Week 21

Summary of Assignments

Music of China

Assignments

One more essay – second essay marks

back today

Listening Test – actual date to be

timetabled

Chinese Music

Oldest written forms of music – more than two thousand years old

Oldest articulated theories of music

Understanding of acoustics well before Pythagoras

Understanding of pitch

Music part of the state structure

Classification of Instruments

Play example of classical music.

WHAT MAKES IT CHINESE?

What are the basic characteristics?

Essay Question

The traditional music of China has evolved

over a great expanse of time, yet has

adapted to very changed circumstances.

Outline the main characteristics of

Chinese music and instruments.

Answer

1. Pentatonic tunes.

2. Lack of harmony in a western sense-

homophony.

3. Texture of the individual instruments –

their particular sound and contrasting

timbres.

Virtuosity and long acceptance of a

studied performance tradition.

Chinese Periods

Formative period – C3 B.C. to C4 AD. Earliest artifacts – ocarinas, theoretical writings .

1 Origin myths

2. Theoretical writings

3. Instruments of court

4. Relationship of music to court life in Chou and Han dynasties (3rd Century B.C. to 220 AD).

Theory of Music

Pipes basis for elaborate tone system –

pitch uniformity crucial for good

government.

Chinese LU system – cyclic set of pitches

from tubes whose lengths were

mathematically proportioned – giving basic

Chinese scale. 5-tone scale with two

changing tones. But 12-tone chromatic

system also understood.

Shi Er Lü, literally translated as 12 pitches,

sometimes named as Chinese chromatic

scale. It is one kind of Chromatic scale

used in ancient Music of China. The

Chinese scaling is using the same

calculations as Pythagoras did, based on

2:3 ratios (8:9, 16:27, 64:81, etc.). It is

highly rational and uses exact proportions

to arrive at intervals.

The System -

Sheng – mouth organ

Instruments

Ancient instrument types

Primitive mouth organ – free reed instrument (sheng)

String, wind and percussion

Pentatonic scales the norm from the outset

Repertoire of ancient pieces – based on tablature notation for zither

Ch’in – ancient zither

Ancient Notation – up to 2000

years old

The characters

The qin

The qin is also the most characteristic of Chinese music.

Over one hundred symbols are used in its finger notation

for achieving the essential yet elusive qualities of this

music: subtle inflections in the production and control of

its tones as a means of expression. They indicate the

articulation and timbre of either a single tone or a series

of tones; they specify the occurrence of variable

microtones between fixed scale tones; and they control

the rhythmic and dynamic organization within each tonal

aggregate

Demonstration of Ancient Music

Gusheng

General Points

Chinese music part of natural philosophy.

System of ordering musical instruments by 8

sounds – earth, stone, metal, skin, wood,

bamboo, gourds, silk.

Instrument types used centuries ago – Ch’in (7-

string zither), P’ipa (short necked lute - play

example), Sheng (mouth organ) - still in use

today. Chinese Flute - play example.

International Period – 5th to 10th

century Sui and Tang dynasties – new instruments –

sets of hanging bells and iron slabs.

Chordophones (played by professional female musicians) – P’ipa, moon guitar, hu ch’in (2 string fiddle from Mongolia) and San hsien.

Centre of music shifted from Confucian rites to public stage and homes of wealthy.

Pi’pa

Di-zi

Di / Dizi

Di / Dizi

Wrinkled membrane over one hole produces bright timbre

Di / Dizi

Each dizi in one major key

National Period – 10th – 19th

Centuries

Sung dynasty (960 – 1279) new stability –development of language, poetry and drama.

Mongols invaded 1279 – development of exclusive repertoires for particular instruments. Good forms of instrumental notation.

Chang dynasty (1644-1911) saw development of Peking Opera – addition of zither – (dulcimer developed from West)

Since Cultural Revolution there has been both a loss of tradition and an attempt to revive and rediscover ancient traditions.

China today

Both elements of the past and present are cultivated.

Communist antipathy towards ancient Chinese court traditions – yet also dislike of Western influences. Wanted music to be patriotic

Promotion of Folk musics that use traditional Chinese instruments – but combine them in non-traditional ways. Play except of er-hu ensemble

Zones of Westernised culture – Shanghai, etc – where Chinese versions of Western popular music is the norm.

Er-hu

Chinese Cipher Notation

1 = D, sounds 8va

• The Key and Time Signatures

Lu Chun Ling: Huang Le Ge (Happy Song)

Chinese Notation

Transcription

Example 1: Grace Notes in Measures 8-9

tonicdaiyinescape

notegrace

note

Notation today

Books - General

Fletcher, World Music in Context

May, Worlds of Music

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music

Rough Guide Books and Recordings

China in New Grove

Witzleben, Music in China (Global Music

Series)