Music 1 q2

Quarter 2
– Module
1: Music of
East Asia
Processing questions:
1. What is the mood of the

music?
2. How did you feel after
listening to the music?
3. Which country did the
music come from?
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
East Asian music has three general
characteristics. The first is linearity which
emphasizes the melody. Harmonies are very
rare and when used at all, aren’t part of the
tension or release of the music. The second is
transparency which focuses on the individual
instruments. No matter how big the orchestra
is, each instrument has an individual role and is
meant to be heard playing its melody. The third
is word orientation which just means a very low
use of abstraction in music. Traditional Asian
music has a title or lyrics, and that is exactly
what the piece is about.
The
Development
of Pentatonic
Tonal System
of East Asia
• According to legends, the
founder of music in Chinese
mythology was Ling Lun who, at
the request of the Yellow
Emperor (Huang Di) created a
system of music that is made of
bamboo pipes which are tuned
to the sounds of birds including
the phoenix.
• In this way, he invented the
five notes of the ancient
Chinese five-tone scale (gong,
shiang, jiao, zhi and yu) which
is equivalent to 1,2,3,5, and 6
in numbered musical notation
(do, re, mi, so, and la in
western solfeggio).
“Correct” music according to Zhou concept
would involve instruments correlating to the
five elements of nature and would bring
harmony to nature. Around or before the 7th
century BC, a system of pitch generation and
pentatonic scale was derived from a cycle-of-
fifths theory.
• Wu-sheng – Chinese musical scale or
pentatonic scale.
• Pyongjo – one of the three modes of
Korean music which has five tones
• Ryo and Ritsu– basic pentatonic scale in
Gagaku music of Japan, D E F# A B and G A
C D E respectively. Now called in-sen (soft
mode) and yo-sen (hard mode).
• Traditional Japanese music is meditative.
Its performance is highly ritualized, as
much in the music itself, as in the
composure of the musicians when
performing it. It is usually about religious
festivals, work, dance, love, and regional
songs. Audiences are looking for this self-
mastery in musicians. This is the reason
why music has become highly ritualized.
Musicians must show this spiritual self-
mastery in their performance and
composure.
JAPANESE MUSIC
• Japanese music has two basic
types of scales. These are the
male scale called yo-sen and the
female scale known as in-sen. The
in-sen scale, which contains minor
notes, is used specifically in music
for the koto and shamisen and is
contrasted with the yo-sen scale,
which does not contain minor
notes.
JAPANESE MUSIC
According to a traditional theory, yo-sen is a
pentatonic scale which used in Japanese music
including gagaku and shomyo. The yo-sen scale is
used specifically in folksongs and early popular
songs. The yo-sen scale is described as ‘bright’
sounding.
JAPANESE MUSIC
JAPANESE MUSIC
• An example of a folk song
from Japan is Sakura or
Cherry Blossoms. Sakura or
Cherry Blossoms is a
traditional Japanese folksong
depicting spring, the season
of cherry blossoms.
JAPANESE MUSIC
• Traditional Chinese music isn't meant to
be danced or moved to. That would tend
to orient people toward bodily sensual
and sexual drives. As Confucius taught,
beautiful and appropriate music is
meant to promote social tranquility
• Music is part of an official ceremonial
function, the music is meant to regulate
the behavior of the people so that they
perform the ritual appropriately and
obey authority
CHINESE MUSIC
• Confucius' idea of music being
"smoothly continuous”
• The tempo slowly increases
towards a finale at the end. This
connotes a river gaining speed as it
cascades downwards, and this is
often the rhythmic feature of
traditional Chinese music.
CHINESE MUSIC
Three Kinds of Traditional Music
• The three general kinds of traditional
music that people are most likely to
hear nowadays are:
• Chinese opera music meant for
theatrical performances,
• ensemble or orchestra music for
cultured audiences, and
• solo instrumental performance.
Famous Folk song
• The folksong Jasmine Flower (Mo Li
Hua) was composed during the Qing
dynasty (AD 1616-1912) and was one
of the first Chinese songs to become
popular abroad. The song's tune
entertains three phrases and depicts
the purity of love between young
people by highlighting the beauty of
jasmine flowers.
Traditional Korean music is broad and
deep in terms of genre and meaning.
There is farmer's music, which
expresses the lives of farmers through
its exciting rhythms; pansori (long vocal
and percussive music played by vocal
singer and skilled drummer) and
talchum (mask dance), rich in parody
and humor; the majestic court music
played at important events at the royal
palace.
KOREAN MUISIC
• The basic nature of the
Korean people is based
not on "han"
(resentment, sorrow),
but on "heung"
(excitement).
KOREAN MUISIC
KOREAN MUISIC
• Arirang is a Korean folk song sometimes
considered the unofficial national anthem
of Korea. It is used as a symbol of Korea
and Korean culture. Arirang in essence is
a song of farewell. The origin of the word
'Arirang' is ‘the hill’. With Korea’s land
being mountainous, there are also many
foothills throughout the country. The
song evokes the feeling of the tears shed
by Koreans and the remembrance of their
sad stories.
KOREAN MUISIC

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Quarter 2

1. What is the mood of the

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