The document provides information about traditional music from China, Korea, and Japan. It discusses the history and characteristics of music from each country. For China, it describes ancient ritualistic music and how popular music is associated with theater. It also discusses traditional instruments. For Korea, it discusses court music (chong-ak) and folk music (sog-ak), as well as traditional instruments. For Japan, it discusses the oldest form of court music and dance (gagaku) and noh theater music. It also outlines traditional Japanese instruments. The document concludes with proposed learning activities for students to explore and perform East Asian music.

1. Every Asian country has its own music
which is part of their culture. This music
is handed down from generation to
generation, and some improvements
were made along the way. Melody,
rhythm and instruments used and even
the style varies, but the peculiar
characteristics of each country’s music
remain to help identify what is uniquely
Asian.

2. THE MUSIC OF CHINA
In ancient times, Chinese music was almost completely
ritualistic. Music held an important place in the affairs of the state
and was considered an essential part of the educational system.
Ceremonial music was present in religious rituals at the temples and
in secular rituals at the imperial court.
China’s popular music has usually been associated with
theater. It is loud, raucous and sometimes shrill. Opera music
belongs to this category. Because the appeal is to the general public,
accent has been placed on simplicity. Melodic lines are limited to
two or three dozen tunes, with variations and embellishments
added to suit the situation. Such simplicity with limited variations is
the reason why a new opera may sound familiar, even when heard
for the first time.

3. The traditional Chinese opera, the Peking Opera, which is
said to have started in 1790 on the 80th birthday of King
Chien Lung, consists of recitatives with percussive
interjections and arias. One of the most popular is the
“Lady Precious Stream”.
Folk music is also part of the Chinese heritage.
Workmen were said to have sung songs to cheer
themselves up at the workplace. Farmers would sing to
celebrate the harvest or to accompany the movements of
sowing. Such melodies are still heard; they are similar to
the folksongs of other nations, simple and rhythmic.

4. CHINESE MELODY
A traditional Chinese musician employed 84
scales as opposed to the 12 of the major and minor
modes in the Western music. Chinese music
notation is also complicated. It is not surprising
that the contemporary Chinese musicians have
turned to the notation of West.
Chinese music is primarily melodic. It uses the
pentatonic scale. In about 600 BC, two semitones
were added to the original five steps, so that today,
the Chinese scale resembles that of the West.

5. The music played in the Royal Court to entertain
the emperor 2,000 years ago is called the YA-YUEH.
This is kind of music was the music of the nobility.
There were two (2) kinds of ya-yueh observed in
the Royal Court. 1. Yueh- Hsuan – (music chime) is
a group of musical instruments, which were played
in front of the garden accompanied by two dances,
the wen-wu (civil dance) and thw wuwu (military
dance) 2. Tangko (chamber song)-is played or
performed inside the hall that was used to pay
tribute to the emperor and his ancestors.

6. CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
The original Chinese orchestra had
instruments made of eight materials
found in nature: skin, stone, reed, metal,
clay, wood, bamboo, and ground. Today’s
instruments are divided into categories
of sound: string, wind and percussion.

7. CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WERE GROUPED INTO :
1. AEROPHONES- WIND INSTRUMENTS
a. Hsiao- an end –blown flute made from a smooth
bamboo
b. Ti – a traverse bamboo flute tipped with ivory or bone
at the end
c. Sheng – a mouth organ with 17 pipes
2. CHORDOPHONES- STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
a. Ch’in – a 7 stringed zither
b. Pi’pa – a 4 stringed loquat-shaped-lute
c. Yueh- ch’in – a 4 stringedmoon-shaped lute used to
accompany songs used in Peking operas

8. pipa

9. hsiao

10. sheng

11. ti

12. cheng

13. d. Cheng – a long zither with 13-23 strings
e. Erh –hu – a 2 stringed fiddle played with bowstring
f. San-hsien – a 3 stringed banjo
3. IDIOPHONES –PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
a. Yun-lo – the small gongs are struck with small beater
b. Bangu- played by striking the drum’s central area with a
pair of bamboo sticks

14. Sheng- looks like a teapot with a bundle of
asymmetrical tubes protruding from one end. The tube
resembles the tail of a phoenix. Each tube contains a small
reed so that the rich tone of sheng music resembles that
of s small reed organ.
Yuo-it is a tiger like animal resting on a sounding
box. The performer strikes the tiger three times on the
head and then rapidly passes a stick three times along 27
saw like projections on the tiger’s back. The yuo is struck
to indicate the end of a strophe, a section of an ancient
Greek choral ode, in Confucian rituals.

15. THE MUSIC OF KOREA
The music of Korea has an exuberant display of vibrato and glissando
which has a relation to the tonal framework. These are essential to the tones.
That is why western musical instruments cannot produce sounds which have
Korean music characteristics.
Many say that Korean music is pentatonic. This characteristic is not
exactly true. It may be because its principal tones do not exceed five but most folk
music and some court music, the chong-ak, are based on three tone scale and
may or may not have one or two solo diary notes. At times, a tone which has
vibrato or glissando is counted as two tones; in Korea, it is only considered one
tone.
Commonly used in Korean music are the simple and the compound triple
meter. Chong-ak has 10 and 16, but because if it’s slow tempo, the focus is on
triple meter too.
Music, which has meter, and those which have slow tempo, are
accompanied by the changgo (hour glass drum) or puk (barrel drum). Both may
play at the same time; each one, though, has a regular rhythm performed in each
section. In chong-ak, rhythmic patterns are repeated throughout without much
change. Folk songs have free flow of rhythm.

16. CHONG-AK
The music performed in ceremonies in the palaces and for
welcoming dignitaries is known as chong-ak or court music. The
most popular example is the sujechon. The music was derived from
a song in the Pikji dynasty (first to seventh century).
A well -known vocal form is the sijo, a short lyric song. The
sijo is the most simple of the three vocal forms of chong-ak.
It has three lines in each stanza.
It has a slow tempo.
The melody is melismatic or the range of voice is from lowest to
falsetto.
It is accompanied by the changgo.
The other vocal forms are kasa, a long narrative song; and the
kagok, a lyric song.

17. CHONG-AK
There are two types of chong-ak:
1. A-ak – is a type of music used
inside the palace and
2. Min’ggan Chong-ak – type of
music used outside the palace.

18. SOG-AK
The folk songs of the common people
are known as sog-ak, which tells of their
daily experiences. These are the songs of
the fishermen, and of farmers who live in
the towns and barrios. The nong-ak,
song of the farmers; p’ansori, theater
music; minyo, folk music; sanjo, song for
solo instrument, belong to the folk.

19. Korean Musical Instruments were grouped into:
1. AEROPHONES – WIND INSTRUMENTS
a. p’iri – a cylindrical bamboo similar to an oboe
blown through a double reed mouthpiece
b. tanso – a small notched vertical bamboo flute
with five fingerholes that is played by blowing air
through the airhole
c. chottdate a long flute made of bamboo with six
holes
2. CHORDOPHONES – STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
a. Kayagum-similar to the chi’in of China and koto
of Japan. It has 12 strings stretched along
a wooden board with movable bridge.

20. chottdae

21. haegum

22. kumunggo

23. changgo

24. b. Kumunggo – a six stringed zither that plays as
the principal instrument for a small group of
players. It is played by picking the string with a thin
straight piece of bamboo.
C. Haegum – two stringed fiddle made of bamboo
that is plucked. It is used for dance performances.
3. IDIOPHONES – PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
a. Kkwaenggawari-a small gong. Sound is
produced by striking a wooden mallet.
b.pak – a clapper shaped like a folded fan. It
consists of 6 pieces of wood loosely held together
at the upper end by a chord made from deer skin.

25. c. Ching – a huge gong played with a paddled
mallet. This is used in military and Shaman music.
MEMBRANOPHONE
a. changgo – an hour glass-shaped drum played by
striking either of both ends. The thick leather head
produces a low sound while the thin leather gives a
brighter tone sound.

26. THE MUSIC OF JAPAN
In countries with long national histories, great
strides in musical development are usually found. This fact
is particularly true of Japan. In Japan, old types of music,
even those of the primitive age, have been preserved for
modern times to love and revere. Most of this ancient
music bears evidence of fusion with music existing today.
Japanese music today shows the readiness of the Japanese
to absorb the culture of other nations.
TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MUSIC
There are two ancient foundations of Japanese
music; Japanese art music and folk music and folk music.
Both were originally Chinese-inspired.

27. JAPANESE ART MUSIC
GAGAKU is the oldest music and dance in existence in
Japan. Literally, it means “elegant music”. Introduced in
the imperial court about 1,200 years ago, gagaku has
since been preserved at the court and shrines and
temples.
Gagaku repertory today consists of the following three
categories;
1. Instrumental ensemble ( kangen)
2. Dance music ( bugaku)
3. Ritual music for Shinto ceremonies

28. NOHGAKU
Noh, along with bugaku or ancient dances with
music accompaniment; kyogen, a form of comedy;
ningyo-jojuri, a form of bunraku or a puppet show; and
kabuki, traditional Japanese theater, represent the
traditional Japanese drama. The music performed in the
noh is known as the nuhgaku and the dance is called the
shimai. Nohgaku has two elements: vocal and
instrumental. The vocal part is known as the utai
performed by an actor and eight male singers. The
instrumental part known as the hayashi is perfomed by
nohkan, a bamboo flute, three drums, ko-tzuzumi or
tsuzumi and taiko. The flute plays the melody.

29. FOLK SONGS
Ko-uta (literally “small song”) is the name given to
modern short songs, including folk songs. Before,
such songs were purely vocal without any
instrumental accompaniment though they were
often performed with gestures.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF JAPAN
Japanese music is considerably influenced by
Chinese tradition. Most Japanese instruments are
believed to have originated from China. Today, as in
the past, Japanese instruments are played in
operas, theatrical dances and court rituals.
.

30. MUSICAL INTRUMENTS OF JAPAN
1. AEROPHONES
a. sho – a mouth organ that is made from bamboo or
wood
b. shakuhachi – a bamboo flute with four holes
c. fu’ye - a sophisticated side-blown flute with seven
finger holes
d. hichiriki – an instrument similar to oboe
2. CHORDOPHONES
a. koto -a famous Japanese zither with 13 silk strings, and
is laid horizontally on the floor
b. shamisen – a flat-backed lute that has skin-covered
bellies and three strings

31. sho

32. shamisen

33. koto

34. Tsuri taiko/ daiko

35. shoko

36. biwa

37. kakko

38. c. gekkin – a flat-backed lute that has a very shallow body,
wood belly, frets and silk strings attached to elegant pegs
d. biwa – a Japanese version of the pi’pa that has 4 strings
with frets on the belly and slim lateral tuning pegs
3. MEMBRANOPHONES
a. kakko – a gagaku instrument that is made up of deer
skin
b. tsuri daiko – a suspended drum used in the gagaku
ensemble that has a lacquered body and tacked head
c. da-daiko – a huge gagaku drum suspended on an artistic
frame and is struck with heavy lacquered beaters
4. IDIOPHONES
a. shoko – hanging gong

39. LEARNING ACTIVTIY # 1
MY TV ( Group Activity)
Record a musical collage of music used in Chinese and
Korean telenovelas and Japanese anime shown on
television. Present them to the class and identify how
each type of music differs from the other in terms of the
musical elements.

40. LEARNING ACTIVITY # 2
PERFORMANCE TASK (CULMINATING ACTIVITY) (Group Activity)
“ THE SILK AND BAMBOO: MUSIC OF EAST ASIA”
Present a group performance of songs and improvised accompaniment/sound
pieces from each East Asian country.
MTV
Video recording ( MTV)
Members of the group will assign singers, accompanists and dancers.
Song adaptation
Choose any song from China, Japan or Korea and make a translation either in
English or Tagalog.
Live presentation

41. Group I- Japanese Music
Group II-Korean Music
Group III- Chinese Music
Criteria for Evaluation (May vary according to
students agreement)
Mastery of Performance- 20%
Creativity and Choreography- 20%
Musicality and Style- 20%
Impact of the Presentation- 10%
Costume and Props- 10%
Effective Use of musical Instruments - 20%
TOTAL 100%

42. Each member of the group must be
given a task and work as a group!
Your presentations must be on
performance level!

43. Good Luck!!!