Department of Education

SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CITY OF

MALOLOS
City of Malolos
Quarter
4 – LAS (Week 1- 8)
Traditional Asian
Theater Music
(MU8TH-IVa-g-1,
MU8TH-IVb-h-3,
MU8TH-IVa-g-4,
MU8TH-IVb-h-7,
MU8TH-IVc-h-8)
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 1i
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TRADITIONAL ASIAN THEATER MUSIC

LET US KNOW
 Theater arts is one of the ancient traditions of the people in Asia particularly in
Japan and China. This theater art form was transmitted from generation to
generation. It mirrors or reflects life. Its key principle of theater is selectivity. Through
the various forms of theater art, a specific form can achieve clarity, order, and beauty
rarely found in ordinary life.

LET US REVIEW

“LOOK AND THINK”

Direction: Say something about the pictures below. Write your comments inside
the box.

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1

LET US STUDY

A. JAPANESE THEATER
The traditional form of popular theater began at the end of the 16th century
and soon became the most successful theater entertainment in the red-light districts
of the great cities. Together with Nōh, it is considered the most important Japanese
contribution to World Theater. Both Nōh and kabuki are unique and genuine
expressions of the Japanese spirit and culture. They mirror, however, taste and
ideals of different social classes, in profoundly different environments and epochs.
Japanese Noh Theater combines music, dance, poetry, design, costume,
and Buddhist beliefs. Hayashi is the accompaniment instrumental ensemble of
Noh.
While in Kabuki, acting, dancing, and music are combines in the manifestation
of form, color, and sound. It is also considered a theater for the common people.
Actors chant and sing their roles accompanied by chorus and an orchestra of drums
and flute.

VOCAL PATTERN AND TECHNIQUES

IPPONCHŌSHI or the continuous pattern – used in speeches building up to

an explosive climax in the aragoto (oversize, supernatural, rough hero) style,
it requires an extraordinary breath control that only few experts succeed in
achieving
NORI technique – adapted from the chanting of jōruri, implies a very sensitive
capacity of riding the rhythms of the shamisen (string instrument), declaiming
each accompaniment
YAKUHARAI technique - the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the
Japanese metrical form of alternating seven and five syllables.

VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL FEATURES

Dances and movements are accompanied by shamisen music which
collected and popularized a number of aspects from all previous forms of Japanese
music, from gagaku (classic court music imported from China during the 18th
century), kagura (performed in Shinto shrines), nō (chant derives from shōmyō, the
sophisticated and rich tradition of Buddhist chanting), down to the folk songs and
fashionable songs of the day. The most popular shamisen music was called nagauta
(long song) which reached a golden age in the first

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half of the 19th century as dance music for the henge mono or quick change pieces.
NAUGATA music is very flexible, can be performed by one shamisen or by an
entire orchestra of twenty musicians , of which ten are shamisen players, while other
play flutes (fue taken from the nō) and drums (small drum-kotsuzumi which is held in
the left hand at the right shoulder and struck with the right hand; waist
drum-ōtsuzumi; stick drum-taiko).

B. CHINESE THEATER
PEKING OPERA is a form of traditional Chinese theater which combines
music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th
century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The
form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded
as one of the cultural treasures of China.
Peking opera is not actually a monolithic form, but rather a coalescence of
many older forms. However, the new form also introduced its own innovations. The
vocal requirements for all of the major roles were greatly reduced for Peking opera.
The Chou, in particular, rarely has a singing part in Peking opera, unlike the
equivalent role in Kunqu style. The melodies that accompany each play were also
simplified, and are played with different traditional instruments than in earlier forms.
Perhaps most noticeably, true acrobatic elements were introduced with Peking
opera. The popularity of Peking opera has been attributed to the simplicity of the
form, with only a few voices and singing patterns. This allowed anyone to sing the
arias themselves.
Beijing opera follows other traditional Chinese arts in emphasizing meaning,
rather than accuracy. The highest aim of performers is to put beauty into every
motion. Indeed, performers are strictly criticized for lacking beauty during training.
Additionally, performers are taught to create a synthesis between the different
aspects of Beijing opera. The four skills of Beijing opera are not separate, but rather
should be combined in a single performance. One skill may take precedence at
certain moments during a play, but this does not mean that other actions should
cease. Much attention is paid to tradition in the art form, and gestures, settings,
music, and character types are determined by long-held convention. This includes
conventions of movement, which are used to signal particular actions to the
audience.

VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL FEATURES

Performances are accompanied by music - usually played on three types of
instrument: wind, string, and percussion. The main instruments are Chinese in origin:
the jinghu, a two-stringed instrument played with a bow, the yueqin, a four-stringed
instrument that is plucked, a sanxian, a three-stringed

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instrument which is also plucked, the suona horn, Chinese flutes, and a variety of
gongs and cymbals. The melodies are rhythmic and graceful. The melodies played
by the accompaniment mainly fall into three broad categories. The first is the aria.
The arias of Beijing opera can be further divided into those of the Erhuang and Xipi
varieties. An example of an aria is wawadiao, an aria in the Xipi style that is sung by
a young Sheng to indicate heightened emotion. The second type of melody heard in
Beijing opera is the fixed-tune melody, or qupai. These are instrumental tunes that
serve a wider range of purposes than arias. Examples include the "Water Dragon
Tune" (shui long yin), which generally denotes the arrival of an important person, and
"Triple Thrust" (ji san qiang), which may signal a feast or banquet. The final type of
musical accompaniment is the percussion pattern. Such patterns provide context to
the music in ways similar to the fixed-tune melodies. For example, there are as many
as 48 different percussion patterns that accompany stage entrances. Each one
identifies the entering character by his or her individual rank and personality.
Traditionally, the musicians view throughout the performance and are dressed
in the same style as the stage assistants. They come and go freely and are never
considered part of the stage picture. In contemporary China, the musicians are often
seated in an orchestra pit and kept offstage.
Music is an integral part of every performance. It provides an atmospheric
background, accompanies the many sung passages, controls the timing of
movements and welds the performance into a rhythmical whole. Theater musicians
learn their parts by rote since Chinese musical notation is very imprecise. Most
music used in the Peking Opera has been worked out collaboratively between actors
and musicians; most is borrowed from already existing sources and recombined
according to the requirements of a particular play. Although they may be classified as
string, wind, and percussion, the instruments of the Chinese orchestra have no
counterparts in the West. The leader of the orchestra plays a drum which establishes
the time and accentuates the rhythm. Gongs, cymbals, brass cups, flutes, stringed
instruments, and more exotic items complete the orchestra. Songs are accompanied
only by flute and strings, but entrances and exits are signaled by deafening
percussion passages. Much of the onstage action is performed to a musical
background.
The actor’s delivery of lines is rigidly controlled by conventions. Each role has
its prescribed vocal timbre and pitch, and syllables are often drawn out regard for
conversational usage in order to maintain the appropriate rhythm. Even spoken
passages are governed by strict rhythms and tempos. Chanted and sung passages
are freely inserted into spoken monologues or dialogues. Thus lines are rendered in
an extremely stylized manner.

C. INDONESIAN THEATER
WAYANG KULIT shadow puppets are prevalent in Java and Bali in Indonesia,
and Kelantan and Terengganu in Malaysia are without a doubt the best known of the
Indonesian Wayang. Kulit means skin and refers to the leather construction of the
puppets that are carefully chiseled with very fine tools and supported with carefully
shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.
Wayang is an Indonesian and Malay word for theater. When the term is used
to refer to kinds of puppet theater, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as
wayang. "Bayang", the Javanese word for shadow or imagination, also connotes
"spirit." Performances of shadow Puppet Theater are accompanied by gamelan in
Java, and by "gender wayang" in Bali.
Dalang as a source of recreation, of humor and of popular philosophy
(essential communication between the artist and the audience). Shadow play is an
invention of man which reflects his experience of nature and of his thought. Puppets
are projected by the lamp on a white screen.
Non-jointed puppets were manipulated by the chief performer, the dalang,
who told a story to the accompaniment of several instruments, including some that
are part of the present-day gamelan ensemble.
Wayang kulit was performed in royal court and widely performed in public on
religious occasions so that knowledge of wayang became widespread among all
classes in Java.

VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL FEATURES

Gamelan ensemble is comprised mainly by bronze percussion
instruments, augmented by other percussion instruments, strings, and flute. A
full Javanese gamelan ensemble consists of:
 a. saron - xylophone of heavy bronze bars
b. gender - bronze xylophone with resonance chambers beneath c.
bonang - set of bronze bowls
d. gong and kempul – hanging gongs
e. kenong and ketuk – single inverted bronze bowl
f. gambang – wooden xylophone
g. rebab – two-stringed fiddle
h. suling – flute
i. kendang – horizontal drum beat with the fingers on both ends j.
tjelempung – a zither of thirteen double strings

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The preponderance of bronze instruments gives gamelan music a bright,
lingering sound, ranging from the slow, majestic melodies of the Javanese gamelan
to the clangorous vibrancy of the Balinese gamelan. Fiddle and flute add a delicate
counterpoint to a four-square pattern of percussive melody
In addition to setting the mood or atmosphere of a play, music has two major
dramatic functions in the theatre. It accompanies the singing/chanting and it
accompanies stage actions including dance. The importance of each function varies
from area to area and from theater form to theater form.
The Dalang sings the mood songs (suluk) at regular intervals during
performance; in a nine-hour wayang kulit, he may sing fifty or sixty. Nevertheless
they are considered relatively unimportant except as mood pieces. The same
generalized lyrics may be used in play after play. Suluk are never accompanied by
the full gamelan ensemble. Often a single instrument accompanies the singer, never
more than three or four. The major dramatic function of gamelan music is to
accompany stage action. Entrances, exits, and fight scenes are executed in time to
gamelan music.

Wayang Kulit performances are basically drawn from Ramayana,

Mahabharata, and Serat Manak.

1. Ramayana and Mahabharata are Hindu epic stories. Ramayana tells

about the adventures of Rama while Mahabharata tells about the vengeance of
Mahabharata.
2. Serat Manak is a story about the heroism of Amir Hamza.
MATERIALS:

1. gawang and kelir, a screen frame and screen.

2. blencong, the source of light.
3. Gedebog, the pointed sticks of the wayang base handle pierce the peeled
trunk of a banana tree.
4. Kothok, a puppet box.
5. Kepyak, metal plates that the dhalang hits his foot
6. Cempala, a hammer used by the dhalang to knock the puppet box to
produce sound effects.
 LET US PRACTICE

“TABLE-TOP DISCUSSION” 13
Direction: Watch a video clip of Kabuki, Peking Opera, and Wayang Kulit
performances and discuss your observation on each presentation.

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https://www.youtub https://www.youtub https://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=6o e.com/watch?v=Pn e.com/watch?v=Y4
Zu80KZAM4 MRIzpO4nU 6Gb39CXRw

Complete the table below by supplying the items/words being

required in each column.
KABUKI PEKING WAYANG
OPERA KULIT

Historical
Background

Vocal and
Instrumental
music

Distinct
Theater
Elements
and
Features

LET US REMEMBER

“JOURNAL ENTRY”
Direction: Make your own journal by answering the questions below. Write the
answers on the blank provide for.

1. Why is Kabuki theater relevant to the social, cultural, and spiritual

background of Japan?
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________ 2. What is the significance of a kabuki performance to spectators?
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________

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3. How does Peking Opera influence theater art forms in the East Asian
region?
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________ 4. What is the importance of Chinese musical theater in Asian theater art
forms?
____________________________________________________________________
_______
____________________________________________________________________
_______
____________________________________________________________________
_______ 5. How does Wayang Kulit communicate tales of everyday social and
cultural
relevance and interest?
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________ 6. Compare each Traditional Asian Theater to each other.
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________ 7. What did you learn from our traditional Asian theater music activities?
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________

LET US APPRECIATE

“SHARING A THEATER STORY THROUGH A VISUAL”

Make a Frottage Drawing showing your thoughts about Asian Theaters. Then write
a one-paragraph explanation about what your abstract drawing means.

LET US PRACTICE MORE

“SHADOW PUPPETRY”
Direction: Interpret any OPM song as material for your storyline on Wayang
Performance. Emphasize the dynamics of songs to adapt to the distinct musical
theatre elements.
RUBRICS
Criteria for Presentation Percentage
 Appropriateness of 25%
Gestures/Movements

Visual Designs (Props) 25%

Interpretation 25%

Creativity ( Use of 25%

Theater Elements and
Principles)

TOTAL 100%

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EVALUATION

Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. A piece of music that is very flexible and can be performed by one instrument or a
group of twenty musicians.
a. Gamelan Music
b. Naugata Music
c. Shamisen Music
d. Taiko Music
2. The music in Japan is usually performed in their Shinto Shrines.. a.
Gagaku
b. Kagura
c. Noh
d. Shamisen
3. A form of theater art that began at the end of the 18th century, developed and
recognize by the med 19th century.
a. Japanese Theater
b. Chinese Theater
c. Indonesian Theater
d. Thailand Theater
4. In Java, the orchestra that gives music in the theater called gamelan, how about in
Bali?
a. Gender Wayang
b. Wayang Golek
c. Bayang
d. Suluk
5. It is the signal that denotes the arrival of an important person in the performance
of Chinese theater.
a. Water Dragon Tune
b. Triple Thrust
c. Dragon Dance Tune
d. Fue Tune
6. A song from Bali that is often accompanied by a single instrument when
performed by the singer.
a. Suluk
 b. Kelantan
c. Terenganu
d. Bonang

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7. A technique that is also known as a continuous pattern.
a. Yakuharai
b. Nori
c. Ipponchoshi
d. Naugata
8. It is the subtle delivery of poetical text written in the Japanese metrical form of
alternating seven and five syllables.
a. Yakuharai
b. Nori
c. Ipponchoshi
d. Naugata
9. It implies a very sensitive capacity of riding the rhythms of the shamisen. a.
Yakuharai
b. Nori
c. Ipponchoshi
d. Naugata
10. Wayang Theater puppet master.
a. Ramayana
b. Pesidhen
c. Dalang
d. Gerong
11. How many types of instruments do comprise for a full Javanese Gamelan? a. 7
b. 8
c. 9
d. 10
12. It is a melody used in Chinese theater that is usually sung by a young sheng. a.
Fue pattern
b. Percussion Pattern
c. Qupai
d. Aria
13. The two kinds of a xylophone in Gamelan orchestra.
a. gong, kempul
b. kenong, ketuk
c. saron, gender
d. gender, bonang
14. Classic court music imported from China during the 18th century. a.
Gagaku
b. Kagura
c. Noh
d. Shamisen

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15. A drum from Japan that is played by tapping while the instrument is on the
shoulder.
 a. Taiko
b. Ketuk
c. Otsuzumo
d. Kotsuzumi
16. The musical accompaniment for every performance in Wayang Kulit in Java,
Indonesia.
a. Kelantan
b. Terenganu
c. Gamelan Orchestra
d. Gender Wayang
17. It is the rhythmic and melodic element that signifies the entrance and exit of
characters basis on their rank and personality.
a. Fue pattern
b. Percussion Pattern
c. Qupai
d. Aria
18. A bow-stringed instrument use in the Chinese theater.
a. Jinghu
b. Yueqin
c. Sanxian
d. Shamisen
19. An instrument that is used in the music of Noh in Japanese theater. a.
Taiko
b. Kotsuzumi
c. Shamisen
d. Flutes
20. Instrumental ensemble that accompanies Noh Theater. a.
Bow-stringed instruments
b. Gamelan
c. Hayashi
d. Wawadiao

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REFERENCES

Anido, Belinda, Agusto Baldoz, Myrna Parakikay, Christine Ann Basillio, Mary
Grace Badiola, Marcos Gomez, Jr., and Danilo Duyan et al. 2013. Music And
Arts Of Asia. 1st ed. Pasig City: Department of Education.

GBTIMES. 2012. Peking Opera | An Introduction (Hello China #13). Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMRIzpO4nU.

NPO法人科学映像館. 2017. 歌舞伎 KABUKI The Classic Theatre Of Japan

 Produced By Koga Production. Video.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MASAYOSHIKUMEGAWA/search?query=k
abuki.

Youthopia SG. 2020. Wayang Kulit Traditional Shadow Puppet Theatre. Video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y46Gb39CXRw.

Prepared by:

ROGELIO M. JAVIER JR.

Teacher III

ROSEANN M. TAMAYO
Teacher III
Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School

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