Chinese Music and Achievement - Essay Example

Chinese Music The foundation of Chinese music can be traced to the Zhou period which led to development of the Chinese music culture through the progressive dynasties. It formed the basis for ceremonial music, the education of music in the educational system and major musical styles. Several musical influences were witnessed during the subsequent cultures between china and its dynasties and between china and other countries globally. Chinese music was characterized by different instruments which shaped the development and influence of the Chinese musical culture globally. Native musical instruments included the transverse flutes, vessel flutes, zithers and panpipes among others. Although there were other new instruments which were influential in the development of the Chinese music domestically and globally, it is imperative to note that the native instrument formed the basis and foundation for the development of the later instruments. The making of new musical instruments was derived from both regional and foreign concepts which were accepted both locally and in the foreign musical world especially in the western countries where the market for the fused music attracted rapid market. The Chinese made Musical instruments which had a regional appeal included the oblong bridged zither and the Zheng. The Zheng was natively from the Qin kingdom but was later regionalized. This was because of the political influence of the Qui dynasty which led to regionalization of many aspects of their culture. As a result, the use of Zheng as a music instrument became very popular and got national outlook. As such, it got recognition locally and nationally as it was played alongside various types of urban music. Other than the regional music instruments, there were also the fusion of domestic instruments and the local instrument which led to the development of Chinese musical instruments with a foreign appeal. These instruments were very influential in the influencing international music and exposing the Chinese music in the global platforms. These instruments include but are not limited to; the cylindrical double-reed Jiao oboe, shukongbou standing harp, end-blown di flute with four holes, and the plucked pipa lute (Myers, 1992). Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments The Chinese musical instruments have undergone various transformations especially during the various progressive dynasties and era. During the Shang period, the musical culture was very primitive and the musical instruments were not developed as they were through the later periods. During the civilization period, the musical instruments were advanced and the instruments got major recognition not only in their domestic coverage areas but also in the foreign countries. The major traditional Chinese musical instruments include the percussion instruments, stringed instruments, wind instruments and the plucked instruments. Due to the limitation of this study, we will look into two major instruments which we can imperatively conclude that are the most influential in the musical scene (Smith, 1991). Horse-Headed Fiddle This instrument belong a major category of stringed-instrument. It is bowed and as the name suggest, it has a scroll carved like a horses head. The Horse-headed fiddle is commonly known for its influence and use in the Mongolian music which made it very popular locally and regionally. The instrument is dated back to more than 1,300 years of the Chinese culture. This instrument is very influential not since it led to the influence of European music through the Chinese musical culture. This led to major levels influence specifically to the European string music. This instrument was spread rapidly in Europe after one of the European artists Marco Polo went to china and came back to Europe with the instrument. The instrument is used mostly to paly happy music. This is because it has a wide tonal range and deep, hazy tone color which are played to express joyful appeal and it is also melodious leading to feelings of happiness. This is one of the compelling reasons why the instrument spread rapidly to the Europe and later to other parts of the globe. The horse-headed fiddle has been traced to the fantastic legend which was developed by the Mongolian people. The hero of the legend developed this instrument during horse-racing at the Nadam Fair. The instrument produced a very sweet tone and melody when it was played which led to many praises on it. This instrument has since attracted the interest of many artists and music admirers all over the world whenever played. As such, its vivid sound can be associated with the reason as to why the instrument has influenced both the domestic and global music. Lute (Pipa) This instrument has been traced to the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC). This was the foundation of most of the music instruments. The Lute has its original name based on the loquat fruit. The Lute underwent major transformation during the years and was highly regarded regionally and locally. It reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) where its popularity had increased widely and most people composed songs to suing alongside the instrument. Its love was associated by the influence of the royalty to the Tang Dynasty. The instrument got a very predominant position in the orchestra having been popular from the royal court of the dynasty to the common folk (Shen, 1991). The most distinct feature of this instrument was expressed when the instrument attracted recognition not only from the musicians but also from the writers and poets who wrote texts and poems which were performed with the Lute. This is because this instrument allowed for the mingling of different types of musical tones. In this case, the soft and the rapid notes in the instrument were able to mingle well in the context of any form of art produced. This allowed for musical, literary writers and poets to use this instrument diversely while achieving different outcomes depending on their wishes and expectations (Lawrence, 1995). The international exposure of the Pipa was influenced by the rapid improvements and advancement which was made on the instrument regularly. There were different techniques and structures which were changed from the original instrument in order to give the new make a foreign appeal. Some of the changes included changing the holding position of the pipa while playing it, while before the instrument was held transversely, it changed and now they held it vertically. The players also refrained from using a pick to pluck the instrument to suing fingers. This refined the sound and the tone produced for the instrument into a more appealing one different from the original instrument. As such, it exposed the Chinese musical culture especially where it was borrowed in the western music particularly the United States (Myers, 1992). The influence of the Chinese musical culture in the international music can be traced to the exposure of the Chinese instruments into the foreign world due to the effects of civilization. The Chinese music is very distinct from other forms of music and especially the western forms of music. However, different aspects of this music can be traced to the traced to the western music. This is because there is appealing beauty in the Chinese music. A particular form of Chinese music played globally called Gao Shan Liu Shui is a very nice, elegant, deep, rhythmic and graceful music which has deep exposed to different cultures as a result of the instruments used in the composition of the song. This type of music gives people a sense of inner and gentle beauty. This type of music has in most cases been fused with western music to express aesthetics. The international influence of the Chinese culture can be traced to hybridization of the western and Chinese music. This was first enabled by trade between the Chinese and the western countries as traders moved from the two regions and exchanged their musical cultures. This has been a very positive influence since the early musical culture of the Chinese was not characterized by notational system of recording their song which did not leave any room for the preservation of the musical culture for future years. However, the hybridization of the Chinese and other musical concepts form different countries led to increased appreciation and exposure of the Chinese musical culture to other regions of the world (Lawrence, 1995). Ya Yueh melodies is a traditional Chinese music which is very exposed to the international world due to its elegance and use of musical instruments which are more classic and elegant even though they are characteristic of the Chinese culture. This has led to exposure of the Chinese culture in most global platforms and therefore, ti sis imperative to say that the influence of the Chinese cultures both in the local and international musical cultures has been very positive. Work Cited Lawrence, J.W., Silk and Bamboo Music in Shanghai. The Kent State University Press. 1995. Print. Myers, John. The way of the Pipa: Structure and Imagery in Chinese Lute Music. The Kent State University Press. 1992. Print. Shen Sin-yan. Chinese Music and Orchestration: A Premier on Principles and Practice. Chinese Society of North America. 1991. Print. Smith, B. A., & Davidson, C. W. Music and achievement. Journal of Social Studies Research, 15(1), 1-7. 1991. Print. Steele, K., Bass, K., & Crook, M. The mystery of the Mozart Effect. American Psychological Society, 10(4), 336-369. 1999. Print. Read More