China is the home of one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and is also home to the earliest musical

scale in recorded
human history. During the 20th century, a 7000 year old xun, or globular flute, was unearthed in China. The instrument was
designed around the minor third interval, which is still one of the organizing principles of Chinese music. As a result,
preference for minor third and major sixth intervals masks the semitones of the Chinese scale, giving it the distinctive tone
that's often difficult for the Western ear to discern even today.
This continuity of aesthetics has been remarkably constant throughout the history of Chinese music, and it's understanding
is crucial to comprehending Chinese music. The ancient Chinese defined, by mathematical means, a series of 12
frequencies (called the l-l) from which various sets of five, or six, or seven frequencies, pentatonic and heptatonic tones,
were selected to make the major scale familiar to people the Western ear, But the Chinese aesthetics prefers to use interval
rather than scale. The 12 l approximate the frequencies known in the West as F, G flat, G, E flat, and E.
The ancient Chinese system of tuning encompasses the closest approximations to the just intervals. Depending on the
melodic progression, scale pitches are selected from 23 different steps within the octave so that each principal interval in the
progression is just.
Chinese musical compositions also utilize a system of intervals, built upon both thirds and fourths.
Orchestral, ensemble and solo instrumental music of China are considered some of the highest art forms in the world. Multipart formal design dominates these categories of Chinese music. A four-stage development is often used in melodic and
harmonic design: qi (introduction), cheng (elucidation of the theme), zhuan (transition to another viewpoint) and he (summing
up).
These aesthetic principles came into their fullest flower during the Pre-Qin period (770-476 BCE). This was the age of
Confucius, an unprecedented period in human civilization when talents and human resources were put to use in the most
important creative endeavors. Major principalities in China competed to attract artists, scholars, diplomats, and engineers
and, of course, musicians to adorn their courts. The rise of the science of acoustics supported the ever-increasing
advancements in the art of music making.

Art music was at the center of the Chinese musical system. Music for the court and dance as an art were a minor part of this
philosophical mainstream. Chinese classical music was at its peak during the time of Ji Kang (223-262 CE) at the tail of the
Han period. Kang was one of the great poets, musicians and philosophers of China. His writings and musical compositions
are still studied today.
Chinese classical instruments from this period were classified by type in a system known as the "eight sounds": silk (stringed
instruments), bamboo (flutes and reed instruments), wood (woodblocks and similar percussion instruments), stone (stone
instruments hit with mallets), metal (gongs and bells), clay (the ocarina-like xun), gourd (various free-reed mouth organs),
and hide (large drums).
Pre-Qin Bronze bell chimes were important orchestral instruments until they vanished from history 2,000 years ago, about
the period of Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), and after this era, Chinese classical music gently declined except for an
extended blip during the Tang period. The decline of art music started in the Wei-Jin periods (220420 CE), and the music
was gone by the second part of the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE).
However, the theatrical forms collectively known as "Chinese Opera" began their rise during the Tang Dynasty, under
Emperor Xuanzong (712-755 CE), who founded the "Pear Garden," the first known opera troupe in China. Today there are
over 300 different styles of opera in China, the most well-known being the Beijing Opera style.
With prolonged Western contact in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, China was exposed to many new forms of music, and
while many foreign forms have found a niche there, the old classical forms still persist alongside them. So that today music in
China can be classified into classical music, folkloric music and movie and popular music. Sinyan Shen

There is a saying that 99 percent of all Chinese are farmers, and it's true that most Chinese music excluding the classical,
operatic and art music traditions originates with rural, peasant traditions, and has deep regional roots.
For centuries, farmers in the north have practiced wind-and-percussion ensembles. Ding County of Hebei is famous for
artistry in the double reeds: the guanzi (double-reed pipe), the haidi (small oboe) and the suona (Northern oboe). In Xian,
the Western Capital of China, musicians for centuries practiced the sheng (a free-reed mouth organ) and di (reeded

transverse flute) for joining ensembles called Xian drum music. In the early 1960s, Liu Mingyuan and the Xinying Traditional
Orchestra wrote the popular "Years of Happiness" based on rural traditional music.
Eastern China is "fiddle" country, and bowed instruments such as the erhu, zhonghu, and the gaohu are popular as both solo
and ensemble instruments. The Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong provinces have produced a lot of fiddlers, including Wang
Dianyu, Zhao Yuchai and the influential A Bing (18931950), a street musician famous for his many compositions, including
his most famous "Listen to the Pine."
In the south, folk music is often combined with dance. The huadeng is a large class of regional dance. Huadeng is known in
the West as the "lantern dance" and translates literally as "flower lantern" -- but has many other names: "jumping the
lantern," "playing with the lantern" and lantern theater. The dance is popular in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and their
surrounding areas (all in southern or southwestern China). The steps vary from place to place, but the dancers all carry
lanterns or fans and they also sing. Huadeng Xi is the lower Lantern Opera. "Yunnan Huadeng" of Yunnan Province, for
example, has a very strong instrumental component. Many Huadeng artists are also highly accomplished instrumental
players. The yueqin master Li Yongnian of the Yunnan Huadeng Theater Company (Yunnan Huadeng Jutuan) in Kunming
was one such well-known figure. Yueqin is the general name for the moon lute, which is round. Li Yongnian's yueqin is the
type used in Yunnan Flower Lantern music, has an octagonal resonator, and is more resonant in musical acoustics.
In the 20th Century, music lovers flocked to folkloric zheng (horizontal harp) artistry.
There is Zhao Yuchai from the Northeastern school and the Yunnan school, Cao Dongfu from the Henan school, and Su
Qiaozheng from the Southern school. The period 1955-1966 is what historians and musicologists call the Golden Era of
Chinese music recording, and some of the most passionate performances in the history of China were recorded. The most
successful recordings of that era were made by the Shanghai Traditional Orchestra (He Wu-qi and Ma Shenglong), the
Xinying Traditional Orchestra (in connection with the music of Liu Mingyuan), the Qianwei Traditional Orchestra, and the
China Broadcasting Traditional Orchestra. Sinyan Shen

The pipa (Chinese: ; pinyin: pp) is a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the
plucked category of instruments (/). Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument
has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets ranging from 1226. Another Chinese 4
string plucked lute is the liuqin, which looks like a smaller version of the pipa.
The pipa appeared in the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and was developed during the Han Dynasty. It is
one of the most popular Chinese instruments and has been played for nearly two thousand years in
China. Several related instruments in East and Southeast Asia are derived from the pipa; these include
the Japanese biwa, the Vietnamese n t b, and the Korean bipa. The Korean instrument is the only
one of the three that is no longer used. Attempts to revive the instrument have failed, although examples
survive in museums.

History
Main article: Guqin history

A famous Tang Dynasty (618907) qin, the "Jiu Xiao Huan Pei"

Legend has it that the qin, the most revered of all Chinese musical instruments, has a history of about
5,000 years. This legend states that the legendary figures of China's pre-history Fuxi, Shennong and
Huang Di, the "Yellow Emperor" were involved in its creation. Nearly almost all qin books and tablature
collections published prior to the twentieth century state this as the factual origins of the qin, [4] although
this is now presently viewed as mythology. It is mentioned in Chinese writings dating back nearly 3,000
years, and related instruments have been found inTomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng from about 2,500 years
ago. The exact origins of the qin is still a very much continuing subject of debate over the past
few decades.
In 1977, a recording of "Flowing Water" (Liu Shui, as performed by Guan Pinghu, one of the best qin
players of the 20th century) was chosen to be included in the Voyager Golden Record, a gold-plated LP
recording containing music from around the world, which was sent into outer space by NASA on
the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts. It is the longest excerpt included on the disc. The reason to
select a work played on this specific instrument is because the tonal structure of the instrument, its
musical scale, is derived from fundamental physical laws related to vibration and overtones, representing
the intellectual capacity of human beings on this subject. In 2003, guqin music was proclaimed as one of
theMasterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.[5]

The xiao (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: xio; WadeGiles: hsiao) is a Chinese
vertical end-blown flute. It is generally made of dark brown bamboo (called "purple bamboo" in Chinese).
It is also sometimes (particularly in Taiwan) called dngxio (simplified Chinese: ; traditional
Chinese: ), dng meaning "hole." An ancient name for the xio is shd (, lit. "vertical bamboo
flute") but the name xio in ancient times also included the side-blown bamboo flute, dizi.
The xio is a very ancient Chinese instrument usually thought to have developed from a simple endblown flute used by the Qiang people ofSouthwest China. The modern six-hole form of the instrument
goes back to the Ming Dynasty.

Dance seems to be a lot like ice cream flavors...it's so hard to choose just one. If you
are thinking of trying out a new dance style, there may be a few you haven't even
considered. Check out this list of dance genres and see which one appeals to you.
There are many fun types of dance, you may need to sample a few to find your
favorite.
Ballet

Digital Vision / Getty Images

Ballet serves as a backbone for many other styles of dance, as many other dance
genres are based on ballet. Ballet is based on techniques that have been developed
over centuries. Ballet uses music and dance to tell stories. Ballet dancers have the
ability to transport an audience to another world.

Ballet is a formalized kind of performance dance, which originated in the Italian Renaissance
courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France, England, and Russia as a
concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were
presented in large chambers with most of the audience seated on tiers or galleries on three sides
of the dancing floor. It has since become a highly technical form of dance with its own
vocabulary. It is primarily performed with the accompaniment of classical music and has been
influential as a form of dance globally. Ballet has been taught in ballet schools around the world,
which use their own cultures and societies to inform the art. Ballet dance works (ballets) are
choreographed and performed by trained artists, include mime and acting, and are set to music
(usually orchestral but occasionally vocal). It is a poised style of dance that incorporates the
foundational techniques for many other dance forms.
This genre of dance is very hard to master and requires much practice. It is best known in the
form of Late Romantic Ballet or Ballet Blanc, which preoccupies itself with the female dancer to
the exclusion of almost all else, focusing on pointe work, flowing, precise acrobatic movements,
and often presenting the dancers in the conventional short white French tutu. Later developments
include expressionist ballet, Neoclassical ballet, and elements of Modern dance.

Jazz

Stockbyte / Getty Images

Jazz is a fun dance style that relies heavily on originality and improvisation. Many
jazz dancers mix different styles into their dancing, incorporating their own
expression. Jazz dancing often uses bold, dramatic body movements, including body
isolations and contractions.
Tap

Donna Ward/Stringer / Getty Images

Tap dancing is an exciting form of dance in which dancers wear special shoes
equipped with metal taps. Tap dancers use their feet like drums to create rhythmic
patterns and timely beats.
Hip-Hop

Photodisc / Getty Images

Hip-hop is a dance style, usually danced to hip-hop music, that evolved from the
hip-hop culture. Hip-hop includes various moves such as breaking, popping, locking
and krumping, and even house dance. Improvisation and personal interpretation are
essential to hip-hop dancing.
Modern

Photodisc / Getty Images

Modern dance is a dance style that rejects many of the strict rules of classical ballet,
focusing instead on the expression of inner feelings. Modern dance was created as a
rebellion against classical ballet, emphasizing creativity in choreography and
performance.
Swing

Photodisc / Getty Images

Swing dance is a lively dance style in which couples swing, spin and jump together.
Swing dancing is a general term that means dancing to swing music, or music that
"swings." How can you tell if a song swings? Swing dancers know when a song
swings because when they hear it, they can't stand still.
Contra Dance

Betty Ann Sather / Great Meadow Music

Contra dance is a form of American folk dance in which the dancers form two
parallel lines and perform a sequence of dance movements with different partners
down the length of the line. Contra dances are relaxed with family-like atmospheres.
The dancing is excellent exercise, and dancers can set their own pace. Contra
dancers are usually friendly, active people with a love of dance.
Country and Western

Michael Buckner / Getty Images

Country and western dance includes several dance forms, usually danced to
country-western music. If you've ever been to a country and western club or tavern,
you've probably seen a few cowboy boot-wearing dancers twirling around the dance
floor with big smiles on their faces.

Belly Dance

Photodisc / Getty Images

Belly dance is a unique form of dance characterized by sharp, rolling movements of
the hips and abdomen. The true origins of belly dancing are debated among
enthusiasts.
Flamenco

Jess Alford / Getty Images

Flamenco dance is an expressive dance form that mixes percussive footwork with
intricate hand, arm and body movements. Flamenco is a Spanish art consisting of
three forms: Cante, the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing. .

Flamenco is a Spanish genre of music and dance which originated in Andalusia in the 18th
century, which has as its foundation Andalusian music and dance and, in whose creation and
evolution, ethnic Gypsies from Andalucian played an essential part.[1] The cante(singing),
toque(guitar playing) and the dance are the principal facets of Flamenco.
In recent years the popularity of flamenco in Latin America is such that in Guatemala, Costa
Rica, Panama and El Salvador several ensembles and flamenco academies have sprung up. In
Japan flamenco is so popular that there are more academies there than in Spain.[2][3] On
November 16, 2010, UNESCO declared Flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible Heritage of Humanity

Latin Dance

Stockbyte / Getty Images

Latin dance is a fast-paced, often sensual, partner dance characterized by sexy hip
movements. However, hip movements are not intentional in any of the Latin
dances. The hip motion is a natural consequence of changing weight from one foot
to the other.
Latin dance includes a wide range of dances originating in Latin America, Puerto
Rico and Cuba. Examples include the Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Samba, Salsa, Mambo,
Danza, Merengue, Tumba, Bachata, Bomba, Plena, Paso Doble and Bolero. Some
also include tango and Argentine Tango in this list, although they differ from the rest
in their style. In Argentina tango is not considered folk dance as is the case with
dances like chacarera, gato, escondido and zamba. Typical Bolivian folk dances are
morenada, kullawada, caporales and the recently created tinku. In Colombia one of
the typical dances is the cumbia.
Folk Dance

Guang Niu / Getty Images

Folk dance refers to a variety of dances developed by groups or communities, as
opposed to being made up by a choreographer. There are several types of folk
dance including clogging, English country dance, international folk dance, Irish
dance, Maypole dance, Morris dance, Nordic polska dance, square dance, and many
more. Folk dances are often performed at social events.

Yoyo dance

Chinese Yo-Yo is a toy consisting of two equally-sized discs connected with an

axle. It is kept spinning on a string tied to two sticks at its ends. Each stick is
held in one hand. When it spins fast enough, it lets out wonderful sounds. So
Chinese Yo-Yo is also called Pull-Bell.

It is possible to perform a large variety of tricks with Chinese Yo-Yo which can
be as easy as throwing the yo-yo up into the air or tossing it around the
user's back. It needs quite a bit of exercises.
Chinese Yo-Yo brings you both good exercise and so much family fun. It is
good for ages 4-99.
Chinese Yo-Yo has a long history as described in literature from the Ming
dynasty (1386-1644 AD). In modern times, You can see Chinese Yo-Yo in
Chinese acrobats and sometimes in Chinese ethnic dance.
The Chinese yo-yo is a toy from China consisting of two equally-sized discs connected with a
long axle. The Chinese yo-yo is kept spinning on a string tied to two sticks at its ends. Each stick
is held in one hand. In modern times, it is used as a children's toy and as a performance tool in
juggling and sometimes in Chinese ethnic dance. It is possible to perform a large variety of tricks
with the Chinese yo-yo which can be as easy as throwing the yo-yo up into the air or tossing it
around the user's back. It was found during the Ming dynasty; roughly 1386-1644.
Like the Western yo-yo, it maintains its spinning motion through a gyroscopic effect based on
conservation of angular momentum.

Blackburn
Festival of
Speech, Music
& Dance.
The Festival was founded in 1945 just
after the second world war. The first
Festival was held in 1946 being
organised by Miss Margaret (Peggy)
Callis, with a voluntary committee and
the Public Halls supplied by the council
under the leadership of Alderman John
Stirrup. Since then the Blackburn
Borough Council have been very helpful
in allowing us to use the Halls and the
Public Library rooms when they came
into use. We do now have to pay for the
accommodation but the venues are one
of the best a Festival can be held in.
Over the years we have had some
excellent and well known Adjudicators

from all sections of the Arts.

The Festival is still anticipated and

enjoyed by performers and audience
alike. However, numbers have decreased
somewhat since the mid 1970's when on
one Adult vocal day we had Miss
Marjorie Thomas with five other
Adjudicators and there were up to 70
competitors in each class requiring the
use of six halls, with classes taking all
day. This was followed by the Rose
Bowl Final and the Senior Choir
Championsships; those were the day's!.

In addition to adult competitors, the

festival includes classes for juniors 18
years and under in all three disciplines
and is still run by a voluntary committee
and the faithful hand of stewards who
give their time each year to help
supervise the halls and organise the
performers in their appriotriate classes.
We are always looking for new helpers,
as each year goes by we all get a little
older! If you would like to help please
contact the secretary and she will pass on
your details to the appropriate committee
member who will contact you before the
next festival.

I hope you enjoy perusing our new

web site and we hope to hear from many
competitors who would like to enter and
perform before an audience and receive
constructive
comments
from

professional Adjudicator who have all

worked in some form of the Arts over
their working life and have much to offer
a young performer.

Mrs
Chairman

Margaret

Wilson

The Festival is affiliated to the

THE BRITISH & INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF
FESTIVALS
for Music, Dance & Speech
Patron
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
Registered Charity No 222789

[ Home ]
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[ Contact]
[ Links Page]
Website by Tower-Forte

speech

Good evening ladies and gentlemen I will be

speaking about music and how important it is.
Are people typically geniuses?
Statistically, people probably are not. In fact, most
people probably aren't even intellectually gifted at
all. Most people are likely to be pretty much average,
maybe a little bit above average, or a little below, but
very average none the less. It is universally
understood that people strive to learn to become
wiser and more informed about the world around
them. The more people learn, the more powerful
they can become. It is the speed at which people
learn that separates the geniuses from the average
people and from the learning disabled. Geniuses
don't run into problems while learning, because they
learn very fast. It is everyone else that could really
use help. One solid way to increase the speed at

which people learn is with music. People learn

through music and their minds grow faster because
of it. Some music, when implemented properly, can
have positive effects on learning and attitude. Music
is a powerful thing, and when we understand its
significance, it can bring dramatic changes both
positive and negative into our lives. The earliest
stages of learning for young children are the most
important. It can have dramatic affects on the future
of the child's learning.
Music, when applied in a constructive way, can have
positive effects on a child's ability to learning and
can help them in many ways. One way that music
can make learning easier for a young child is by
implementing music lessons into a child's normal
activities. Music is taught through listening to
different types of music while talking about the
music, trying to understand it and interpret it in
different ways and in many ways, imitate it (63). For
adults it is a matter of choice, but when they choose
to involve music into their everyday lives, the effects
can be just as dramatic. One important aspect that
music can have on learning for people of all ages is...

Dance is an art form that generally refers

to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,
[1]
used as a form of expression, socialinteraction or
presented in a spiritual or performance setting.
Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal
communication between humans, and is also performed
by other animals (bee dance,patterns of behaviour such
as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure
skating and synchronized swimming are sports that
incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often
compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate
objects may also be described as dances
(the leavesdanced in the wind).
Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent
on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraint
s and range from functional movement (such as folk
dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can
be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It
can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance
movements may be without significance in themselves,
such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have
a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian
dances. Dance can embody or express
ideas, emotions or tell astory.

Dancing has evolved many

styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip
hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet,
Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance
while Square and the Electric Slide are forms of step
dances.
Every dance, no matter what style, has something in
common. It not only involves flexibility and body
movement, but also physics. If the proper physics is not
taken into consideration, injuries may occur.
Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person
who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as
the choreographer.

Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical

artifacts such asstone tools, hunting implements or cave
paintings. It is not possible to say when dance became
part of human culture. Dance has certainly been an
important part
of ceremony, rituals, celebrationsand entertainment sinc
e before the birth of the earliest
human civilizations. Archeology delivers traces of dance
fromprehistoric times such as the 9,000 year old Rock
Shelters of Bhimbetka paintings
in India and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing
figures from c. 3300 BC.
One of the earliest structured uses of dances may have
been in the performance and in the telling of myths. It
was also sometimes used to show feelings for one of the
opposite gender. It is also linked to the origin of "love
making." Before the production of written languages,
dance was one of the methods of passing these stories
down from generation to generation.[2]
Another early use of dance may have been as a
precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals.
Dance is still used for this purpose by many cultures
from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert.[3]

Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times

of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils).
According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan
dances originate, 250 years ago, from a magic ritual that
broke the spell on a bewitched king. Many contemporary
dance forms can be traced back
to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dance.

Dance categories by number of interacting dancers are

mainly solo dance, partner dance and group dance.
Dance is performed for various purposes like ceremonial
dance, erotic dance, performance dance, social
dance etc.

Dancing and music

See also: Category:Music genres
Many early forms of music and dance were created and
performed together. This paired development has
continued through the ages with dance/music forms such
as: jig, waltz, tango, disco, salsa, electronica and hiphop. Somemusical genres also have a parallel dance
form such as baroque music and baroque
dance whereas others developed separately: classical
music and classical ballet.
Although dance is often accompanied by music, it can
also be presented independently or provide its own
accompaniment (tap dance). Dance presented with
music may or may not be performed in time to the music

depending on the style of dance. Dance performed

without music is said to be danced to its own rhythm[citation
needed]
.
Ballroom dancing is an art although it may incorporates
many fitness components using an artistic state of mind.