Since I had researched eariler about the Chinese bells and music is a part of culture and art I was inspired to research more into Chinese Traditional music. In the Song Dynasty this ermerged. It was very important to them and was mainly storytelling through music. It relates to the other cultures we have been studying because like Egypt's hieroglyphics or statues of India that tell of rulers or gods music conveys these aspects as well and are passed down through generations. Musical storytellers were highly respected as professionals. There are two main forms which are Jingyun daguandtanci, its also known as Peking drumsong, and also Tanci, which is southern style storytelling. They both are musical narratives,but Jingyun focused on stories about China's history while Tanci told about romantic tales of Ming and Qing periods. I learned that these types of musicals became more popular in the 19th and 20th century and are still being played today.
In the storytelling they would usually have a couple musicians playing and half singing, half speaking the tales. The instruments they used were made of silk thread. Instruments which were played are the Dizi, Qin(like a zither),Zheng, Erhu(a bowe lute),Shend, Pipa(plucked flute), Yueqin(struck lute), and Lithophone, qing. Here are some photos that illustrate the use of the instruments.
dizi
Qin
Zheng
Erhu
Shend
pipa
Yueqin
Lithophone
I wanted to know how the instruments sounded so I watched some videos of traditional chinese music. I like the Erhu instrument the best. It has a nice melancholy sound to it.
I think the music makes sense with the art. Looking at the silk and paintings you can defiently see(or hear) the connection.
The use of thin lines and open space somehow reminds me of the light parts and heavyness of the music. or maybe I have been just listening to it for too long.
"East Asia." The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 01 October 2012.
Zheng
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