A BREIF overview
Asia has many countries and each has a unique mix of sounds and styles. We will only look at China, Japan, and Indonesia. Realize that these are just brief looks at the surface of music in Asia!
Chinese culture reaches back to 2000 B.C. \ They invented the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing Their music in characterized by heterophony and the pentatonic scale
Sizhu (SUH-droo) music played in tea houses Sizhu a “jam session” with instruments like the erhu and dizidizi Northern Chinese villages often have suona (so-nah) players.suona Chinese opera is popular in the cities Opera singers sing with tense-Guttural sounds Opera
Erhu (ur-hoo): Two string fiddle that rest on the player’s knee Erhu Pipa: 4 or 5-string lute held like a small cello Pipa: Dizi (dee-zee): bamboo flute that buzzes like a kazoo Dizi Yangquin (yahn-chin): hammered dulcimer Sheng (shung): small bamboo pipes bound in a circle. Sheng (shung): small bamboo pipes bound in a circle. Chinese Pop Music: Cui JianCui Jian
Taiko: a drum ensemble that blends martial arts and music Taiko Taiko drums were used in religious ceremonies and in battle to frighten the enemy and issue commands
Shamisen: three stringed guitar that is plucked Shamisen Koto: a 13 string instrument that is plucked with finger picks. The koto is Japan’s national instrument. Shakuhachi: a bamboo flute An ensemble of Shamisen, Koto, and Shakuhachi is called a sankyoku.
There are three major types of classical music in Thailand: Piphat, Khruang Sai, and Mahori.Piphat Most of the music has small ching hand cymbals and wooden sticks to mark the beat. The Qeej The Qeej Khong Wong is a circle of gongs similar to the instruments of the Indonesian Gamelan Khong Wong
A gamelan is a set of gong instruments that are struck with padded sticks Gamelan is mainly from the islands of Bali and Java Gamelan A gamelan cannot be separated into individual instruments or interchanged Gamelan music uses unique scales, or sets of notes, that sound strange to our ears.