Asian Music

Asian Music 1 Asian Music Chinese Pentatonic Scale: 1,2,3,5,6 (4&7 included in GDYY) Tempi: Kuaiban 快板 (fast) ; Manban 慢板 (slow), Beats: ban (strong), yan (weak) Texture: Heterophonic All instrument playing the same qupai (skeletal melody) simultaneously, each with slightly different embellishments (jiahua), according to their idiomatic figurations (capability of instrument) Natural “give and take” sensitivity during performance. One elaborate, rest play simply Percussion Instrument Luo, Bo (cymbals) Clappers - Used to keep time Bangu - single-headed frame drum played with 2 bamboo sticks Jiangnan Sizhu 江南丝⽵ Performance context Performed at teahouses, by amateurs. Highly participatory and improvisatory Instruments Erhu • Bowed, 2 stringed fretless fiddle • Played with bow placed between strings • Mellow (compared to gaohu) •Played on thighs • Techniques: Glissando, Pizzicato, Vibrato, Harmonics Pipa • 4 stringed pear-shaped lute • Played upright, strummed with finger • Techniques: Fretted pitch bends,Tremolo, Harmonics, 轮指 (continuous strumming) Sanxian • 3 stringed fretless lute with long fingerboard • Plucked with thin, hard plectrum • Techniques: Microtones,Glissando, Vibrato Yangqin • Hammered dulcimer, played with 2 lightweight bamboo beaters with rubber tips • Can be used solo oraccompanying • Techniques: Tremolo Dizi • Transverse bamboo flute with six finger holes • Has reed membrane (dimo 笛膜 ) which vibrates to giveinstrument reedy sound • Techniques: Trills, Flutter Tonguing Xiao • Vertical end-blown bamboo flute • No dimo, gentler tone than dizi Sheng • free-reed mouth organ consisting of a series of bamboo pipes arranged in a circle with reed on its lowerend • Played by blowing and sucking air through mouthpiece • Can be used solo or accompanying •Techniques: Chords Guzheng • Zither with 21 strings stretched over movable bridges • Can be used solo or accompanying • Techniques:Pitch bending, glissando, tremolo

Asian Music 2 Guangdong Yinyue ⼴东⾳乐 Performance Context Used as secular entertainment, accompanying music in special events Instruments Same as JNSZ (Erhu, Pipa, Sanxian, Yangqin, Dizi, Xiao, Sheng, Guzheng) Gaohu • Two stringed fiddle • Higher pitched than erhu • Played between knees Yehu • Two stringed fiddle • Coconut soundbox Ruan • Four stringed plucked circular lute Qinqin • Three string lute with wooden round/hexagonal/octagonal body • Slender fretted neck Yueqin • Four stringed plucked lute with round, hollow wooden body • Short fretted neck • Now played with guitar pick Suona • Double reeded wind instrument • Wooden pipe with finger holes, flat copper bell Indian Raga: Scale system in Indian Classical Music Swaras: Notes of the scale Gamakas - Grace, graceful and decorations Sliding Gamaka Oscillation Gamaka Repeated Notes Tala: Organisation of time, Laya: Tempo Performance Context Traditionally played for Hindu worship and prayers Modern Performances can take place in concert halls and cultural festivals Carnatic Music (South India) Form: (Singing) Alapana: Unmetered, improvisation of raga Krithi - Fixed compositions in Carnatic Music, with devotional context Metered. Percussion enters with Tala Instrument Vina (Plucked)• Long-necked, fretted lute with pear-shaped body • 4 melodic, 3 drones, pluckedwith plectrum (No sympathetic stings) Violin (Bowed)• Scroll placed on ankle while playing • Tuned to sa-pa-sa-pa Tambura (Plucked)• Long necked, fretted lute • Tuned to sa-pa-sa-pa • Purpose: Provide drone •Sometimes substituted with Shruthi box Mridangam (Perc)• Double-headed barrel drum

Asian Music 3 Hindustani Music (North India) Form (No Singing) Alap: Unmetered, improvisation of raga Gat: Metered composition. Percussion enters with Tala Instrument Sitar (Plucked)• Long-necked, pear-shaped gourd body • 4 melodic, 2 drones, 13 sympatheticstrings (resonant) Sarod (Plucked)• Lute, 4-6 melodic strings, with sympathetic and drone strings • No frets and have ametal fingerboard • Plucked with a plectrum Sarangi (Bowed)• Rectangular, short necked bowed fiddle, fretless • 3 main gut strings, 30-40sympathetic strings Tambura (Plucked)• Long necked, fretted lute • Tuned to sa-pa-sa-pa • Purpose: Provide drone •Sometimes substituted with Shruthi box Tabla (Perc)• Two Single headed drums • Smaller drum - Daya (treble) - pure Sa pitch • Largerdrum - Baya (bass) - Base of hands able to change pitch Malay Dances Zapin Instruments Melodic Violin 4-string fiddle Accordion• Box shaped, bellows-driven free reed aerophone • Played by compressing orexpanding bellows whilst pressing buttons or key Seruling • Transverse ring flute made of bamboo • 6 finger holes and a mouth hole Gambus Short-necked, pear shaped, fretless lute Rhythmic Rebana • Single headed frame drum • Kompang: Smaller rebana Marwas Small, double headed hand drum Gong COLOTOMIC • To mark off nested time intervals • Add rhythmicstructure, emphasing metrical unit Form of the Dance Introduction Taksim • Solo Gambus • Unmetered and improvisatory • Followed by ashort section of melody + accompaniment Main Dance • Kopak rhythm ◦ Brighter and more punchy timbre ◦ Loud interlockingpatterns in semiquavers by Rebana ▪ Marking transition to next verse Ending Wainab • Ends with kopak Optional OutroTahtim • Similar to Taksim, but now heard at the end Contextual Information Traditional • Only males were allowed to perform • Only at religious ceremonies Modern • Females can perform • Form of traditional entertainment andcelebration

Asian Music 4 Joget Instruments Melodic Violin 4-string fiddle Accordion• Box shaped, bellows-driven free reed aerophone • Played by compressing orexpanding bellows whilst pressing buttons or key Seruling • Transverse ring flute made of bamboo • 6 finger holes and a mouth hole Rhythmic Rebana • Single headed frame drum • Kompang: Smaller rebana Gong COLOTOMIC • To mark off nested time intervals • Add rhythmicstructure, emphasing metrical unit Form of the Dance (Strophic) IntroductionHeterophonic, short instrumental introduction Main Dance• Successive stanzas sung with same melody (verse, verse, verse) •Singing can improvise on melodies • Heterophonic Ending • Climax of piece - long instrumental coda to accompany dance •“Tandak” movement may be present, involving dancer skipping heel-toe Musical Features Looser structure than zapin Fast-paced popular dance with lively, cheerful dance steps Heterophony Contextual Information Origin Portuguese, introduced to Malays in Malacca in the early 16th century Traditional Performed by couples in cultural festivals, weddings Modern Standardized for performances in proscenium stages. Featured in Bangsawan(cosmopolitan commercial theatre) Indonesian Gamelan Instrument families Roles of instrument Balungan Skeletal main melody of which a piece is built upon PunctuatingColotomic function, punctuate the texture by marking off various intervals ElaborationComplex melody line based on balungan

Asian Music 5 Instrument families MetallophonesRight hand hit keys with mallets, left hand dampen previous key to prevent over-resonating •Saron (Balungan) ◦ Peking (Elaborating) - Play each balungan note twice • Gendèr (Elaborating)◦ Slenthem (Balungan) Gongs Assortment of hanging gongs suspended on a frame • Gong Ageng (punctuating) - Marks one fullcycle of the basic melody • Kempul (punctuating) - Heard at regular intervals to mark out cyclicalstructure of the piece Kettle Gongs• Bonang (elaborating) - plays more complicated figuration based on the balungan • Kenong andKethuk-Kempyang (punctuating) - Similar to kemput Other Instruments• Kendang ◦ Set of different sized double headed drums ◦ Tempo keeper, acts as conductor ofensemble • Rebab (elaborating) ◦ 2 string spiked fiddle • Suling (elaborating) ◦ Vertical bambooflute with 4 finger holes Texture POLYPHONIC STRATIFICATION Balungan is played simultaneously through different intensities of melodic activity Form and Structure COLOTOMIC STRUCTURE - Music is cyclical in nature, various i