Music of eAST

asia
Instruments and Folk Music

JAPAN

Japan
Traditional Japanese music is
basically meditative in character. Its
performance is highly ritualized, as
much in the music itself, as in the
composure of the musicians when
performing it. Japanese chamber and
solo music have a slow meditative
pace.

Japan
The performance of Japanese music
has traditionally been of a spiritual
character, similarly to martial arts
and other forms of art such as the
tea ceremony and calligraphy. It is
usually about religious festivals,
work, dance, love, and regional
songs.
This is the reason why music has
become highly ritualized.

Categorized

Instruments

of

Japan

Gagaku ensemble
kabuki

Odaiko
-daiko means "large drum", but within
any group, it describes the largest drum in
an ensemble. -daiko vary in size, though
they are often as large as 6 shaku
(180cm; 6.0ft) in diameter.Made from a
single piece of wood, some -daiko come
from trees that are hundreds of years old.
Some -daiko are also too difficult to move
due to their size, and therefore
permanently reside inside a temple or
shrine

O-tsuzumi (left)
Kotsuzumi (Right)
Thetsuzumiis a Japanesedrumof Chinese/Indian
origin. It consists of a woodenbody shapedlike
anhourglass, and it is taut, with twodrumheads
with cords that can be squeezed or released to
increase or decrease the tension of the heads
respectively.

It has 2 kinds, the o-tsuzumi which is placed on

the left thigh, and the kotsuzumi, which is placed
on the right shoulder.

Tsuridaiko a large hanging barrel drum

TAIKO
-is a Japanese drum that comes in various
sizes and is used to play a variety of
musical genres.

KOTO
- A 13 string zither.

Shamisen
The neck of the shamisen is fretless,
and is slimmer than that of a guitar
or a banjo.

Biwa
-is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute,
often used in narrative storytelling. The
biwa is the chosen instrument of Benten,
the goddess of music, eloquence, poetry,
and education in Japanese Shinto.

Shakuhachi
-the most famous flute made from bamboo. It has
4 or 5 finger holes on the front face and a
thumbhole on the rear face. As with other
instruments above, it was imported from China
for gagaku.

Nokan
-a parallel, bamboo flute (fue) is the
only melodic instrument used in noh.
The melody of the flute has no
specific pitch relationship with the
melody of the chanting.

Hichiriki
is a double reed Japanese fue (flute)
used as one of two main melodic
instruments in Japanese gagaku
music, the other being the ryteki.

Sho
is a Japanese free reed musical
instrument that was introduced from
China during the Nara period.

Shinobue
Also called takebue in the context of
Japanese traditional arts) is a
Japanese transverse flute or fue that
has a high-pitched sound.

Ryuteki(i)
Literally "dragon flute" is a Japanese
transverse fue made of bamboo. It is
used in gagaku.

CHINA

CHINA
For several thousand years Chinese
culture was dominated by the
teachings of the philosopher
Confucius, he conceived music in the
highest sense as a means of calming
the passion of dispelling of unrest
and lust, rather than as a form of
amusement.

CHINA
Traditionally the Chinese have
believed that sound influences the
harmony of the universe.
Significantly, one of the most
important duties of the first emperor
of each new dynasty was to search
out and establish that dynastys
through standard of pitch. A result of
this philosophical orientation was
that the Chinese theoretically

Categorized

CHINESE INSTRUMENTS

YueQin
Moon-shaped lute with shorter neck
and four strings, played with a
spectrum, used for accompanying
local operas.

Pipa
Four-stringed lute with 30 frets and a
pear-shaped body. This instrument
has an extremely wide dynamic
range and remarkable expressive
power.

ERHU
Two-stringed fiddle and one of the
most popular Chinese instruments. It
is used as a solo instrument as well
as in small ensembles or large
orchestra, and by various ethnic
groups.

yUNLUO
Literally "cloud gongs" or "cloud of
gongs", the yunluo is a set of ten
small tuned gongs mounted in a
wooden frame. The yunluo's gongs
are generally of equal diameter but
different thicknesses. The thicker
gongs produce a higher pitch.

Sheng
Sheng, or Chinese mouth organ,
looks like a set of panpipes, with 12
to 36 bamboo pipes. Each pipe is of
different length with a brass reed at
the bottom and a hole that must be
blocked in order for the note to
sound.

Dizi
Dizi is the traditional Chinese flute.
The player plays the Dizi by blowing
across the mouthpiece and produces
the different notes by stopping the
six holes found in the rod.

Zheng
An ancient Chinese instrument that
has an arched surface and an
elongated-trapezoid with 13 to 21
strings stretched over individual
bridges. Its playing range spans
three to four octaves.

Pengling
These are two small bells made of
high-tin bronze, without internal
clappers, and hemispheric or
bottomless gourd-like in shape. The
instrument has a delicate, clarion
and melodious tone.

KOREA

Korea
Korea's folk music tradition, with its
generous use of bright rhythms and
melodies, offers a more energetic and
capricious contrast to the nation's
collection of classical music works.
Chong-ak means literally "right (or
correct) music", and its tradition includes
both instrumental and vocal music, which
were cultivated mainly by the upper-class
literati of the Joseon society.

Korea
Korean music especially in South
Korea has a rich vocal tradition, and
diverse instruments and music
forms. Folk songs, religious works,
court music, and shaman rituals all
express the soul of a nation whose
history is filled with colorful and
fascinating tales.

Categorized

KOREAN INSTRUMENTS

Kagayum
It is a traditional Korean zither-like
string instrument, with 12 strings,
although more recently variants have
been constructed with 21 or more
numbers of strings.

Geomungo
Six-string plucked zither is a
traditional Korean stringed musical
instrument of the zither family of
instruments with both bridges and
frets.

Haegum
It has a rodlike neck, a hollow
wooden soundbox, two silk strings,
and is held vertically on the knee of
the performer and played with a bow.

Piri
Used in both the folk and classical
(court) music of Korea. It is made of
bamboo. Its large reed and
cylindrical bore gives it a sound
mellower than that of many other
types of oboe.

Changgo
It is the most widely used drum used
in the traditional music of Korea. It is
available in most kinds, and consists
of an hourglass-shaped body with
two heads made from animal skin.

THAT
IS
ALL