EAST ASIAN MUSIC
Japanese Music
Japanese Musical
Instruments
Percussion Instruments
(Membranophone)
ODAIKO (Big Drum)
The physical energy and sheer
excitement of an Odaiko performance
is an integral part of any Japanese
matsuri (festival).
TSUZUMI (Hourglass-
shape)
There are two varieties: the
smaller Kotsuzumi and the
larger Otsuzumi. They are both
used in noh and kabuki
performances.
The Kotsuzumi is held on the right
shoulder and the players alters the
tone by squeezing the laces.
The Otsuzumi is placed on the left
thigh.
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. It has become
particularly popular in recent years as
the central instrument of percussion
ensembles whose repertory is based on
the variety of folk and festival music of
String Instruments
(Chordophone)
KOTO
Is a 13- string zither, about two
meters long and made of Paulownia
wood. It is plucked using picks on the
thumb and first two fingers of the
right hand, while the left hand can be
used to modify pitch and tone.
Koto is used in an ensemble in
gagaku or as a solo instrument.
SHAMISEN
Is a plucked stringed instrument. Its
construction follows a model similar
to that Of a guitar or a banjo,
employing a neck, and strings
stretched across a resonating body.
The neck of 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 storytelling. The
biwa is the chosen instrument of
Benten, the goddess of music,
eloquence, poetry and education in
Japanese Shinto.
Wind Instrument
(Aerophone)
SHAKUHACHI
The most famous flute made from
bamboo. It has four or five finger
holes on the front face and a
thumbhole on the rear face. As with
the 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 flute (fue))
used as one of the two main melodic
instruments in japanese gagaku
music, the other being the ryūteki.
SHO
Is a japanese free reed musical
instrument that was introduced in
China during the Nara Period.
SHINOBUE
Is also called takebue in the context
of Japanese traditional arts. It is a
japanese transverse flute or fue that
has a high-pitched sound.
RYŪTEKI
Literally “dragon flute” is a japanese
transverse fue made of bamboo. It is
used in gagaku.
CHINA
China
Music is the highest sense as a means
of calming the passion and of dispelling
unrest and lust, rather than as a form
of amusement. – Confucius
Chinese believed that sound influences
the harmony of the universe.
Chinese Musical
Instruments
YUEQIN
A moon-shaped lute with shorter
neck and four strings, played with a
spectrum, used for accompanying
local operas.
PIPA
A four-stringed lute with 30 frets and
a pear-shaped body. This instrument
has an extremely wide dynamic
range and remarkable expressive
power.
ERHU
A two-stringed fiddle and one of the
most popular Chinese instruments. It
is used as a solo instrument as well
as 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 gong are
generally of equal diameter but
different thickness. The thicker gongs
produce a higher pitch.
SHENG
Also called as Chinese mouth organ
and looks like a set of panpipes with
12 to 36 bamboo pipes. Each pipes 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 make 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.
DIZI
Is the traditional Chinese flute. It can
have a membrane over an extra hole
to give a characteristic rattle effect.
The player play 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 or gourd-like in shape.
The instrument has delicate, clarion
and melodious tone.
It is a coloring rhythmic instrument,
either in ensembles or theater music
bringing an effect of peaceful dream.
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.
Folk music represents the soul and
sound of traditional Korean villages
with an eclectic array of music forms
including numerous folk songs,
various forms of instrumental pieces,
pansori and shaman ritual music.
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.
Chong-ak also refers to ensemble
music for men of high societal status
outside the court. In this category
three important terms are a-ak, tang-
ak and hyang-ak.
Sog-ak or Minsogak
Is a category of korean music
traditionally associated with the lower
classes or for the general public and
are vibrant and energetic. It includes
genres such as pansori and minyo.
Pansori is a kind of music presented to
audiences by skilled vocal singers and
drummers. But even the unskilled could
sing these songs. They sang when they
worked in rice paddy or fields, sang
when they went off with their lovers, and
sang when their was troubled and
Instrumental Music of Korea
Korean music, especially in South Korea, has a rich vocal tradition and diverse
instruments and music forms. Folk songs, relig
