Asian Culture On Music - Essay Example

? Asian Culture on Music By of 2650 Words Introduction There are numerous musical cultures and styles that originate from or are associated with Asian nations. Asian musical cultures may be broadly categorised as Music of Central Asia (Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan), East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan and the Koreas), South Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam) and West Asia (Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and Syria). Although each region of the Asian continent has its music with unique characters, most Asian music is characterised by the use of the pentatonic scale (Hartong, 2006). In other words, music from regions such as Central Asia originates from the diverse cultures and peoples in the said region but have certain similarities. For instance, in this region, the principal instruments that accompany their various classes of music are horsehair fiddles, two- or three-stringed lutes, open-ended flutes and mostly metallic jaw harps (Hartong, 2006). Asian music is also accompanied by percussion instruments such as kettledrums, frame drums and tambourines. Another common musical instrument common in Asia, especially among the Inner Asian pastoralist communities is the Choor, which is a reed or wooden end-blown flute of different lengths but of four to five holes. This instrument has different names in different cultures with Mongolians calling it Tsuur while Kazakhstanis call it Sybyzghy. The other instruments with which the Inner Asian pastoralist music is associated are Dayra (a frame drum with jingles found in Central Asia and played by both men and women and Dombra, which is a class of two-stringed, long-necked lutes, regarded Kazakhstan's national instrument. Unfortunately for Asian music culture, there has been a lot of erosion of Asian music due to globalisation, more so the westernization of Asian music, which has led to increased calls and efforts to preserve the Asian musical heritage. An example of the efforts or initiatives that seek to preserve the Asian music culture is the Aga Khan Trust established in 2000 to especially assist in preserving the musical heritage of Central Asia. This initiative referred to as the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA) works with other tradition and cultural heritage stakeholders throughout Asian to ensure that the region’s musical traditions are carried from one generation of artists and audiences to the next. Additionally, the initiative seeks to popularize Central Asia musical culture to other regions by sponsoring music tours and festivals besides documenting and disseminating Asia’s musical culture. This paper explores the characteristic, cultural specificity, and the local and global significance of Asian music and its interaction with other music cultures. In addition, the effect of globalisation on Asian music is discussed with respect to Asian pop cultures such as Korean pop. The Significance of Music in the Asian Society That Asian culture is quite beautiful and luring is an undeniable fact. Of greater and unparalleled beauty and significance are the recorded and cherished Asian cultures, which are handed down from one generation to the other. These cultural aspects of Asia are not only rich with evidences of past and current cultural struggles but also show the triumphs of Asian cultures over natural forces that would otherwise erode these cultures at the slightest opportunities (Philip & Wong, 1997). Like in other regions, Asians store and chronicle their stories of struggle and triumph in music, which is in turn carried from one generation to the next. This music document and preserve the events, cultures and the feelings of the people of Asia. Thus, Asian music is more that the strumming of strings and the beating of drums that one hears when music is played. There is more to every musical culture as what one hears in Tokyo or India is quite different from what one hears in Angola or Mexico. The significance of music to Asians is supported by the popularity of music festivals in the region and the awe and reverence with which Asian performing artists are held. In addition, the fact that Asian children are exposed to music at an early age points to the importance and the integral nature of music in life in Asia (Philip & Wong, 1997). In fact, Asian children are encouraged and trained to take up instruments before they even start to read and write. The Asian Youth Orchestra exemplifies the reverence with which music is regarded in Asia. That music is significant and loved in Asia is further supported by the varieties of music in Asian and Asians’ embrace of music from other regions such as Europe and the United States of America. There are several uses to which music is put in Asia, which make it a rather popular aspect of Asian cultures. First, music as an art is a fundamental human function to satisfy man’s desire to be creative and critical. Humans also have to fulfill the instinctive desire to make and interact with sound and take pleasure in it. Asians have thus always found music an integral and significant part of their lives not only for enjoyment but also for creation, performance and emotional response purposes (Broughton & Ellingham, 2000). Notwithstanding the genre, music has immense worth in the Asian society. However, there are certain regions and situations in which music is rather underappreciated and little known. Music also has the role of stimulating the mind through its sound production, melodies, themes, harmony, the driving or relaxed rhythms and the color of the sounds (Broughton & Ellingham, 2000). Music thus nurtures the soul allowing people to feel nearly or possibly all life’s emotions. Although Asian music is unique, recent globalisation has made it interact with other world musical cultures, eroding it and enriching it to different extents. Asian Music and Western Style More and more Eastern culture, especially the case of Asian musical culture is being influenced by the Western culture by the day. Quite influential in causing these westernization effects on Asian musical culture and heritage are urbanisation, globalisation and modernisation forces (Russell, 2009). In fact, due to these forces, it has become an everyday occurrence to see an Asian music performer dress in for-Western images while performing songs whose lyrics state otherwise. In other terms, due to globalisation and westernisation, the East and the West are culturally tied together with regards to arts such as music and dances. For an illustration, with the fast expanding influence of westernisation, the popularity of the Chinese opera music has reportedly been on the decline, especially in areas such as Singapore. The generation of Chinese born to parents who entirely loved and watched Chinese opera music in the many Chinese dialects lament that it is no longer easy to listen to and watch a Chinese music when and if one wishes since in this generation’s opinion, contemporary Chinese society only listens to the noisy and annoying pop and rock music. Worse still, these generations of Chinese feel that even the Chinese music people listen to today lack the essence of Chinese opera in them. These changes are mostly attributed not only to the music culture changes the Asian region is undergoing but also the shift in music preferences and tastes occasioned by globalisation (Philip & Wong, 1997). Since Asia is increasingly getting exposed to the Western, the Asian musical culture continues to be influenced by the Western culture, implying a change in their musical preferences, which has seen Asians’ musical tastes leaning towards pop, rock and techno types of music (Philip & Wong, 1997). Globalisation has thus made Asian music to develop certain dramatic changes. For example, there has been a shift from the use of the traditional Chinese erhus to Westernised six-string acoustic, electric or classical guitars and violins and flutes. Similarly, Malaysians have changed from their traditional Malay geduks and gendungs (drums) to the now popular Western drum sets and/or the snare drums. This expansion of Asian musical instruments to encompass Western instruments has had far-reaching effects on Asian music styles in contemporary society. Despite this erosion of Asian musical culture, a lot of Asian values and ideas are evident in this Westernised music, an indication that despite the Westernisation influence, Asian music still has its clout and the cultural ties are still intact (Philip & Wong, 1997). Among the Asian musical cultures that have been extensively westernised are the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Korean music, which not only have Western elements in them but also have English or other European language lyrics. Regrettably, instances abound in which the foreign lyrics included in these Asian music do not even make sense. An example of an Asian group that has incorporated English lyrics in its song is the Korean girl group ‘Wonder Girls’, which included English words in their song “Nobody”. The development of the English and the Chinese version of the song were prompted by the popularity of the song. Chinese musician Wang Lee Hom also personifies the Western and globalisation influence on Asian music culture. He is particularly known for his attempts to fuse tribal East Asian and traditional Chinese music with Western hip-hop and R&B sounds. This fusion by Wang has in deed captivated the Asian youth, as seen in the influence of his 2004 album entitled Shangri-La in which he fused Tibetan, Chinese and Mongolian music with mainstream R&B and hip-hop. Similarly, in his 2005 album entitled Heroes of Earth, Wang mixed Beijing Operatic and Kunqu sounds into his music. His other work that had Western influences was a song entitled ‘What’s Up with Rock?!’ that had a lot rock influences added to the Chinese flavour. The role of American composers such as Leonard Bernstein in the Westernisation of Asian music cannot be overemphasized. Nonetheless, globalisation and the modernisation of technology rank highest in influencing the Westernisation of Asian music. Just with a click of button, it has been made possible to transmit musical and cultural ideas from one region or country to another. That is, through technology, people have the right equipment to encounter and experience strange cultures by way of their artistic works such as music (Wallach, 2008). In a similar manner, the traditional music of Asian origin, especially those from China, Japan and Korea have also significantly been influential in inspiring Western composers. For instance, singers such as Chou Wen-Chung and John Cage have gone past the shallow copying and borrowing of Asian musical elements in attempts to understand certain non-Western principles of music that could be exploited by Western artists. The Korean Music Korean music is one of the genres of Asian music that has been influenced by the music of other regions such as the Western region. This westernization effect has led to the emergence and spread of Korean pop music, popularly referred to as K-Pop, which is slowly but steadily taking the global music industry by storm. Particularly noteworthy is K-Pop’s popularity among Korean teenagers and adults who have resulted in the genre receiving a lot of positive reviews in other outside regions (Heo, 2012). The mixed-genre nature of Korean pop which encompasses pop, rock and dance all fused together has also made its electric feel to transcend national and cultural boundaries. Consequently, K-Pop has developed into a sub-culture of some nature not only in South Korea but also in other regions where the genre is appreciated. In addition, K-Pop continues to influence fashion and industry across borders. The increasing number and popularity of Korean pop music artists attest to the popularity of K-Pop with some of these groups and individual artists such as the Wonder Girls, Brown Eyed Girls, Girls’ Generation and 2NE1 reaching the ‘idol status.’ In fact, a group such as the Wonder Girls has sold millions of singles due to the international craze that has resulted out of the popularity of K-Pop (Heo, 2012). What is more, the Wonder Girl group has even had its singles featured on the rather highly acclaimed musical chart, the Billboard 100. As in the case of other Asian musical genres, the popularity of K-Pop may be partly attributed to technological and communication advances such as the internet and the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, which has increased Korean artists’ access to audiences from all over the globe especially within the Asian continent in which K-Pop has been embraced in China, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines (Heo, 2012). Across the continental borders, K-Pop has received good audience in the UK and the US among other Western countries. Musical cultural interactions and influences have also occurred within the confines of the Asian region with various Asian groups borrowing from and interacting with one another, resulting in a mix of musical cultures, distinctly characteristic of Asia. Nonetheless, difference still exit among these groups and musical features as each culture seeks to preserve their musical heritage. The Girl Generation and the Cherry Belle The Korean group the Girl Generation and the Indonesian group the Cherry Belle are examples of the Asian groups that have shot to fame due to the influence of K-Pop. The Girl Generation is a pop group formed in 2007 by S.M Entertainment in Korea. The nine members of the group are Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Yoona and Seohyun. The songs that placed this group on the international music map were ‘Into the New World", ‘Kissing You’ and ‘Baby Baby’. However, it is their 2009 single ‘Gee’, which placed the girls on world platform by running the longest as number one song on KBS Music Bank. However, the group would not have succeeded were it not for their appeal and artistry, which has seen them perform a variety of genres such as bubblegum pop and K-Pop. As a matter of fact, the Girl Generation capitalized on these two genres, which were quite popular during its formative years. The major influences on this group’s genre were both Asian and foreign. These included the seasoned K-Pop singer BoA and the U.S singer Britney Spears. Due to international exposure and performances, the group now boasts of more mature and electro-pop influenced music that attracts international audiences. Besides their music and choreography, the group’s international reception could be attributed to its members’ traits such as personality, humility, friendliness and the ability to interact with their audiences (Russell, 2009). Cherry Belle from Indonesia could be compared and contrasted with the Girl Generation not to belittle either of the groups but to show the diversity and the interconnectedness of Asian musical culture. Formed in February 27, 2011 from an audition, the Indonesian group emphasises beauty, voice quality and members’ talent and ability to dance. Its talented members are Cherly, Christy, Kezia, Felly, Angel, Anisa, Gigi, Ryn, and Steffy. Two members, Kezia and Steffy were elected to replace two founding members Devi and Wenda who resigned from the group in April 2012. Cherry Belle is among the Asian groups influenced by the popularity of K-Pop groups such as the Girl Generation. Due to thus Korean pop influence, Cherry Belle released catchy tunes accompanied with choreographed performances after months of training and practices following the auditions. The main genre produced by this group is sweet pop mid tempo, which is easy to listen to and memorize and accompanied by cute dances. Unfortunately, the group has been accused of copying the Girl Generation’s work in their songs ‘Best Friend Forever’, which has some similarities with ‘Kissing You’ of the Korean group. Conclusion Like other musical cultures, Asian music has recently experienced some level of erosion from other musical cultures due to modernisation, urbanisation and globalisation. Korean, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesia and Japanese music are among those largely affected by Western musical cultures. In Korea and Indonesia for instance, recent times have seen the emergence of popular Korean pop groups such as the Girl Generation and the Cherry Belle respectively. Much as cultural integration is good for multiculturalism, stakeholders are concerned about the erosion of Asian musical cultures hence efforts are underway to preserve it. References Broughton, S., and Ellingham, M. (2000) Rough guide to world music, first edition. London: Rough Guides. Hartong, J. L. (2006) Musical terms worldwide: a companion for the musical explorer. Semar Publishers. Heo, J. (2012) “K-Pop Community Site”. Retrieved on November 1, 2012 from http://koremusic.tistory.com Philip, V. B., and Wong, K. F. (1997). Excursions in world music, second edition. Prentice Hall. Russell, J. M. (2009) Pop goes Korea: behind the revolution in movies, music, and internet culture. Stone Bridge Press. Wallach, J. (2008) Modern noise, fluid genres: popular music in Indonesia, 1997-2001 (new perspectives in Se Asian studies), first edition. University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition Read More