every asian country has its own music which
DESCRIPTION
ALL PNHS SECOND YEAR LESSON IN MUSIC FOR THE SECOND GRADING PERIODTRANSCRIPT
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!!!