Lesson 2: Chinese Music

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.
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 dynasty’s through standard
of pitch. A result of this philosophical
orientation was that the Chinese
theoretically opposed music performed
solely for entertainment.
1. Yueqin - Moon-shaped lute with
shorter neck and four
strings, played with a spectrum, used
for accompanying local
operas.
2. Pipa - Four-stringed lute with 30
frets and a pear-shaped body.
This instrument has an extremely
wide dynamic range
and remarkable expressive power.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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. This
makes it possible to sound several
notes simultaneously, so chords and
melody can be performed at the
same time. Sheng is one of the oldest
Chinese musical instruments.
6. Dizi - Dizi is the traditional Chinese
flute. It can have a membrane over an
extra hole to give the characteristic
rattle effect. The player plays the Dizi
by blowing across the mouthpiece
and
produces the different notes by
stopping the six holes found in the
rod.
7. 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.
8. 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. It is a coloring
rhythmic instrument, either in
ensembles or in theater music,
bringing an effect of peaceful dreams.