CHRISTINE PEA A.

OPALDA
Grade 7 – Saint Agatha

Cymbals are indigenous to Asia;

ancient Assyria had a unique form,
funnel-shaped with long necks serving
as handles. Known in ancient Israel
from about 1100 BCE on, cymbals
were the only permanent idiophones of
the Temple orchestra. Egypt did not
have true metal cymbals until the 24th
dynasty. Today they remain in ritual
use in northern India, Japan, the
Tibetan Autonomous Region of China,
and Vietnam. They appeared in the 5th
century CE in India, where they are
now also found at secular festivities. In China they play a prominent part in
the theatre. Turkey, in contrast, has traditionally connected cymbals with
military usage. In some parts of Southeast Asia their ancient metal-
connected function of dispelling evil spirits still prevails.

Xylophones reach their highest

development in Southeast Asia.
They vary in form from the
simplest log type to the highly
developed orchestral instruments
found in Indonesia. Trough
xylophones were depicted in Java
in the 14th century but are not
restricted to Southeast Asia;
those of Japan, for instance, are
rhythm rather
than melody instruments, and in
Myanmar (Burma) they are
associated with royalty.
Xylophones of the
Indonesian gamelan, or percussion orchestra (and some mainland
ensembles), have various complementary compasses.

Stone chimes (lithophones) of two

types occur: oblong bars
like xylophone keys resting
horizontally, found in Vietnam only,
and vertically suspended plaques. In
China their generic name is qing;
there, single sculpted musical stones
and also 16-stone chimes are
suspended from ornate frames. Stones
forming a chime, carved in a typical L-
form and struck with a mallet on their
larger portion, are very ancient; a
chime of this form dating from the
late Shang era (c. 1600–1046 BCE)
was excavated at Anyang, in northeastern China. Both in China and in
Korea, where the oldest chime goes back to the 14th century, the lithophone
is a Confucian ritual instrument. Single stones and chimes are still in use in
rural central Vietnam.

The slit drum is made by hollowing a log

or wood block through a slit. Those of East
Asia and Indonesia are of great antiquity
and of a high degree of complexity. The
Chinese mu yu (traditionally fish-shaped) is
a Buddhist and Daoist ritual slit drum. Its
Korean and Japanese counterparts are
likewise ritual time markers, while in
Vietnam the slit drum is both a temple and
a watchman’s instrument. On Java slit
drums can be traced to the Hindu-Javanese
period (1st–9th century CE). Small models
are generally suspended vertically, whereas
larger ones rest horizontally; some
underscore dance rhythms, while others are signal instruments.
A sliding rattle called angklung, found only in Indonesia, consists of several
tuned bamboo tubes with cut-back tongues, inserted into a frame; they slide
back and forth when the frame is shaken.

The kakko is a Japanese double-headed drum.

One way in which the kakko differs from the
regular taiko drum is in the way in which it is
made taut. Like the Shime-Daiko and tsuzumi,
the skin of the heads are first stretched over
metal hoops before they are placed on the body,
tying them to each other and tightening them
making them taut. Kakko drums are usually laid
on their sides on stands so that it can be played
with sticks called bachi on both heads. Kakko
drums have been used in taiko ensembles, but
they are also used in older Japanese court music
called gagaku.
The kakko is derived from the Chinese jiegu, a
drum popular in China during the Tang Dynasty,
as is the Korean galgo.
A gong  is an East and Southeast
Asian musical percussion instrument that
takes the form of a flat, circular metal disc
which is hit with a mallet.
The origin of gongs is probably
China's Western Regions in the sixth century.
The term gong (Javanese: originated in
the Indonesian island of Java. Scientific and
archaeological research has established
that Burma, China, Java (Indonesia)
and Annam were the four main gong
manufacturing centres of the ancient world.
The gong found its way into the Western World in the 18th century when it
was also used in the percussion section of a Western-style symphony
orchestra. A form of bronze cauldron gong known as a resting bell was
widely used in ancient Greece and Rome, for instance in the famous Oracle
of Dodona, where disc gongs were also used.

Kulintang is a modern term for an

ancient instrumental form of music
composed on a row of small,
horizontally laid gongs that function
melodically, accompanied by larger,
suspended gongs and drums. As part
of the larger gong-chime culture
of Southeast Asia, kulintang music
ensembles have been playing for many
centuries in regions of the Eastern
Indonesia,
Southern Philippines, Eastern Malaysia, Brunei and Timor,[8] Kulintang
evolved from a simple native signaling tradition, and developed into its
present form with the incorporation of knobbed gongs from Sundanese
people in Java Island, Indonesia.[3] Its importance stems from its association
with the indigenous cultures that inhabited these islands prior to the
influences of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or the West, making
Kulintang the most developed tradition of Southeast Asian archaic gong-
chime ensembles.
The angkouch  is a Cambodian jaw's harp. It is a folk instrument made of
bamboo and carved into a long, flat shape
with a hole in the center and a tongue of
bamboo across the hole.[2] The bamboo is
not removable, which makes the
instrument an idioglot.
There is also a metal variety, more round
or tree-leaf shaped. It may also have
metal bells attached.
The instrument is both a wind instrument
and percussion instrument. As a wind
instrument, it is played by placing it
against the mouth and plucking the reed.
The hand holding the instrument holds it
with the thumb and forefinger facing each other, holding it firmly. This adds
mass to the instrument and makes it louder. The mouth acts as a resonator
and as a tool to alter the sound. Although mainly a folk instrument, better-
made examples exist. While the instrument was thought to be the invention
of children herding cattle, it is sometimes used in public performance, to
accompany the Mahori music in public dancing

The ottu (or otter) is a double
reed wind instrument, used in Carnatic
music of Southern India to provide a
drone accompaniment to the
similar nadaswaram oboe.Like the
nadaswaram, the ottu is a large conical
instrument, some two and a half feet
long. Unlike the nadaswaram, the ottu
has no fingerholes, being intended to
produce one constant note while playing.
It is provided with several small tuning
holes which can be stopped with wax to
modify its note. In some cases, a shruti
box may be used in place of the ottu due
to its steadier sound. The player holds
the instrument in their left hand,
sustaining the sound by inhaling through
their nose, and with the right hand,
beats on a drum strapped onto a belt.