generation to generation, and some improvements were made along the way. Melody,

rhythm and instruments used and even the style varies, but the peculiar

characteristics of each country’s music remain to help identify what is uniquely

Asian.

THE MUSIC OF CHINA

In ancient times, Chinese music was almost completely ritualistic. Music held an important place in the affairs of the state and was considered an essential part of the educational system.

Ceremonial music was present in religious rituals at the temples and in secular rituals at the imperial court.

China’s popular music has usually been associated with theater. It is loud, raucous and sometimes shrill. Opera music

belongs to this category. Because the appeal is to the general public, accent has been placed on simplicity. Melodic lines are limited to

two or three dozen tunes, with variations and embellishments added to suit the situation. Such simplicity with limited variations is the reason why a new opera may sound familiar, even when heard

for the first time.

The traditional Chinese opera, the Peking Opera, which is said to have started in 1790 on the 80th birthday of King

Chien Lung, consists of recitatives with percussive interjections and arias. One of the most popular is the

“Lady Precious Stream”.Folk music is also part of the Chinese heritage.

Workmen were said to have sung songs to cheer themselves up at the workplace. Farmers would sing to

celebrate the harvest or to accompany the movements of sowing. Such melodies are still heard; they are similar to

the folksongs of other nations, simple and rhythmic.

CHINESE MELODY

A traditional Chinese musician employed 84 scales as opposed to the 12 of the major and minor

modes in the Western music. Chinese music notation is also complicated. It is not surprising that the contemporary Chinese musicians have

turned to the notation of West.Chinese music is primarily melodic. It uses the

pentatonic scale. In about 600 BC, two semitones were added to the original five steps, so that today,

the Chinese scale resembles that of the West.

The music played in the Royal Court to entertain the emperor 2,000 years ago is called the YA-YUEH. This is kind of music was the music of the nobility. There were two (2) kinds of ya-yueh observed in

the Royal Court. 1. Yueh- Hsuan – (music chime) is a group of musical instruments, which were played in front of the garden accompanied by two dances, the wen-wu (civil dance) and thw wuwu (military

dance) 2. Tangko (chamber song)-is played or performed inside the hall that was used to pay

tribute to the emperor and his ancestors.

CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The original Chinese orchestra had instruments made of eight materials

found in nature: skin, stone, reed, metal, clay, wood, bamboo, and ground.

Today’s instruments are divided into categories of sound: string, wind and

percussion.

CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WERE GROUPED INTO :1. AEROPHONES- WIND INSTRUMENTSa. Hsiao- an end –blown flute made from a smooth bamboob. Ti – a traverse bamboo flute tipped with ivory or bone at the endc. Sheng – a mouth organ with 17 pipes

2. CHORDOPHONES- STRINGED INSTRUMENTSa. Ch’in – a 7 stringed zitherb. Pi’pa – a 4 stringed loquat-shaped-lute c. Yueh- ch’in – a 4 stringedmoon-shaped lute used to accompany songs used in Peking operas

pipa

hsiao

sheng

ti

cheng

d. Cheng – a long zither with 13-23 stringse. Erh –hu – a 2 stringed fiddle played with bowstringf. San-hsien – a 3 stringed banjo

3. IDIOPHONES –PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTSa. Yun-lo – the small gongs are struck with small beaterb. Bangu- played by striking the drum’s central area with a pair of bamboo sticks

Sheng- looks like a teapot with a bundle of asymmetrical tubes protruding from one end. The

tube resembles the tail of a phoenix. Each tube contains a small reed so that the rich tone of sheng

music resembles that of s small reed organ.Yuo-it is a tiger like animal resting on a

sounding box. The performer strikes the tiger three times on the head and then rapidly passes a stick three times along 27 saw like projections on the

tiger’s back. The yuo is struck to indicate the end of a strophe, a section of an ancient Greek choral ode, in

Confucian rituals.

THE MUSIC OF KOREA

The music of Korea has an exuberant display of vibrato and glissando which has a relation to the tonal framework. These are essential to the tones. That

is why western musical instruments cannot produce sounds which have Korean music characteristics.

Many say that Korean music is pentatonic. This characteristic is not exactly true. It may be because its principal tones do not exceed five but most folk

music and some court music, the chong-ak, are based on three tone scale and may or may not have one or two solo diary notes. At times, a tone which has

vibrato or glissando is counted as two tones; in Korea, it is only considered one tone.

Commonly used in Korean music are the simple and the compound triple meter. Chong-ak has 10 and 16, but because if it’s slow tempo, the focus is on

triple meter too.Music, which has meter, and those which have slow tempo, are

accompanied by the changgo (hour glass drum) or puk (barrel drum). Both may play at the same time; each one, though, has a regular rhythm performed in each section. In chong-ak, rhythmic patterns are repeated throughout without much

change. Folk songs have free flow of rhythm.

CHONG-AKThe music performed in ceremonies in the palaces and for

welcoming dignitaries is known as chong-ak or court music. The most popular example is the sujechon. The music was derived from

a song in the Pikji dynasty (first to seventh century).A well -known vocal form is the sijo, a short lyric song. The

sijo is the most simple of the three vocal forms of chong-ak.It has three lines in each stanza.

It has a slow tempo.The melody is melismatic or the range of voice is from lowest to

falsetto.It is accompanied by the changgo.

The other vocal forms are kasa, a long narrative song; and the

kagok, a lyric song.

CHONG-AKThere are two types of chong-ak:

1. A-ak – is a type of music used inside the palace and

2. Min’ggan Chong-ak – type of music used outside the palace.

SOG-AK

The folk songs of the common people are known as sog-ak, which tells of their daily

experiences. These are the songs of the fishermen, and of farmers who live in the towns and barrios. The nong-ak, song of

the farmers; p’ansori, theater music; minyo, folk music; sanjo, song for solo

instrument, belong to the folk.

Korean Musical Instruments were grouped into:1. AEROPHONES – WIND INSTRUMENTS

a. p’iri – a cylindrical bamboo similar to an oboe blown through a double reed mouthpiece

b. tanso – a small notched vertical bamboo flute with five fingerholes that is played by blowing air

through the airholec. chottdate a long flute made of bamboo with six

holes2. CHORDOPHONES – STRINGED INSTRUMENTS

a. Kayagum-similar to the chi’in of China and koto of Japan. It has 12 strings stretched along

a wooden board with movable bridge.

chottdae

haegum

kumunggo

changgo

b. Kumunggo – a six stringed zither that plays as the principal instrument for a small group of

players. It is played by picking the string with a thin straight piece of bamboo.

C. Haegum – two stringed fiddle made of bamboo that is plucked. It is used for dance performances.

3. IDIOPHONES – PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTSa. Kkwaenggawari-a small gong. Sound is

produced by striking a wooden mallet.b.pak – a clapper shaped like a folded fan. It

consists of 6 pieces of wood loosely held together at the upper end by a chord made from deer skin.

c. Ching – a huge gong played with a paddled mallet. This is used in military and Shaman music.

MEMBRANOPHONEa. changgo – an hour glass-shaped drum played by striking either of both ends. The thick leather head produces a low sound while the thin leather gives a

brighter tone sound.

THE MUSIC OF JAPAN

In countries with long national histories, great strides in musical development are usually found. This fact is particularly true of Japan. In Japan, old types of music, even those of the primitive age, have been preserved for

modern times to love and revere. Most of this ancient music bears evidence of fusion with music existing today.

Japanese music today shows the readiness of the Japanese to absorb the culture of other nations.

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MUSICThere are two ancient foundations of Japanese

music; Japanese art music and folk music and folk music. Both were originally Chinese-inspired.

JAPANESE ART MUSICGAGAKU is the oldest music and dance in existence in

Japan. Literally, it means “elegant music”. Introduced in the imperial court about 1,200 years ago, gagaku has since been preserved at the court and shrines and temples.

Gagaku repertory today consists of the following three categories;

1. Instrumental ensemble ( kangen)2. Dance music ( bugaku)

3. Ritual music for Shinto ceremonies

NOHGAKU

Noh, along with bugaku or ancient dances with music accompaniment; kyogen, a form of comedy; ningyo-

jojuri, a form of bunraku or a puppet show; and kabuki, traditional Japanese theater, represent the traditional

Japanese drama. The music performed in the noh is known as the nuhgaku and the dance is called the shimai.

Nohgaku has two elements: vocal and instrumental. The vocal part is known as the utai performed by an actor and

eight male singers. The instrumental part known as the hayashi is perfomed by nohkan, a bamboo flute, three drums, ko-tzuzumi or tsuzumi and taiko. The flute plays

the melody.

FOLK SONGS

Ko-uta (literally “small song”) is the name given to modern short songs, including folk songs. Before,

such songs were purely vocal without any instrumental accompaniment though they were

often performed with gestures.MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF JAPAN

Japanese music is considerably influenced by Chinese tradition. Most Japanese instruments are

believed to have originated from China. Today, as in the past, Japanese instruments are played in operas,

theatrical dances and court rituals..

MUSICAL INTRUMENTS OF JAPAN 1. AEROPHONES

a. sho – a mouth organ that is made from bamboo or wood

b. shakuhachi – a bamboo flute with four holesc. fu’ye - a sophisticated side-blown flute with seven finger

holesd. hichiriki – an instrument similar to oboe

2. CHORDOPHONESa. koto -a famous Japanese zither with 13 silk strings, and

is laid horizontally on the floorb. shamisen – a flat-backed lute that has skin-covered

bellies and three strings

sho

shamisen

koto

Tsuri taiko/ daiko

shoko

biwa

kakko

c. gekkin – a flat-backed lute that has a very shallow body, wood belly, frets and silk strings attached to elegant pegsd. biwa – a Japanese version of the pi’pa that has 4 strings

with frets on the belly and slim lateral tuning pegs3. MEMBRANOPHONES

a. kakko – a gagaku instrument that is made up of deer skin

b. tsuri daiko – a suspended drum used in the gagaku ensemble that has a lacquered body and tacked head

c. da-daiko – a huge gagaku drum suspended on an artistic frame and is struck with heavy lacquered beaters

4. IDIOPHONESa. shoko – hanging gong

LEARNING ACTIVTIY # 1

MY TV ( Group Activity)Record a musical collage of music used in Chinese and

Korean telenovelas and Japanese anime shown on television. Present them to the class and identify how

each type of music differs from the other in terms of the musical elements.

LEARNING ACTIVITY # 2

PERFORMANCE TASK (CULMINATING ACTIVITY) (Group Activity)

“ THE SILK AND BAMBOO: MUSIC OF EAST ASIA”Present a group performance of songs and improvised accompaniment/sound

pieces from each East Asian country.

MTV Video recording ( MTV)

Members of the group will assign singers, accompanists and dancers.

Song adaptationChoose any song from China, Japan or Korea and make a translation either in

English or Tagalog. Live presentation

Group I- Japanese MusicGroup II-Korean Music

Group III- Chinese Music

Criteria for Evaluation (May vary according to students agreement)

Mastery of Performance- 20%Creativity and Choreography- 20%Musicality and Style- 20%Impact of the Presentation- 10%Costume and Props- 10%

Effective Use of musical Instruments - 20%

TOTAL 100%

Each member of the group must be given a task and work as a group!

Your presentations must be on performance level!

Good Luck!!!