Music of Eastern AsiaJapan, China, Korea, Taiwan

Time to write…

What are your preconceived notions about Asian music? What do you already know? What do you think about it? What do you want to know or learn?

China

China

There is evidence of music in China as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC – 256 BC)

The legendary founder of music in Chinese mythology was Ling Lun, who made bamboo pipes tuned to the sounds of birds. A powerful ruler once asked him whether it was moral if he preferred popular music to the classics. The answer was that it only mattered that the ruler loved his subjects.

China

The Imperial Music Bureau, first established in 221–207 BC, was greatly expanded in 140–87 BC and charged with supervising court music and military music and determining what folk music would be officially recognized.

The oldest known written music is “Youlan” or the “Solitary Orchid,” attributed to Confucius

In ancient China the social status of musicians was much lower than that of painters, though music was seen as central to the harmony and longevity of the state.

Almost every emperor took folk songs seriously, sending officers to collect songs to inspect the popular will.

China

Chinese notation (1410)

China

They divide their instruments into eight tones: silk, bamboo, wood, stone, metal, clay, gourd and hide. This is one of the first musical classifications ever. Silk instruments are mostly stringed

instruments Bamboo mainly refers to woodwind

instruments Wood instruments are usually ancient Stone is mainly stone chimes

China

The famous dragon dance with music is also a remembered tradition. It is seen on Chinese New Year across the world by millions. It is not known when the tradition started, but it is believed to be thousands of years ago, as entertainment of former emperors, royals, and nobles. It was and still is a very important dance in the Chinese culture.

China

Traditional music Traditional music Weird modern pseudo traditional mu

sic

China

The New Culture Movement of the 1910s and 1920s evoked a great deal of lasting interest in Western music

A number of Chinese musicians returned from studying abroad to perform Western classical music, composing work hits on Western musical notation system

Symphony orchestras were formed in most major cities and performed to a wide audience in the concert halls and on radio.

Many of the performers added jazz influences to traditional music, adding xylophones, saxophones and violins, among other instruments

China

The golden age of music would come to an end when the Communist party denounced Chinese popular music as yellow music

Maoists considered pop music as a decline to the art form in mainland China.

In 1949 the Kuomintang relocated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China was established. Revolutionary songs would become heavily promoted by the state.

China

After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a new fast tempo Northwest Wind style was launched by the people to counter the government.

The music would progress into Chinese rock, which remained popular in the 1990s.

However, music in China is very much state-owned as the TV, media, and major concert halls are all controlled by the Communist party.

The government mainly chose not to support Chinese rock by limiting its exposure and airtime. As a result, the genre never reached the mainstream in its entirety.

Chinese Classical Music

High Mountains and Flowing Water Guangling Melody Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by t

he River Chinese opera And more Chinese opera

Chinese Modern Folk and Pop

Song Zuying Pop Momo Pop

Important Chinese Traditions

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is the most important and ceremonious traditional festival in China, alike to Christmas Day in the US. It is not until the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, the Lantern Festival, that the Spring Festival is ended. People clean their houses, hang up lucky symbols, and feast together.

Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, festival activities, and this song

Important Chinese Traditions The Lantern Festival is celebrated on

January 15 of Chinese lunar calendar. It is the first full moon night in the Chinese lunar year, symbolizing the coming back of the spring. Families on that night will light up fancy lanterns and go out to appreciate the moon, set off fireworks, guess riddles written on lanterns, and eat rice glue balls to celebrate the festival.

The city is decorated, and lanterns are lit

Important Chinese Traditions

Qing Ming: The Chinese on this day sweep off and clean the tombs of their ancestors. They also only eat cold food.

The Double Seventh Festival, or Ingenuity-begging Festival (the festival to plead for skills) falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. On the festival, girls beg for bright heart and knitting and needlecraft skills from the goddess in heaven. In the romantic evening, girls prepare melons and seasonal foods under the moon before worship and prayers for skills and a good marriage.

Important Chinese Traditions The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is the

most important festival after the Chinese Lunar New Year. The moon on the night of the 15th day of lunar August is believed to be fuller and brighter than in other months. A full moon is a symbol of togetherness. As such, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion.

Fire dragon dances are usually performed in Hong Kong on the festival. To pay tribute to the moon, ethnic tradition is to perform a ball-holding dance.

Important Chinese Traditions Winter solstice is a rather big festival

attached with great importance by the Chinese people. It is the day when the Northern Hemisphere has the shortest daytime and longest nighttime in the whole year. All across China, sacrifice to heaven and ancestors is offered on this day.

Time to write…

First, brainstorm about American traditions and holidays. What are the relationships to music?

Write an essay comparing and contrasting our American holidays to the traditional Chinese festivals.

Japan

Japan

The earliest forms of music were drums and flute music accompanying the kagura shrine dances.

From the 6th century on, music came from Korean and Chinese courts and monasteries and was performed at the Japanese court under the generic name gagaku (court music).

The 8th-century court established a music bureau (gagakuryo) to be in charge of musical duties, both ritual and entertainment. 

Japan

Meanwhile with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century, Buddhist rites and liturgical chants gave rise to the development of a great variety of bells, gongs, wooden clappers, plaques, percussion tubes, and rattles, many of which found their way also into kabuki music of the Edo period (1600-1868)

Japan

From the 17th century, the shamisen (three-stringed plucked lute) became popular, providing the quick rhythm in kabuki and bunraku theatre.

In the bunraku puppet theater, a skilled chanter was accompanied by a shamisen.

In kabuki, shamisen solos or choruses were combined with flutes and drums and an assortment of folk and religious instruments.

Percussion Instruments There are many large Japanese drums, or taiko. Most have two membranes which are nailed or laced and

are struck with sticks. The most dramatic is the Odaiko (big drum). The hourglass-shaped tsuzumi was introduced from the

Asian continent around the 7th century. Myth- Taiko was started by Ame no Uzume. One day, fed

up with her cruel younger brother, the sun goddess, Amaterasu, hid herself in a cave. The world became pitch dark and the other deities tried to appease Amaterasu. They held a big party in front of the cave and Ame no Uzume danced, stamping her feet on a wooden tub. The gods laughed and cheered loudly and the noise provoked Amaterasu to come out her cave, bringing back light.

String Instruments The koto is a 13-string zither, about 2 meters

long and made of wood The shamisen is a 3-string lute. The biwa is a short-necked lute The yamatogoto is a six- or seven-

stringed zither which, unlike the koto and other stringed instruments, is believed to be truly native to Japan.

In the story of Amaterasu, Ame no Uzume also dances to music provided by the twanging of six hunting bows. The six bows are lashed together to form an instrument, and the first yamatogoto is born.

Wind Instruments The most famous is the shakuhachi bamboo

flute. It has 4 or 5 finger holes on the front face and a thumb hole on the rear face.

Other winds are the nokan used in theatre performances and the side-blown takebue and shinobue often heard during festivals.

According to ancient Japanese legend it is believed that the sound of the flute was able to reach the dead. Wind instruments are associated with contemplation, ethereal creatures, and celestial beings.

Japan

Japanese folk songs (min’yō) can be grouped and classified in many ways but it is often convenient to think of four main categories: Work songs Religious songs Songs used for gatherings such as weddings,

funerals, and festivals (matsuri) Children's songs (warabe uta)

Many of these songs include extra stress on certain syllables as well as pitched shouts (kakegoe). Kakegoe are generally shouts of cheer but in min'yō, they are often included as parts of choruses  

Modern Japan

Festival  In the 1950s, tango and other kinds of Latin

music, especially Cuban music, became very popular in Japan. A distinctively Japanese form of tango called dodompa also developed.

Westernized pop music began around 1912. After WWII, kayōkyoku became associated became very popular. More Western-style music was called Japanese pop ( or simply 'JPop')

Modern Japan In the mid 1980s, when 'world music' became a

generally accepted term, some Japanese started to look at themselves and wonder what their own country had to offer.

There was traditional music, but this had mostly been preserved and held little connection to most Japanese people.

Pop music on the other hand, had lost virtually any trace of anything inherently Japanese.

Japanese musicians found themselves attracted to the music of Okinawa. Japanese roots music became very popular, and has continued

More JPop

And then this happened… Electronic performer Baby Metal

Contemporary Japan Genres

JPop JRock Punk Rock Heavy and

Extreme Metal Electropop Dance/Disco

Music Hip-Hop Roots Music

Latin, reggae, ska Noise Theme music Game music

Your Turn to Teach…

Investigate Japanese traditions. Select one and be prepared to present it to the class.

Traditions/Festivals New Year (shogatsu) Coming of Age (seijin no hi) Beginning of spring

(setsubun) National Foundation Day

(kenkoku kinenbi) Doll's Festival (hina matsuri) Spring Equinox Day

(shunbun no hi) Showa Day (Showa no hi) Constitution Day (kenpo

kinenbi) Greenery Day (midori no hi) Children's Day (kodomo no

hi) Star Festival (tanabata)

Ocean Day (umi no hi) Obon Respect for the Aged Day

(keiro no hi) Autum Equinox Day

(shubun no hi) Health and Sports Day

(taiiku no hi) Culture Day (bunka no hi) Seven-Five-Three

(shichigosan) Labour Thanksgiving Day

(kinro kansha no hi) Emperor's Birthday (tenno

no tanjobi)

Korea

Korea

Traditional Korean music includes both the folk, vocal, religious and ritual music styles of the Korean people.

Korean music, along with arts, painting, and sculpture has been practiced since prehistoric times.

Two distinct musical cultures exist in Korea today: traditional music (Gugak) and Western music (yangak).

Korea Korean music history is divided into three

periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. The ancient period dates from the ancient tribal

states to the foundation of Goryeo dynasty. The distinguishing characteristics of this period

are: The development of akkamu (music, songs, and

dance) performed in the worship rites of heaven and earth of the ancient society

The introduction of some instruments from Central Asia during the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C.-668 AD)

The development of hyangakki (indigenous instruments) in each of the Three Kingdoms

Korea

Also in this period, Buddhist and shamanistic dancing, and shamanistic drum music are present, as well as a melodic dance music called sinawi.

Traditional Korean music can be divided into at least four types: courtly, aristocratic, scholarly, and religious.

Korea

Court music refers to the music originally developed in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1905)

Aristocratic music was a form of chamber music called jeongak.

Scholarly music was a form of music to challenge the musician and to study form

Religious music in Korea is centered on the three main religious influences in Korea's historical development: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shamanism

Korean Folk

Korean folk music is varied and complex, but all forms maintain a set of rhythms, called Changdan, and a loosely defined set of melodic modes.  

In Korea there are many variations of Changdan with each name designating a certain type of meter, tempo, and beat.

The vocal styles and melodies change dramatically from region to region.

Korean Folk

Pansori is a long vocal and percussive music played by one singer and one drummer. In this traditional art form, sometimes rather misleadingly called 'Korean Opera', a narrator may play the parts of all the characters in a story, accompanied by a drummer.

Pungmul is a Korean folk music tradition that is a form of percussion music that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players, all in constant motion.

Korean Folk

Sanjo is entirely instrumental music that shifts rhythms and melodic modes during the song. It is played without a pause in faster tempos. The tempos increases in each movement. The general style of the sanjo is marked by slides in slow movements and rhythmic complexity in faster movements.

Chŏngak means literally "right (or correct) music", and its tradition includes both instrumental and vocal music, which were cultivated mainly by the upper-class.

Korean Folk

Nongak, means "farmers' music.” It is performed typically in an open area of the village

Shinawi is the shamanistic music which is performed during a Korean shaman's ritual dance performance to console and to entertain deities

Salpuri is a dance for soul cleansing and literally means , "to wash away bad ghosts". Salpuri’s modern movements represent the shown human hopes and aspirations.

Korean Instruments

Traditional Korean instruments can be broadly divided into three groups: string, wind and percussion instruments.

String instruments: Gayageum (12-string zither) Geomungo (six-string plucked zither) Ajaeng (seven-string zither) Haegum (two-string vertical fiddle)

Korean Instruments

Wind instruments: Daegeum (large transverse flute) Piri (cylindrical oboe) Grass Flute Hojok or Taepyongso Saenghwang (mouth organ) Panpipes Hun (ocarina) Danso (small-notch vertical flute) Flute

Korean Instruments

Percussion instruments:  Jing (large hanging gong) Kkwaenggwari (hand-held gong) Buk (barrel drum) Janggu (hourglass drum) Bak (clapper) Pyeongjong (bronze bells) Pyeongyeong(stone chimes) Chuk (square wooden box with mallet) Eo (tiger-shaped scraper)

Korea

After the division of Korea in 1951, Korea was split, into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North Korea and the Republic of Korea or South Korea.

Revolutionary song-writing traditions were channeled into support for the state, eventually becoming a style of patriotic song called taejung kayo in the 1980s, combining classical and Korean traditional musical forms similar to Soviet patriotic music.

North Korea In North Korea, culture, including music, is tightly

controlled by the government. Listening to South Korean music "can be considered a crime.” Foreign music is lumped into one genre which the North Korean government calls "jazz.”

The characteristic marchlike, upbeat music of North Korea is carefully composed, rarely individually performed, and its lyrics and imagery have a clear socialist content. Some religious or original folk music may still exist in North Korea, but reliable sources are absent in the west.

Many North Korean pop songs are usually performed by a young female singer with an electric ensemble, percussionist and accompanying singers and dancers

South Korea

Music of South Korea has evolved over the course of the decades since the end of the Korean War, and has its roots in the music of the Korean people.

Contemporary South Korean music can be divided into three different main categories: Traditional Korean folk music, popular music (K-pop), and Western-influenced non-popular music.

Modern Korean Music

Kpop Kpop more Kpop again And this Korean Rock

Taiwan

First, a little history… Until 10,000 years ago, Taiwan was still connected

to the Asian Mainland. After Taiwan became an island, the aboriginal

people were very hostile to anyone attempting to migrate over. These were mainly Chinese farmers who had settled there.

Taiwan’s lack of trade resources meant people left it alone until the 16th century.

Throughout the 1600s, the Chinese, Dutch, and Spanish tried to establish control of the island.

Following the fall of the Ming Dynasty, in 1662 Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), a self-styled Ming loyalist, arrived on the island and expelled the Dutch government

First, a little history… In 1683, following the defeat of Koxinga's grandson by a

Chinese armada, the Qing Dynasty formally annexed Taiwan.

Taiwan remained under the Chinese government until 1895. That year, the Qing Dynasty was defeated by Japan.

Japanese rule was instrumental in the industrialization of the island, extending the railroads and other transportation networks, building an extensive sanitation system and establishing a formal education system.

Around 1935, the Japanese began an island-wide assimilation project to bind the island more firmly to the Japanese Empire and people were taught to see themselves as Japanese.

And a little bit more… After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War

resumed between the Chinese Nationalists (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party.

By 1949, a series of Chinese Communist offensives led to the defeat of the Nationalist army, and the Communists founded the People's Republic of China.

Some 2 million people, consisting mainly of members of the ruling KMT, were evacuated from mainland China to Taiwan at that time.

In 1952, Japan formally renounced all right, claim and title to Taiwan. The KMT then took over control of Taiwan

Taiwan was under communist control until their first democratic election in 1996.

Now, MUSIC

Taiwan's unique past can in many ways be traced through its musical development. Its history as a Chinese province, and then as a Japanese colony, had a profound influence on its music history.

The result of this background was the creation of a particular musical environment based on influences from traditional China together with musical trends from Japan and the United States.

Taiwan

Aboriginal music was suppressed by the various governments in control. A revival of aboriginal music has happened with the rise of democracy.

Taiwanese puppetry and Taiwanese opera, two genres of theatre that are strongly related to music, are very popular.

Holo folk music is most common today in the southernmost part of the island, where performers sing accompanied by yueqin (moon lute). Famous folk singers include Yang Hsiuching.

Taiwan

The Bunun's original home was on Taiwan's west coast, in the central and northern plains. Unlike the other indigenous peoples of Taiwan, the Bunun have very little dance music. The best-studied element of traditional Bunun music is improvised polyphonic song. Folk instruments include pestles, five-stringed zithers and the jaw harp.

Taiwan In the mid 1970's a genre of popular music known

as Taiwanese campus folk song appeared. This music consisted of a fusion of elements from American folk rock and Chinese folk music, and was very popular throughout East Asia.

Until the 1987 lifting of martial law, Taiwanese pop fell into two distinct categories. Taiwanese pop was sung in a native dialect and was popular among older and working-class listeners; it was strongly influenced by Japanese. In contrast, Mandarin pop, due to the KMT regime that suppressed Taiwanese languages and culture, appealed to younger listeners.

Asian superstar Teresa Teng originated from Taiwan

Taiwan

And then this happened… Traditional Taiwanese began blending

with rock, pop, and hip hop in the 1990s to produce what was called New Taiwanese Song

Taiwan pop Modern Pop SHE Weather Girls

Taiwan

There are hundreds of metal bands active in Taiwan. The scene is so huge because Taiwanese parents value culture and tend to put their children in music lessons at a very early age, thus, the technical skill level of Taiwanese musicians is very high, even at the local band level. Combined with the fact that many Taiwanese teenagers spend their time practicing their singing skills at KTV's (known as karaoke outside of Taiwan), and some other culture and political factors, the number of metal bands of Taiwan is growing.