MUSIC

1. Japanese Theater
Vocal and Instrumental Features
 Nagauta – the most popular shamisen music
- Long song
- Music is very flexible, can be performed by one shamisen

2. Chinese Theater ( Peking Opera)

 2 main styles of music
1. Erh-huang
2. His-p’l – has lower sound
● Fan-pan – technique which is commonly used for sorrowful songs.
● Orchestra of a Peking Opera
- It comprises about eight musicians sitting on strols in the far corner of the stage.
- Each performance in a Peking opera begins with the ta-lo and siag-lo, a small and large gong
and cymbals.
● The following are some musical instruments used in a Peking Opera performance
A. Aerophone
1. Ti-ts – cross flutes-usually played along with singing
2. Siao – recorded flutes – usually played along with singing
3. Sona – trumpet announces prosperous occasions
B. Chordophone
Violin like
1. Hu-ch’in – two-stringed instruments
2. Bu-ch’in – two – stringed instruments
Guitar like
1. Yue-ch’in – four- stringed instruments
2. San-sien – Three- stringed instruments
3. Pi – p’a – similar to lute with four strings
C. Idiophone
1. Ta-lo Gongs – signify the beginning
2. Siao-lo of the performance
3. Tan-pi-ku – kettle drum – used to create the tempo of the performance
● The highest aim of performers is to put beauty into every motion.
3. Indonesian Theater
● Shadow Puppet Theater – is a well-known Indonesian theater
● Wayang Kulit – is one of the oldest continuous traditions of storytelling in the world which
includes the use of puppet materials and background musical accompaniment to make it
interesting to the audience.
● Wayang – is an Indonesian and Malay word for theater
● Kulit – means skin and refers to leather construction of the puppets
● The Performance
- The audience is the most important person in a Wayang Kulit
- The dalang prepares all the materials
- Dalang – the puppeteer
- He manipulates the puppets, sings and taps out signals to the orchestra
● The Music – Gamelan
● Gamelan ensemble – is comprised mainly by bronze percussion instruments, strings and
flute.
● A full Javanese gamelan ensemble
1. Saron – xylophone of heavy bronze bars
2. Gender – bronze xylophones with resonance chambers beneath
3. Bonang – set of bronze bowls
4. Gong and kempul – hanging gongs
5. Kenong and ketuk – single invented bronze bowl
6. Gambang – wooden xylophone
7. Rebab – two-stringed fiddle
8. Suling – flute
9. Kendang – horizontal drum beat with the fingers on both sides
10. Tjelempung – a zither of thirteen double strings